Ideas For Thrillers In Container Gardens

To provide visual interest to a container garden, follow the concept of planting flower pots "Thriller Spiller Filler". In that, you have to combine plants of different heights and sprawling habit in each pot.

Thriller Spiller Filler diy

1. Thriller

Thrillers are tall, upright plants that add the height to the arrangement. Thrillers are the great way to add a vertical aspect to your containers.

Thriller Plant Options

Ornamental grasses
Alocasia
Canna lily
Yucca
Aster
Coleus
Cosmos
Dracaena

2. Fillers

Fillers are covering plants that spread to fill the gaps between the Thrillers and spillers.

Filler Plant Options

Geranium
Impatiens
Petunia
Pansy
Coleus
Dusty miller
Begonia
Pentas
Lantana

3. Spiller

Spiller plants are those that spill over the edges of the container and cascade down.

Spiller Plant Option

Allysum
Million bells
Fuchsia
Helichrysum
Sweet potato vine
Mandevilla
Nasturtium
Morning glory
Bacopa
String of pearl

How to arrange plants

Step 1.

In order to organize the arrangements of plants in a container consummately, start with the thriller-type plants. Plant them in the center of the pot, so that they will not cover other plants and can be viewed from all sides. Thriller plants must be the twice of the height of the container.

Step 2.

Surround thrillers with filler plants. You can flower fillers or foliage fillers or both if your container is big. Choose great fillers, they will connect both the thrillers and spillers and add interest to the arrangement.

Step 3.

At last, plant the spillers (trailing plants) near the edges of the container so that they'll grow naturally across the sides of the container.

A Tip

When planting pots in thriller spiller filler style, care to grow plants with similar growing requirements. Choose plants that need a similar amount of growing conditions, location, sun, water, shade and climate to thrive.

For example, you can't grow a moisture loving plant with the plant that needs dry soil in order to grow.