Container Garden Ideas

These container gardens are brought to you from my excursion to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens!  This is the first in a series of posts with ideas from the zoo, and I can assure you that there's just as much inspiration to be found here as you'd get from a trip to the Fairchild.  These have to be some really imaginative gardens in order to hold your attention in the midst of jaguars and Komodo dragons!
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Let's begin with the succulents!

This varied container planting is set off by both the striking cobalt glazed pot and the dark green backdrop of creeping fig! I especially like how the container was placed in the planting bed as opposed to simply sitting on a paved surface.  It looks like a gem in that gravel mulch!

I have got to find some of these saucer shaped containers.  These are excellent for succulents and they provide space for the aloe to spread, without leaving a big footprint.  Not only is the shallow container ideal for succulents, it looks very stylish at the same time.

 

Here's another cobalt planter set in the middle of a planting area, only this echeveria's powder blue hue is repeated by a creeping groundcover to great effect.  And lets not forget about how dramatic that cobalt pot is!

Sanseveria cylindrica has recently taken the gardening world by storm, and its no wonder!  Those tightly rolled up succulent leaves are sculptural and modern looking, and make a perfectly chic houseplant whether your decor is midcentury modern or a little more old fashioned.  And its tough too!

In the Savanna Blooms garden you're presented with a dazzling array of plants native to Africa including this Madagascar palm, which looks fabulous here at the water's edge.

Pitcher plants in whisky barrels... isn't that just the neatest idea?  These staggered barrels belong in the Wild Florida exhibit, a perfect environment for pitcher plants and... whisky barrels.

These pots filled with marigolds really prove that the container really does make the difference.  Oh, and that little dyckia in the middle also makes a difference.  But mostly its the container.

I think that any potted specimen tree deserves a lush groundcover of dwarf mondo grass!  Don't you just want to run your hands over those soft leaves?  I can think of all sorts of plants that would look great with a living mulch of dwarf mondo, but this weeping yaupon holly really was a good match since the dark leaves matched up really nicely.

Towering overhead the Trout River Plaza, these plantings on pedestals demand a second look.  Actually, I looked at them a bit more than that!

I'll end this post with the most unusual container: a crate holding a dyckia, suspended over the entrance to a reptile house with the facade of a mine shaft.  Now that's creative.

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