Garden Design Trends With Contemporary Planters

Foliage and flowers are a fairly constant element with landscape design and one of the best ways of showing them off at their best is within planters. Planters give the benefit of making gardens simpler to maintain, since in general they need less weeding, and they make plant growth less invasive into other areas of the garden. Planters and pots can be easily moved around, if you want to redesign your landscape.

Steel planters

Delicate plants can be shifted to warmer areas to protect them in winter. Nevertheless, gardens that are overrun with plastic pots can seem a little dated and ill thought through. There are plenty of modern planters available that will suit a wide range of garden designs. Contemporary planters add a hint of sophistication to a garden that has become a stale, so look at the latest trends when you are thinking about updating the look of your home’s exterior.

Balcony Planters.

Steel planters

Balconies can look a little bare with no planting to break up the space. An increasingly popular trend with balcony design is to have a purpose built planter that runs the length of the platform. Low level planting affords increased privacy for your balcony, if it people can view it from below. However, a low level planter will not interrupt the eye line when you are looking outwards from your balcony.

Architectural Planters.

Steel planters
Steel planters

The boldness that a repeated simple design element can make should not be underestimated and, with garden design, simple architectural planters are on trend right now. Think of using regular shapes laid out in a way that makes an architectural connection with the rest of your building. For modern homes, minimalism is the favored design choice for planters. Well constructed planters, that form geometric shapes, are the perfect setting for your choice of plants. Simple grasses, succulents and bamboos are ideal for these sorts of planters because they add texture.

Setting Out Planters.

Steel planters

If you want to break up space in your garden that is serving no useful purpose, for instance between a bed and a pathway, then an arrangement of planters is a classic choice. The key is not to over do it by filling the entire space with planters and foliage. Set out your planters so that they take up only about half of the space available, but arrange them in a regular way with gaps between them. There’s nothing wrong with straight rows, when it comes to planters. You can always vary the look, if you want to, by selecting different type of planting.

Planters With Trellises.

Steel planters

Integrating planters with other elements of a garden design is a trend that shows no sign of slowing down. One of the most popular ways of connecting a planter to the rest of the exterior is to integrate them with trellises. This is great if you like to grow and display common climbing plants, such as Boston ivy, some roses or clematis. It is best to specify the same material to construct your planter as your trellis, to get the look consistent.

Industrial.

Steel planters

Modern garden designers take inspiration from many non-traditional sources for their ideas. If you prefer to be a little avant-garde with your exteriors then go industrial. Use materials like steel mesh, hardcore and concrete to get an urban feel to your garden. Rusted steel planters can look great if they are placed in the right setting. Don’t worry if the look is a little strident to begin with as it will soften with time, as the plants grow.

Curved Planters.

Steel planters

Whilst pots are round, regular planters tend to favor straight lines and edges. However, there is no good reason to stick to these rules. If you have a garden space that is full of right angles, one of the best things you can do is to bring in a curved element to the design. A curved planter makes for an ideal structural element in such a garden. Compliment a long sweeping curve of a raised bed by placing it next to a circular, or oval, planter. Stacking one circular planter on top of another can make for a strong image, especially if you select plants that like to hang and trail over the sides.

Picture sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.