Tag: container garden

Indoor Plant Care: How to Grow Tropical Plants in Geometric Terrariums – Garden Therapy

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I love the look of these geometric terrariums. They make me think of nineteenth-century conservatories or vintage apothecaries, yet the geometric shape feels fresh and modern at the same time. With a few small houseplants, some reindeer moss, and a little know-how, you can transform simple glass containers into lush, thriving terrariums in no time!

This post will cover…

Tropical Plants Indoors

Tropical indoor plants like pothos are used as houseplants because they tolerate the lower light and warm, temperate conditions usually present indoors. Tropicals often really love humidity, which is why they are such good candidates for closed-top terrariums or glass bell jars.

Soil and plants naturally release water vapor, and when they are inside an enclosed space like a glass terrarium, the vapor collects on the roof and sides of the container and creates a humid environment.

Succulents and cacti are wonderful houseplants as well, but with a terrarium that has a closed lid like these ones, tropicals are the way to go. Even though there is an opening in the front of this geometric terrarium, the covered roof still creates a more humid microclimate perfect for tropicals.

If you place cacti and succulents in the same terrarium, they need much brighter light, and that will also dramatically increase the temperature inside the glass. If you want to make a succulent or cactus terrarium, then use an open bowl and save these beautiful geometric terrariums for tropicals to thrive. They will grow and morph over the years and show so much personality!

Terrariums create humid microclimates, which are desirable for tropical plants.

Tips for Working With Glass Terrariums

Look for glass containers in interesting geometric shapes. I like the metal detailing on the terrariums I found—it gives the shape a dramatic outline and the slightly weathered look of the finish lends a vintage feel.

If you can find a terrarium with a plastic liner inside, that is ideal, as you can use it to keep the soil and plants in place, but if your container doesn’t have one, you can make your own out of a plastic tray from the recycling bin. It won’t look as attractive, but you can easily disguise your makeshift liner with a little strategically placed reindeer moss.

Keep in mind that glass terrariums are not going to have holes for drainage. If you are used to caring for houseplants and terrariums and are confident that you will not overwater the plants, don’t worry about the lack of drainage, and just be mindful of how often you are watering.

However, if you are concerned about overwatering, you can create drainage inside the terrarium by spreading out some pebbles at the bottom of your plastic liner. You could also add charcoal to the soil to help prevent damage caused by overwatering. Charcoal works to absorb and remove odour and toxins produced by pooling water.

You can also repurpose lanterns and candle vessels into terrariums.

How to Make a Glass Geometric Terrarium

Now for the fun part! Once you’ve gathered the materials, it doesn’t take long to put your terrarium together. It can take a little finesse and handiwork, but it always turns out so whimsical.

Materials

Make It!

Before planting in the soil, play with positioning your plants in different configurations to get a pleasing design. Place taller plants in the back and shorter ones in the front so that none of them will be obscured. Try to choose plants with different colours, textures, and shapes to get the most interesting display.

Play around with your display before potting.

If you are going to add drainage pebbles to the bottom of your plastic liner, do that first. Next, fill the plastic tray with soil and add your plants. Water the plants well and allow them to sit for half an hour, then pour off any excess water that they didn’t drink up. Place the planted tray inside the terrarium.

After planting, water your plants thoroughly and then drain the excess.

Now add your decorative elements. Try placing pretty stones, moss in different colours, and bark with interesting textures into the terrarium. Move them around until you get a design that you like.

Forage for some elements from your backyard for a cost-effective but personal touch.

One of my favourite decorations for terrariums is DIY clay mushrooms. I made the ones pictured, and posted a tutorial on how you can make them for yourself as well!

I also like to add some magic with waterproof LED fairy lights. These are battery-operated and made to go inside terrariums. They add just that little bit of magic that makes a terrarium its own special little world.

The clay mushrooms and the fairy lights are the perfect final touch.

