Best container awards 2016

Every year I tell myself I'm not going to create as many container gardens as I did the year before.  By August I am SO done with watering them almost every day.  However, the reality is that I imagine an interesting combination of color and texture and feel a compelling desire to try it.

Here are my two best creations for 2016. 

I cannot take full credit for my wheelbarrow garden.  While I planted the focal plants, the reseeded torenia from last year's effort filled in the gaps to produce a sense of overflowing color.  I added a broken stem from a repotted beefsteak begonia which created a surprising dramatic contrast to the smaller and brighter leaves of the other plants in the barrow. 

The other award for 2016 goes to a grouping of containers in my front yard.  I use containers in this area of my garden because our massive oak tree demands most of the moisture and nutrients, leaving very little for a traditional garden.  This year, I used white containers to brighten the shade under the tree.  Once again, the star of the planting turned out to be a random plant.  I needed something tall to elevate the grouping;  being too lazy to head to the garden center, I merely dug up a chunk of canna rhizome to drop into the back of the container.  The canna has been very happy in that pot; whenever a stalk began to grow too tall, I would cut it off at the soil line and the canna would produce a new stalk.

Both of these container gardens reflect my enjoyment of bright colors and contrasting textures.  But next year, I'm not going to plant so many containers . . .