Container Gardening 101: How to Create a Lush Summer Display

Is there anything better than your first trip to the nursery? Oh, the options seem limitless! Walking through all those aisles and seeing the vibrant pops of color is like a breath of fresh air after a long winter, especially in Michigan! While I love my perennials, I love the special magic of container planting. Creating and planting adds instant curb appeal to my porches and patios, not to mention, it’s just plain fun to do! Today, I’m sharing my container gardening 101 guide. I’ll share my favorites and show you how to mix and match for a display that lasts all season long! So, grab your gardening gloves and let’s get our hands in the dirt and start planting!

Colorful cottage garden container ideas featuring pink geraniums in a vintage wire planter, vibrant red impatiens, and bright yellow calibrachoa hanging baskets.

I’m Kim, and I’m a self-taught gardener with plenty of failed experiments, and a deep love for watching things grow. I’ve learned everything through trial, error, and 30+ years of getting my hands dirty in Michigan soil. I share what’s actually worked in my garden so you can skip some of the mistakes and get straight to the growing!

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Welcome to Container Gardening 101

While the gardening centers are looking so tempting right about now, we Michiganders know it will be a few more weeks before we can start planting. Mother Nature has been known to give us a frost or two into April and sometimes May. I usually wait until mid-to-late May to move my containers to their outdoor homes. There is nothing more heartbreaking than a beautifully created pot of flowers getting hit by a late-season frost!

The Essential Took Kit for Success

Well-Drained Pots: This is the “101” golden rule! Make sure your containers have drainage holes.
Gardening Gloves: I love a pair that is lightweight enough to feel the floral stems but tough enough to keep my hands clean.
A Sturdy Small Spade: A good hand trowel is essential for tucking those plants into small spaces.
A Reliable Watering Can: Look for one with a showering attachment so you can gently water your new plants and keep the soil from washing out.

Vintage-inspired container gardening idea featuring pink geraniums and a teal iron planter for a summer cottage porch.

Kim’s Container Pro Tip

Don’t have enough containers? Check your local estate sales and vintage markets for unique vessels. Think galvanized buckets, wooden crates, ironstone pitchers or iron pieces to house those clay or plastic pots. If you find a vintage piece you love that doesn’t have drainage holes, don’t worry. Try drilling your own. If not, drop the plastic nursery liners into your favorite vintage find.

Thrifted vintage iron garden fixture in a soft blue-green color, used for tiered container gardening on a cottage porch.

Potted Perfecton: My Favorite Annuals For Your Cottage Containers

While my roses and hydrangeas are the anchors of my garden beds, these annuals are the stars of my containers. They provide the immediate WOW factor right where we spend our summer afternoons, on the patio!

Geraniums: The Grandmillennial Beauty

Geraniums are by far my absolute favorite to use in containers! For me, no cottage garden is complete without the classic, bold bloom of a geranium. They are the perfect center of your pots or they can be used alone. They are incredibly hardy, stand up to the Michigan sun, and give that beautiful and timeless grandmillennial look that I just adore!

Vibrant hot pink geraniums with a dark pink eye, paired with delicate white bacopa flowers in a summer container. Perfect cottage-style porch flower inspiration.

One of the things I love about geraniums is that they come in a variety of colors. While always classic, vibrant red is always a showstopper, but don’t be afraid to explore. Shades of pink, white, salmon, or bi-colors add so much demension to the cottage display. There’s a shade for everyone’s taste!

Rows of blooming geraniums and hanging flower baskets in a bright garden center. A beautiful look at the variety of colors available for cottage-style porch planters.

A lifestyle blogger tending to a large, overflowing summer planter on a cottage porch. The container features bright red geraniums and trailing pink petunias for a high-impact floral display.

Lantana: Heat Loving Chameleon

Lantana is very popular in the south and grows along the side of the roads. Here in the Mitten, we have to buy those beauties in pots, but they are worth every penny. They are incredibility resistent and the more sun you give them, the more they bloom. A perfect addition to geraniums. The planting combo of geraniums and lantana make for very full containers.

I love the way the tiny flowers cluster together! You can find multiple colors in one flower or if you prefer, they come in solid colors. Adding multi-colored Lantana is a staple in my containers. Beautiful eye-candy for sure!

Close-up of multicolored pink, orange, and yellow lantana flowers. A heat-loving, drought-tolerant annual perfect for summer container gardening and attracting butterflies to a cottage porch.