How to Care for a Terrarium

Terrariums don’t take much care other than watering properly and replanting every so often. When your terrarium starts to look a bit overgrown or sad, follow these steps on how to refresh a terrarium. For regular care and maintenance, here is what you need to know:

For the most part, terrariums don’t require fertilizing because you actually don’t want the plants to grow large very fast and outgrow their small environment. However, if plants are looking weak, you can add a diluted indoor plant food formula to give them a little boost.

In a covered terrarium like this that produces a ton of humidity, you don’t need to water much at all. Simply water lightly every few months and otherwise let the terrarium do the work for you.

Enjoy!

More Fun Terrarium Projects

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.

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Stephanie Rose

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October 13, 2025
Fall Planter Ideas + Simple Container Care and Maintenance
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These fall planter ideas will have your home looking festive for the autumn. Whether you are a seasoned gardener or a first-time planter, the simple tips and tricks in this post will help your container gardens thrive this season.

As the season starts to change from the hot, long days of summer to the cooler, shorter days of fall, you may be wondering what to do with your container gardens or how to start one.

Containers are the perfect way to garden in a small space like a patio or a deck. But containers also make for great features in large gardens too.

Either way, containers draw the eye. One of the most fun months to enjoy container gardening is in the fall. That being said, they need some care and maintenance to keep them thriving as temperatures begin to drop.

Near the end of the summer, the plants will start to look a bit tired. They’ve worked hard to grow in a confined space, and it’s time for a little care.

Here are some tips for how to refresh your container gardens and transition them for the next season with these fall planter ideas.

Fresh flowers for my fall planters! Ozzie loves a trip to the garden centre too.

First: Fall Maintenance Must-Dos

Whether you’re growing vegetables or flowers in your containers, fall is a great time to clean up the container and prepare it for winter. Here are a few things you can do.
- Cut back any of the 4D’s: dead, diseased, damaged, or dying plant material and discard it.
- Harvest any vegetables that are ready to be harvested for fresh eating or preserving.
- Deadhead any blooms to encourage new blooms and extend flowering time.
- Allow flowers and vegetables to go to seed so you can collect and save seed for next year.
- Remove any overgrown perennials, shrubs, or trees, and plant them in the garden or a larger pot.
For more fall maintenance ideas, check out this post.

Once you’ve cleaned up the existing container, you can refresh it with new plants.

Annual Container Garden Maintenance

When the plants are finished fruiting, flowering, or producing seeds, and you have harvested all that you need, remove all the remaining plant material from the pot. Use a soil knife to loosen up the soil around the roots and remove the plants and root balls from the soil.

If the plant has become root bound and the entire pot comes up in a net of roots, you can toss the whole thing in the compost bin. If the roots do not extend throughout the entire pot, then shake off the soil into a large bucket or a wheelbarrow.

Wash the pot well using soap and water before replanting or storing the pot for winter.

Terracotta pots can crack in the winter if not stored properly in the fall.

Perennial Container Garden Maintenance

If you live in a cold area, the only containers that should be left out over the winter are those that are cold-hardy and meant to weather the temperature drop in your area. Of course, the same is true of the plants in the containers. But if you’ve chosen the pots and perennials that will successfully overwinter in your climate, fall is a great time for some routine maintenance on all of them.

Prune trees and shrubs according to the four D’s as well as size and shape, as can be seen in these guides:

You can also divide and transplant any perennials that are growing too large for their container. See how to divide perennials here.

Precious or more tender plants may need to be moved into an unheated garage or indoors for the winter. I overwinter all of my hardy winter succulents in unglazed terracotta pots under a deck or under an outdoor bench.

Rudbeckia flowers are great perennials that last from summer to fall.

Tree and Shrub Container Garden Maintenance

Trees and shrubs in containers are more vulnerable to frost damage than those in the ground because the containers have less soil mass, and the roots are less insulated. For smaller pots or more tender perennials, trees, and shrubs, move the containers to a warmer, more protected spot in the garden under a deck or covered area that keeps snow and frost off of the pot and plants.

