Skip to main content

Flower pots 101: Picking the best ones for your spring garden

From hanging baskets to whiskey barrels, here are some of the best flower containers

Petunias growing in window boxes
congerdesign / Pixabay

Container gardens come in many different forms, making them a great way to express your individuality and creativity, as well as highlight the particular strengths of your plants. However, it can also be overwhelming. As you browse your local nursery or big-box store, you might come across a wide range of containers in all kinds of colors, shapes, and materials beyond basic plastic nursery pots or orange terracotta planters.

If you find yourself feeling lost with your many available options of flowers pots for your spring garden, we’ve got a handy guide to get you started on choosing the perfect flower containers. Whether you’re looking for a solid planter to help with geranium care, some small one that will show off your plants without taking up much room, or something that’s just plain interesting, we have you covered! Keep reading to find out what options there are for flower pots for your spring garden.

Recommended Videos

Hanging baskets

A small hanging basket with flowers
Manu_H / Pixabay

Hanging baskets can be one of the most gorgeous ways to display your garden flowers from a porch, patio, or gazebo. Your average hanging baskets can come in peat or plastic, but the most stunning form is perhaps metal baskets with coco coir liners.

These hanging baskets can be high maintenance, however. If you’re going down the metal frame and coco coir route, you want to stay on top of watering. Water can drain quickly out of coir, so you should use a water-retentive soil amendment (such as peat). It also helps to poke holes in a plastic sheet (for drainage) and line your coir with it before you add potting mix.

Low-maintenance flowers do well with this system. Geranium care will be easy, for example, because the blooms are showy without requiring much watering.

Metal tubs

Lavender in a metal tub
Anna-Mari West / Shutterstock

Galvanized metal tubs can infuse your home garden with some rustic charm, and they’re incredibly easy to find — you might even be able to upcycle a container you have lying around. Because they’re relatively lightweight, you can also move them around easily. Plus, galvanized tubs tend to be pretty big, so you can even fit in small shrubs.

Keep in mind that metal does heat up easily during the summer, so you want to stay on top of watering your plants and providing them with shade if needed. Plus, you want to remember to create drainage holes in them. For a galvanized tub, consider Spanish lavender flowers, which are highly tolerant of heat and humidity.

Window boxes

Impatiens in window box
aceshot1 / Shutterstock

Installing a window box can be an involved process, but the beautiful, cascading results are worth your effort. To attach a window box right beneath a window, you need to install a board with brackets to support your box. Make sure your window box has drainage holes, whether it’s made from wood, clay, or plastic — you could also line it with a screen to provide drainage. As for filling up the window box itself, you can use compost and potting mix.

It’s important to bear in mind the location of your window and what kind of light you’re getting. If you have your window box underneath an awning, you may need to account for partial shade — choose shade-loving blooms like impatiens flowers and periwinkle flowers. If your box is out in the full sun, you might want to mix in water-storing crystals to help with water retention. Arrange different foliage textures and flower colors to make your box pop.

Stackable planters

A large container of creeping jenny with a smaller container of purple flowers in the center
VictoriaLK / Pixabay

If you don’t have a lot of space to work with, a stackable planter system or a vertical planter tower is a solution worth exploring. Typically, stackable planters feature anywhere between three to six pockets. Some systems are more complex than others and may have poles and a water reservoir system. If you’re picking up stackable planters individually, you’ll need to create drainage holes yourself and support your planters with a central stake.

Petunia flowers make for great stackable planter blooms, as they feature relatively shallow roots. That said, the great thing about stackable planters is that you can plant multiple plants at once, so don’t be afraid to get creative.

Whiskey barrels

Yellow flowers in whiskey container
knelson20 / Shutterstock

For some rustic, farmhouse charm, you can display your flowers in wooden whiskey barrels. They’re usually sold as half-barrels and are relatively easy to transport when you install casters onto them. Featuring wooden slats tied together by metal strips, these barrels aren’t usually prone to rotting, and they tend to be wide and deep for planting flowers — just make sure yours has a drainage hole.

With whiskey barrels, you want to remember to water your flowers regularly or set up a drip system for them. Tall flowers, such as established canna lilies, will look great in whiskey barrels.

