Create Summer Containers with Heat-Loving Blooms
Even during the dog days of summer, it is still possible to garden and have lavish patio containers. The key is choosing the right plants for the right season and location. When early spring baskets and planters filled with Violets or Petunias are beginning to fade come Memorial Day, it is time to transition to warmer season plants that thrive in the heat and humidity of summer.
The Hot Spot series of Garden Party combinations from Dümmen Orange are the perfect solution to tired Mother’s Day baskets. Named after warm climate travel destinations across the globe, each Garden Party Hot Spot mix uses heat-loving plants to emulate their namesake in color tones and textures, giving any patio a vacay vibe. Bodacious geraniums, succulent Portulaca, tropical Lantana, and sun-loving Salvia are all excellent choices to provide color interest all season long. You might even attract a pollinator or two!
The Thriller, Filler, Spiller (and Pizazz!) Formula for Summer Containers
When creating combination planters and baskets, a good foundation for any design contains three major components: a Thriller, a Filler, and a Spiller.
Thriller
The Thriller is your main focal point of the recipe, whether it be a large showy flower or foliage with architecture and texture. Thrillers live in the center or backside of the planter or basket, depending upon where on the patio, deck, or porch you would like to feature the combination. Salvias are excellent Thrillers for summer combinations, as their tall upright flower spikes provide color all season long while thriving in the heat.
Fillers
Fillers are the workhorse of a mix, adding body and color. Fillers live up to their name, building the overall shape of the design while growing into nooks and crannies to eliminate any blank space. All of the cultivars in the Heartland Lantana series from Dümmen Orange work well as a filler, with dense branching to give a robust body and oversized blooms in neon colors that scream “SUMMER IS HERE!”
Spillers
Spillers are the unsung heroes of any combination. Not only are they functional – covering the eyesore that is the edge of a basket or planter – they are also beautiful and quiet, softening a design with their cascading habit. Portulaca, sometimes called Purslane, is a fantastic spiller for summer combinations. The succulent, glossy leaves cascade with a waterfall of blooms that open as soon as the sun shines each morning. Colorful and vibrant, these drought-tolerant plants are easy and fast to grow.
Pizazz
At Dümmen Orange, our Garden Party combinations have a fourth component added to the design as most Garden Parties are best suited for larger patio planters, 12in in diameter and larger. Consider this fourth component the design’s Pizazz that really spices things up and provides the “wow factor”. Plants such as Dipladenia, Crossandra, and even Geraniums have large, showy blooms and unique foliage that will have your friends asking, “Where did you find that plant?!”
Choosing Heat-Loving Annuals for Your Summer Containers
When choosing plants for your container, look to the leaves. Look for leaves and stems that appear and feel glossy, succulent, or have a rough texture; these plant features help it survive heat extremes and drought pressures by reflecting sunlight or retaining water. Be sure to check under the pot when selecting plants at the garden center. Plentiful bright white roots mean a stronger, tougher plant.
Here are several annuals and tender perennials that thrive in the summer – they tolerate the heat and humidity, and you can visit your favorite vacation spot without the worry of coming home to a planter of crispy plants.
- Angelonia Aria Alta Raspberry
- Angelonia Aria Purple
- Calibrachoa Bloomtastic Rose Quartz
- Calibrachoa Tik Tok® Apricot
- Crossandra Watermelon
- Cuphea Cupheasy Lavender
- Dipladenia FlordeniaTM Dark Red
- Evolvulus Beach Bum Blue
- Geranium Big EEZE Pink Batik
- Geranium Sarita® Lilac Splash
- Lantana Havana® Yellow
- Lantana Heartland Neon
- Petunia DuraBloom® Electric Lilac
- Petunia DuraBloom® Royal Pink
- Portulaca Cupcake Orange Touch
- Portulaca Cupcake Coconut
- Salvia Icon Blue Bicolor
- Salvia Icon Glacier
- Scaevola Scala White Dove
- Verbena Empress® Sun Kiss White
Design Your Own Vacation with Your Summer Containers
Refreshing your spring planters with summer-thriving annuals found in Garden Party Hot Spot combinations is a great way to have a mini stay-cation to get the patio ready for summer. Be a little adventurous and choose a new plant you have never grown before along with tried-and-true familiar plant friends. Look to your favorite or bucket-list travel destinations for color inspiration. Maybe it’s the blue-domed white buildings of Santorini, or the hot pink houses of Curacao.
Any plant pairing works for your garden if it brings you the same happiness as any Hot Spot getaway.
Written by NGB Member: Dummen Orange
“This post is an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member when using all or parts of this article.”