Large planters or trees that cannot be moved can be insulated using burlap or chicken wire and straw. The book Container Garden Complete by Jessica Walliser has a great section in chapter 5 on the details of how to overwinter both tender and hardy plants which I refer to often.

You may need to move your potted trees and shrubs into a more protected part of the garden.

Fall Container Soil Mix Recipe

At the end of the season, it’s a good time to freshen up your soil. If there were no signs of disease or pests on the plants or in the soil, the soil can be reused by mixing it in equal amounts with compost and soil mix.

If you prefer to make your own container garden soil, you can find my DIY container soil recipe here.

Fall Planter Ideas

There are so many fun ways you can plant containers for each season. But, there’s something about fall that seems extra fun! Here are some of my favourite fall planter ideas that will look lovely on any porch.

Colourful Fall Foliage Planter

This pretty fall planter idea showcases all those lovely colours of the season. For many of my fall planters, I go shopping for some fresh annual plant material such as mums and pansies that are more hardy for the fall.

I leave behind (or add new) perennials with vibrant foliage colour like Heuchera, Euonymous, Sedum and Gaultheria. Don’t forget to refresh the soil with 1 part compost and 1 part soil mix.

Warm oranges and reds are great fall foliage colours.

Planted Pumpkin

It doesn’t get more fall than this! This container garden idea uses a pumpkin as the planter and adds season-appropriate mums to the mix.

Mix 1 part of your existing soil with one part fresh soil and add in fall-themed plants for the holidays. At the end of the holiday season, when the pumpkin starts to decompose, remove any perennials. Then, simply discard the whole planter—soil, pumpkin, and spent plants—into the compost bin.

Spring Bulbs in Pots

Believe it or not, but getting your spring containers ready starts in the fall. Especially if you have a bulb plant that needs to have a winter’s chill.

Plan for a gorgeous spring display by loading layers of spring bulbs into a container filled with fresh soil. Layer and plant bulbs so that you get a continuous display of gorgeous flowers throughout the spring (see how to do that in this post).

Make a soil mix that is light and airy to keep the bulbs insulated through the colder months.

Hardy bulbs that need a winter’s chill can be planted in a pot. Then, the pot can be moved to an unheated garage, under a deck, or wrapped with insulation to keep the container and bulbs chilled but not freezing. In the spring when the soil warms up, move the container into place. Then enjoy watching how fast you get to see the show.

In areas where winters are mild, the container can be left in place. I like to use a winter arrangement decorating the soil above the bulbs.

You’ll be happy you put in the work when the bulbs emerge in the spring.

Outdoor Holiday Arrangement

Similarly, if you want to have holiday container gardens, fall is the perfect time to start planning for them.

These displays need no special soil as the plants used are cut branches and leaves used. This outdoor botanical arrangement that will be discarded in the spring. No additional soil or fertilizer is needed as the old potting soil can be used to hold the arrangement in place.

Simply add in cut evergreen branches along with decorative cones and seed heads to make a festive display to last until spring.

FAQ About Fall Planters

What to put in a planter for fall?

There are many annuals that perform well in the fall and even into the winter in mild areas. These include calendula, pansies, mums, celosia, coleus, nasturtium, ornamental kale, snapdragons, sunflowers, and sweet William.

Some fall perennials include rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan), echinacea (coneflower), stonecrop, Russian sage, rose mallow, Japanese anemone, and aster.

How do you transition to fall planters?

Start off by seeing what you can salvage from your existing containers. Trim back any dead, overgrown, or already flowered/gone to seed plant material. Remove any plants that have finished flowering entirely.

Next, add some fresh plant materials. Head to the garden centre and look for fall annuals and perennials—they should be on display and advertised this time of year. Use them to fill in the gaps, and eventually, they will take over as the focal point for the container as the summer flowers begin to die.

