Thrill Fill Spill

Thrill.Fill.Spill:  A Container Garden Recipe

By: Vicki Chambers, Burlington Garden Club for Burlington Buzz magazine | Summer 2026

Planting an attractive floral container garden is one of the easiest ways to bring color and life to patios, balconies, and entryways. Purchasing these planters at the garden center is one way to bring this color to your home but you can add your own personal touches by creating them yourself.  Following a couple of tried and true “recipes” for plant choice and color will result in containers that rival the garden center beauties you’ve seen.

For plant choice follow the classic “thriller, filler, spiller” recipe: a tall focal plant in the center, mounding flowers to fill space, and trailing plants that soften the edges. The key is to combine plants with different heights, textures, and bloom styles for a full, layered look.  

Choose your container first.  This way you can choose plant heights to fit the size.  For example, a large, tall container needs a larger, taller thriller plant while a narrow planter may not need quite as many filler plants.  Remember to choose a container that has a drainage hole at the bottom.

Thriller plants should be placed in the middle of the container.  Thriller plants can range from tall fountain grasses or leafy plants such as coleus. Upright geraniums, salvias and taller dahlias make excellent thrillers in sunny spots. 

Filler plants are mound-like and mid-height.  Theses fill around the thriller plant in the middle of the container.  Try calibrachoa, begonias, or impatiens, which provide continuous color. Dusty miller, angelonia and bidens add depth and pops of color.  

Spillers soften the container edge and create graceful movement over the rim. Sweet potato vine, lobelia, bacopa or trailing verbena or ivy are wonderful considerations. 

When choosing colors, you can follow basic color theory.  For example, soft pastels for a calming cottage vibe.  Move toward a modern impact with bold contrasts such combining blue and orange, or purple and yellow.  Another dramatic approach is to choose plants in the same color, but with different shades.  For instance, start with a pale pink moving toward a bright fuchsia.

When it’s time to plant, fill the container with potting soil (not garden or topsoil).  For proper drainage, mix in some perlite or vermiculite.  If your planter is tall, you don’t need to fill the entire thing with soil. Six inches of soil should be enough for plants to root well and grow.   If this is the case, put plastic bottles at the bottom and fill the remaining space with soil.  (This also keeps the container on the lighter side in case it needs to be moved).  

These recipes are suggestions. Use your own creativity to create planters that are stunning to look at…and that make you smile!