It’s been a long time since I was blown away by a new gardening book. I was so jazzed after going through Terrain’s new The Container Garden Book, I sent an email to a dozen friends telling them they needed to order a copy now!
The plant choices are brilliant. Most of them are seldom seen as container plants, but even more important, the combinations and shapes are stunning. The colors are mesmerizing, especially the apricot-and-orange mashups. In all, at least 100 containers are featured.
I loved the exquisite container shown on page 79 (see above). For the beauty, “Reaching New Heights,” you train a clematis (in this image, ‘Scented Clem’, up from a jumbo pot, skirt it with beautiful foliage like silver nickel vine Dichondra argentea and a white black-eyed Susan vine Thunbergia, and add a striking Rex begonia – in this case ‘Fedor’, and viola! No, you do not need a fancy tuteur. You can make your own with inexpensive bamboo stakes or any other suitable branches from your garden. Before I even saw this book, I had repurposed a few large branches pruned from a contorted filbert to showcase one of our clemmies. Try it. It’s free.
You will be encouraged to get out of your color rut. Check out the images under “Sunset Blaze” or “All Fired Up.” Coral, pink, orange, scarlet, melon, and magenta together not only capture attention but say, “hello summer”! The authors use the terms “showy” and “riotous” to aptly describe these showoffs. I actually bought an orange bougainvillea this year and positioned it to trail rather than climb. It’s a dazzler.
The Container Garden Book is all about thinking outside the box. Melissa Bartley, whose actual title is “Visual Director” at Terrain, is a wizard at this. She’s completely rethought and presented for your inspiration all kinds of plants: shrubs, trees (even BIG trees), ornamental grasses, succulents, annuals and perennials with a keen eye for color pairings and texture. She says, “We see container gardens as an invitation to experiment . . . freedom to indulge in your most unconventional design ideas. . . “
For instance, if you love roses and you have only a small patio or balcony to work with, recreate your version of “Tangerine Dream.” The combo can take a lot of sun, and doesn’t need to be watered four times a week. Not even in Boise, Idaho. Frankly, it had never occurred to me to pair Agastache, the hummingbird mint, with a tea rose…or Carex buchananii for that matter. Insert image from page 98.
Amazing and unusual plant combos take our green thumbs from the first of spring –hyacinths and a bird’s nest – through the winter and holidays. Note to self: Now would be a great time to prep for holiday containers. Daffodils, scented geraniums, herbs, wildly dramatic succulents, a white weeping white pine, maples, branches . . . it’s all here.
I found this book especially timely. Many of us are thoughtfully downsizing; some are just getting started with apartment balconies; and city gardeners often must make magic in tight spaces. I am not only inspired and pushed in new directions, but also grateful to the authors for sharing their artistry and vision for containers.
In closing,
Dear Goddess of Flora, if I never see another pot of flowers planted with rosy red geraniums, with the obligatory (and dreaded) Draceana or too common Cordyline poking up, and dangling ivy or lotus . . . it will suit me just fine. Do let me see any and all of the Terrain-inspired containers in person, and up close. Thank you.
Excerpted from Terrain: The Container Garden Book by Melissa Bartley and Greg Lehmkuhl (Artisan Books). March 2026, Artisan NY/Hatchette Book Group, 288 pages, $35.00
Photographs by Martha Lawlor (p. 6, 79, 98) and Greg Lehmkuhl (p. 91, 110). Copyright © 2026.
