What we love about the Greenbo Planter is that it takes away the need for ground space, or even porch or balcony space, to have a container garden. The colorful planters snap right onto any railing that is up to 4 inches in width. There are no screws or brackets involved, all you have to do it place the planter right on the railing and it stays where you put it. The designers seriously thought of everything. The planter won’t fly away or rust on your railing, and it has a little drip tray that can be removed from the bottom. This way, not only will the planter not drip all over the place when you water your plants (the neighbors below will thank you!), but you can also remove the tray and recycle the water. The vibrant pots won’t even fade in bright sunlight or rain. Nice!

Greenbo Railing Planters $27.00 at aHa! Modern Living

The Greenbo Planters make having a container garden a total snap. All you need to do is fill them with some good organic potting soil and fill ‘em up with your favorite plants. Not sure what to plant?

Tried and True Container Garden Combos

Drought Tolerant Container

Agave If you live in a particularly hot and dry climate, and your Greenbo Planter is going to be in full sun, it is a good idea for you to pick drought resistant plants. A combination that we love is one Variegated American Agave in the center of the planter, along with a couple of pink ice plants around the edges. The agave will grow upward, while the pink ice will grow out and down, spilling wildly over the sides of the planter like colorful flames. For a really pretty look, pick a blue planter, which will contrast nicely with the bright pink blossoms and green foliage.

Full Sun Container

Confetti Lantana For a container that is going to be exposed to sunlight all day, it is important to pick plants that thrive in full sun. One of our favorite full-sun flowers is the Lantana, which comes in many different colorful varieties and grows quite full into a mound shape. Other major sun lovers are black-eyed Susans, geraniums, marigolds, daisies and petunias. You can also consider planting some climbing plants, because anything that naturally climbs up can also trail downward. And won’t some flowers look pretty draping and curling down your balcony rails? Some good full sun climbers include the creeping zinnia, parrot beak, verbena, and sweet potato vine.

Full Shade Container

Star Jasmine Even if your apartment window is mostly shaded by the tall office building next to you, you can still have success with a container garden. The trick is just to pick plants that thrive well in the shade. Flowers that will grow well in shade containers include coleus, begonias, impatiens, lily of the valley, lungwort, and oxalis. For some trailers try campanula, star jasmine, or periwinkle.

Hummingbird Magnet Container

Snapdragons We love this idea from Life on the Balcony, where Fern suggests creating a container to attract hummingbirds to your balcony. She recommends using beautiful, colorful creeping jenny, cyprus vines, and snapdragons. While you are at it, you can pinch the sides of the snapdragon blossoms together to make “dragon’s mouth” that sings a little tune. (Come on, we’re definitely not the only ones who still do that, right?) Hummingbirds also love bright red scarlet runner beans, bee balm, and pineapple sage.

Easy Herb Container Garden

Chives

Some herbs are pretty much foolproof and really easy to grow. Mint, for example, is so easy to grow that you may need to keep an eye on it, lest it overtake the surrounding plants. Mint grows well in shade or sun, and can grow bushy, or trail downwards. Just make sure that you plant different varieties of mint in different containers to keep them from cross pollinating. In a container, we like a combination of chives and basil with a few marigolds in there for color. Thyme grows well and needs little watering, while sage can thrive so well in a container that you can pinch off and dry leaves on a regular basis.

Take a peek at all of our Greenbo Planters to select the colors that you like best. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out all of our other modern gardening tools and accessories as well. It’s almost time to put them to good use. Woo-hoo!

Photo by SDCDeaCerte

Growing beautiful container plants doesn’t have to be hard or require a lot of resources.  Smart plant choices, like the succulents pictured above, and stylish containers can create a calming effect within your home in today’s technology age (sidebar: ironic that I am talking about creating soothing environments with plants on the internet).

Why Decorate With Succulents?

Every modern garden lover should have potted succulents.  The architectural elegance and minimal maintenance of succulents complement the essence of modern design. In my humble opinion, very few low maintenance plants offer such an eye-catching arrangement like the echevarias, aeoniums, or agaves.  These varieties look great by themselves in a bold, colorful pot, or grouped together by contrasting colors in larger pots.

Caring For Indoor Succulents

Watering Their fleshy leaves allow them to store large amounts of water, which make them the perfect companion for the forgetful dweller.  Water often during the growing season, spring through fall, but keep them drier and cooler during the winter.  Best to set them in a tray of water since their leaves can be damaged by splashes of water.  Once the roots have soaked up the water, remove your pot and wait to water again when the soil is dry.

Temperature The warmth and low humidity of living rooms provide the perfect environment for most succulents.

Light Since succulents are native to warm, dry areas, find a sunny windowsill to make them feel at home. Many succulents can live in their pots up to three years before needing a new home.

Feeding Liquid fertilizer is the easiest way to feed your succulents.  Keep a bottle next to your watering can and add a few drops once every couple weeks.

Potting Good drainage is important.  Use a free-draining potting mix made up of at least one part sharp sand to two parts loam.

Pests & Disease Fortunately succulents don’t suffer from many pests and diseases, and the few that cause you problems are easy to get rid of.  If the idea bug juice doesn’t make your stomach turn, hand picking is a good means of control.  These plants are easy to care for but prevention is the key to successful indoor plants. If you have to resort to chemicals, use them outside or in an area that is well ventilated.

More The above info should help you get started. If you’re beyond the basics, try learning more about propagation, more varieties and troubleshooting