Fluted containers

Periwinkle in fluted container
hecos / Alamy

Fluted containers are essentially just your basic pot or planter, but they feature grooves that give them an artsy, elevated vibe. Often coming as ceramic, concrete, or plastic, they tend to be somewhat small, so they do best with stand-alone plants. You can display plants that don’t have very deep root systems — think pansy or dahlia flowers. Because fluted containers are usually small, your soil may dry out faster and require frequent watering. 

Wall-mounted containers

A wall-mounted planter with assorted flowers
holmespj / Pixabay

If you like the aesthetic of hanging baskets but don’t have somewhere to hang them from, a wall-mounted container might be a better fit! While attaching a containter to a wall might sound complicated, it’s actually easier than ever. thanks to command strips and adhesive wall hooks.

If you want to hang a heavier container, such as a large ceramic pot, then you may need a more sturdy hook that needs to be drilled into the wall. However, smaller, lighter containers can often be hung using adhesive strips. To ensure that your wall-mounted container fits snuggly against the wall, choose one with a flat side. Test the container by holding it up against the wall with your hands before you start planting to avoid any unpleasant surprises, and make sure to clean and dry the wall thoroughly before you hang your container.

Now that you have an understanding of the most popular planters out there, you don’t have to default to terracotta or plastic containers for displaying your lovely blooms. Consider your environment and the flowers you want to plant to find the best containers. Selecting the right flower pots can spruce up your garden landscape and help your blooms thrive.

Stacey Nguyen
Stacey's work has appeared on sites such as POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles, Buzzfeed, The Balance, TripSavvy, and more. When she's…
The best spring fruits to grow: Add these to your garden
Plant these fruits this spring for a tasty harvest
Ripe blackberries on the bush

Spring is a favorite season for many gardeners, and for good reason! The plants begin to wake up, the ground thaws, and you can begin planning and planting your next garden. There are plenty of plants to choose from, but there's nothing quite like fruit fresh from your own garden. From sweet figs to tart blackberries, there are many incredible fruits you can grow. To make the most of your garden, here are some of the best spring fruits you can plant today.
Blackberries

Ripe, juicy blackberries are a delicious treat, and they’re easy to grow. Plant these fruits in early spring and make sure they’re in full sun. Blackberries do best in rich, well-draining soil. Mixing compost into your soil can help significantly. Blackberries need roughly an inch of water each week, and they thrive in soil that is consistently moist but not soaking wet. Most blackberry varieties are ready for harvest in mid to late summer.

Read more
7 stunning early spring flowers to plant right now
Plant these flowers for early spring blooms
Pink hellebore flowers

Spring is the season most associated with flowers, when buds begin to form and bloom and new growth is abundant. Different flowers bloom at different points in the season, from the first day of spring to the last. If the bleak cold of winter has you in a bad mood, you might be itching to see some color and life return to your garden. For that, you’ll need some of the earliest blooming flowers. To make the most of your spring season, here are seven gorgeous early spring flowers for you to plant right now!
Snowdrops

Snowdrops are a classic early spring flower with small white flowers topping thin green stems that poke out of the snow as early as January in some regions! Snowdrops are perennial bulbs, meaning you can plant them now for lovely flowers year after year. They are small enough to grow in containers, making them a great choice for gardeners without much outdoor space. You can plant snowdrop bulbs in the fall to bloom when spring rolls around, or you can find nursery plants that have started sprouting to plant in February or March.
Daffodils

Read more
Best trees for home gardens: Beautify your space with these top picks
Add these trees to your garden for a gorgeous display
Dogwood tree with pink flowers

Trees have a lot to offer your garden. Whether you prefer looking at their beautiful flowers, eating their fruit, relaxing in their shade, or climbing their branches, trees can make a great addition to your home garden. They offer all the same benefits to your local wildlife as well, attracting birds, squirrels, deer, and other forest friends to your yard!

There are tons of great trees to choose from, but if you’re having trouble picking one, then this is the guide for you. Here are some of our favorite trees for home gardens to help you get started.
Magnolia tree

Read more