A Note for The Nature Lover: These flowers are a magnet for butterflies and pollinators. If you’re sitting on the porch with your morning tea, don’t be surprised if you see a few hummingbirds stopping by for a visit, too!

A close-up of a cottage-style porch container featuring bright red geraniums and multicolored pink and yellow lantana.

Calibrachoa: The Famous “Million Bells”

Growing up, I never really knew the official name for these plants, as my mother always called them million bells. It’s the perfect name as there are multiple little bell shaped flowers.

These are great “spillers”. They actually look like miniature petunias but are much easier to care for because they don’t require deadheading. If I don’t have to deadhead, I’m here for it! I love how they trail over the edges of the pot, creating a soft, overflowing look we all want.

Close-up of multiple small pots of million bells in a greenhouse setting. The vibrant pink, yellow, red, and violet flowers are perfect for low-maintenance summer planters on a Michigan porch.

Close-up of vibrant pink and yellow million bells (calibrachoa) in a nursery pot. A heat-tolerant, self-cleaning annual ideal for cottage garden hanging baskets and containers.

Marigolds: Low-Maintenance Color that Lasts

There is something so nostalgic about marigolds. Back in the day, it seemed as though everyone planted them. Don’t you just love the ruffled edges? They’re a very hardy, low-maintenance option for containers that refuse to quit. Marigolds also work well along boarders and are a great pest deterrent in your vegetable garden. If you want to start your own container garden you can check out my post Simple Tips for Starting a Raised Bed Garden.

Whether you choose the tight pom-pom style of marigold or a larger variety, they will provide a steady pop of gold and orange that looks beautiful from May right until your first frost.

Colorful French marigolds for summer pots and planters. A nostalgic, easy-to-grow flower choice for a cottage in the Mitten garden.

Deep red and orange French marigolds in a garden bed. A hardy and colorful annual choice for summer container gardening and natural pest control in the garden.

The Lookalikes: Vibrant Vincas and Classic Impatiens

At first glance you might think vincas and impatiens are the same flower. Similar flower and similar colors, however, one loves the sun and one loves the shade. Therefore, they need different spots on your porch and patios.

Vincas are heat loving beauties that thrive in the full Michigan sun and have those pretty, glossy green leaves that stay crisp all season long. On the other hand, impatiens are the classic choice for your shadier corners. Even though they don’t love the scorching afternoon heat, and need plenty of water, impatiens will work wonderfully in containers tucked in between other plants.

Container Gardening 101: A hanging basket featuring coral pink impatiens and white airy filler flowers, perfect for a shaded cottage porch or patio.

Tiered summer annual flower pot display on brick and concrete steps. Top black container holds red and yellow calibrachoa and grass spike, flanked by a mint green patterned pot with pink impatiens and a small yellow pot with marigolds. A pink and white gingham pillow is visible behind.

Container Gardening 101: Your Top Questions Answered

Unlike plants in the ground, pots dry out much faster, especially in the summer sun. A good rule of thumb is to check them daily. Stick your finger about an inch in the soil; if it feels dry, it’s time to water. In the dead heat of summer, I have been known to water twice!

Yes! Garden/top soil is too heavy for your containers and can become compacted. This will make it hard for the roots to breath. Although it’s tempting to use garden/top soil because it is cheaper, it won’t be good for your plants in the long run.

This method is the secret to a professional looking pot!

Thriller: A tall, eye-catching plant in the center (like a spike or tall geranium).
Filler: Mounding plants that fill the space (like petunias, million bells or marigolds).
Spiller: Plants that trail over the edges (like creeping Jenny or bacopa).

Feeding and deadheading are key! Use a water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks. This will help give them a boost. Also, make sure to pinch off faded or dead blooms (deadheading) to encourage the plant to put it’s energy into growing new flowers.

Planting red geraniums in a metal container with fresh potting soil. A step-by-step guide to summer container gardening for a Michigan porch.

The Final Flourish: Bringing It All Together

Once you’ve gotten your pots all filled and your hands are a little bit dirty, step back and look at the beauty you created! There is something so satisfying about planting flowers. And the best part, you can enjoy that beauty for months to come! Whether you have a sprawling patio or a simple porch step, your containers will be a wonderful addition to the warm months that you get to nuture and grow.

Happy planting, my friends! I’d love to see what you create. Make sure to send me pictures!

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Container Gardening 101: How to Create a Lush Summer Display

Welcome to Container Gardening 101

The Essential Took Kit for Success

Kim’s Container Pro Tip