We love container gardens at Sweet Earth Co. They’re a great option to enjoy flowers, plants, and herbs without needing a ton of space.

When it comes to designing your container garden, there are 3 essential elements you’ll want to have in mind: Thrillers, fillers, and spillers. Let’s dive into what each one means in more detail.

A Thriller

The thriller of your container garden will usually be your most visually stunning plant, or your “focal flower”. These are often the tallest, and one is sufficient for your container garden. We used native asters as a thriller in this fall container. When it came time to update the container for winter, the aster was planted in the garden.

A Filler

The filler plants add volume to your container garden and fill out the horizontal space. Depending on your container garden, plan on having two to three fillers. We used violas and heuchera as fillers in this container.

A Spiller

Lastly, a spiller plant will add some whimsy to your container garden by draping over the edges of your container. Three to five spiller plants is a good number for your garden, depending on the size of your container. Some spillers can get very long and you may need to trim them from time to time.

Native Plant Containers Can Extend the Pollinator Pathway

When you create a native container garden, you are contributing to the collective effort to nurture and sustain the living landscape. Remember, you don't need a large backyard garden to support the pollinator pathway; you can do so with container gardens on your patio, porch, or city rooftop and fire escape. If you want to learn more about container gardens, and how you can use native plants in yours to benefit the environment, download our free guide that walks you through what to choose, both sun and shade options provided.