Container planting is meant to be fun, adding color and focal points to your patio or outdoor kitchen in Greater Chicago.

That’s why there are really no set rules when it comes to potted plant placement. It’s tough to go wrong when you’re adding great-looking planters full of blooming flowers to your backyard.

But there are some tips that can maximize your space, color, and privacy while adding some pleasing aesthetics to your landscape.

Follow some of our tricks to get the best look from your outdoor potted plant displays.

Best Ways to Arrange Potted Plants On a Patio

You’re on the pursuit toward planter perfection. What could be more fun?

Use these tips based on some core landscape design principles to get the best look.

1. Start With a Purpose For Your Planters

Planters full of texture and flowers are gorgeous. No one will argue with that. But there are ways to use them so they have a purpose and don’t look awkwardly placed.

For instance, outdoor potted plant displays can be great ways to frame an entrance – maybe the doors to your indoor area from your patio or flanking the beginning of a pathway, for instance.

Container garden plants on steps to back entrance of home

Containers can also accent flat pathways, giving much-needed borders to otherwise dull spaces. Parallel rows of potted planters can create a scenic walkway; you can even layer the planters going up or down in height along the way. In this case, you want to make sure there’s a pattern to your planters – maybe they are all the same color or shape or have similar flowers, for instance, so they go together.

2. Use Planters to Create Privacy

If you live on a small lot where having actual privacy plantings is a challenge, container plantings can be your solution for some seclusion.

patio with several container plantings and pergola

In summer, strategically placing containers full of large plants, for example, can give you instant privacy.

3. Separate Spaces With Container Plantings

Maybe you have an outdoor kitchen, a large patio with a dining nook and a fireplace or outdoor living area and a pool.

You can create some separation between these different spaces, defining them with outdoor potted plant displays.

container plants on patio

This can help you easily and instantly create more intimate environments in your backyard.

4. Direct Pedestrian Traffic with Container Plantings

Natural barriers can serve as guidance for traffic flow on your landscape.

patio with container plantings

If your Greater Chicago patio has a steep step off of one side that doesn't warrant a staircase, and you’d like to keep children or animals from jumping off of the edge, an outdoor potted plant display could stop traffic from going that way and redirect it to your preferred pathway.

5. Fit Your Container Plants to Your Space

Whether you have a small patio or a large one, container plantings can work for either space.

The goal is to choose the right size containers for your environment. Massive planters with giant plants, for instance, may crowd a small space.

patio with fire table and container plantings

Little details in smaller spaces can create great places for conversation and intimate gatherings.

6. Don’t Let Your Planters Get in the Way

While there are many places to arrange potted plants on a patio for added beauty, function, and allure, there are also some places that don’t work as well.

For instance, you never want to place container plantings in the middle of a walkway.

You also shouldn't put large potted plants in places where they will obstruct great views.

patio and outdoor kitchen with walkway and container garden

The only time this works well is if you use planters in a place where you want people to stop and pause. A great example of this would be along a long walkway with a small garden bench off to the side in one section. Container plants can anchor the bench and be a great place to sit and watch the birds or admire the plantings.

Let Us Help You Decorate Your Patio with Potted Plants

Container plantings are amazing additions to any Greater Chicago patio.

As you plan your containers and think about what plants to include and where you will put them, the whole process may feel overwhelming. What if you get the containers home and you don’t like them? What if the plants you choose don’t thrive in your space? What if you become overwhelmed at matching various plant heights and sizes to the right pots, giving them room to grow?

outdoor kitchen and patio with plantings and container gardens

We completely understand. Container gardening is a process that takes some meticulous planning, attention, and understanding of some basics in terms of what plants work best in Suburban Chicago landscapes.

We Also Provide Commercial Landscaping Services 
You want to elevate your backyard patio with great container plantings, and keep the worries at bay. Let KD Landscape help. We can bring our years of expertise in container gardening in Greater Chicago to your yard, and create a great space you can use and enjoy.

Ready to see how KD Landscape can transform your suburban Chicago yard with container plants? We’d love to share our design and installation expertise with you. Get started today with a free consultation. Together, we can prepare and arrange containers that you’ll truly love.

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