Planter flowers

[churchlarry]

I am now long-term disabled and my gardening will be mostly by planters. I have some long ones in which I'd like to sow some brightly colored annuals. In the p-ast, I've had trouble with plants growing too tall for the planters. Any suggestions for some good flowers. Thanks for your help and thanks for listening!

[Kisal]

Welcome to The Helpful Gardener forum! It's nice to have you with us!

I am in the same situation as you. I like to plant petunias in some of my planters. They always seem to do well. They're easy to grow, and I think they have such a nice scent. especially on warm summer evenings.

I have also grown geraniums in planters.

I like to choose plants that are relatively easy-care, just because it makes things simpler for me. If you buy seeds, be sure to check the back of the packet to see how tall the plant will get. IMO, any flower that gets more than 12 inches tall will look a bit ungainly and may tend to flop over. (The exception would be if they were planted in large planters. I have some of those, as well, but in this post I'm speaking only of the oblong-style planters. )

Two combination I particularly enjoy are white alyssum interspersed with yellow marigolds, and dark blue petunias with yellow marigolds. (I'm not fond of the color orange, but that's just my personal preference. )

[syntheticbutterfly]

Lobelias come in a nice range of colours and you can get some which trail called Cascade which look rather nice. I also like geraniums for bright splashes of colour.

[Kisal]

I like lobelia, too. It's very pretty. I really prefer it in hanging baskets, I think. In the planters I have out on my patio, lobelia would trail on the cement. Perhaps you know of a shorter variety that would work in the kind of planters I have?

[churchlarry]

Thanks so much for the replies! They were most helpful! This disability thing is very new to me and I'm learning to adapt and getting advice like this means a lot to me. Now, if we can just get rid of this snow! HA! Thanks again!

[garden01]

short varieties of Zinnia ..calibricoa " million bells " are attractive too! Kind of like a small petunia looking flower with a tropical hue of color. sweet potato vine for a more broadleaf like trailing accents.
I hope your planters brings you seasons of color, texture and joy.
You are definately in the right site. Sometimes people will mix certain
herbs in with there annuals when planting for added texture, plus
the herbs culinary value. Like a person mentioned earlier...There are a
wide range of planters so that you can have the versatility and creativity
if you have enough space to allow. For instance , a lot of people use
strawberry jar planters as well. Godd luck. joe