Do I have to change the soil in my planters every year?

Most plants need to be repotted every 12 months, so it’s a good idea to refresh your container’s soil. I toss anything covered in roots into the compost. If there is still loose soil, I mix in compost and new soil the following spring to freshen up the soil for the next round of plants.

Coral Bells ‘Peachberry Ice’ and Rudbeckia ‘August Forest’

What do your fall containers look like this year? Let us know in the comments below!

More Fall Garden Tips
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Stephanie Rose

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August 19, 2024
An Easy Care Guide for Luscious Hanging Basket Flowers – Garden Therapy
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Hanging baskets are ever-growing in popularity. However, unless you care for those a little differently from in-ground plants, they can get ratty-looking instead of full, gorgeous hanging basket flowers. Here are the tips you need for beautiful eye-level plants and bright flowers all summer long.

Petunia hanging basket flowers.

Have you walked (or driven) by gorgeous hanging baskets and been awed by their beauty? Then, perhaps, you got the idea to try growing similar baskets yourself, only to fail miserably?

Let me just tell you right now that you are not the only one! Many have tried and many have failed.

A properly-planted, well-cared-for hanging basket can brighten up your front entrance or back patio immensely. Although hanging baskets can be a bit tricky, this guide for choosing the right plants, watering correctly, and caring for hanging containers makes it easy to plant and maintain a beautiful blooming basket all summer long.

Now, you, too, can grow lush, drool-worthy hanging basket plants that will make you the envy of the neighbourhood.

In this post, we’ll cover…

Just one luscious plant and colour is all you need for a gorgeous display.

The Benefits of Growing Outdoor Hanging Plants

I mentioned the biggest deterrent to growing flowers for hanging baskets: they can dry out too quickly and die.

Now, let’s cover why you want to put in a wee bit of effort to grow hanging basket plants. There are actually a few advantages of hanging basket flowers over gardening in the ground:
- Growing a basket of flowers gives you that pop of colour you crave without the work of digging in the ground.
- Do you have poor soil? That’s not even an issue when growing hanging basket plants.
- Fitting several plants into one single planter leaves little space for annoying weeds, thus nearly eliminating weeding chores.
- Since the baskets hang up off the ground, they are safe from flower-eating animals and many pests.
Bidens ‘Bidy Boom Wildfire’

How to Properly Care for Hanging Basket Flowers All Summer

The key to success with hanging baskets comes down to one simple thing to remember: hanging baskets need to be treated differently than in-ground plants. Nail these six elements to properly care for your hanging baskets, and you’ll have the beautiful hanging basket plants you seek.

Calibrachoa (Million Bells)

Choose the Right Hanging Baskets

Since watering problems are the most common way that people kill hanging plants, start with your hanging basket planter. You want to make sure that it:
- Has good drainage holes so water doesn’t stay trapped and drown the roots of your planter flowers.
- It is large enough to accommodate the plants you want to include.
Remember to get a hanging basket that’s as deep as you can find to hold a good amount of soil and water for your plants.

Take a look at this post if you want to attempt designing your own hanging baskets!

Here’s a new hanging basket that will fill in quickly.

Choose the Right Hanging Basket Plants

When putting together a hanging basket, think about where you plan to hang it. Is it a place with a lot of hot sunshine? If so, make sure you’re choosing plants that love the heat. Is it a shadier area? If so, choose plants that will thrive in the shade.

No matter what the light and temperature conditions are for the spot where you want your basket to hang, be sure to pick plants that are appropriate for those conditions.

Also, think about what kind of plants will look most aesthetically pleasing in a hanging planter. Plants that spill over the edge and trail down look lovely.

A good rule of thumb: if you want various plants in one basket (although just sticking to one kind of plant in a basket can be gorgeous!), choose thrillers, spillers, and fillers as outlined in this post.

I love hanging baskets with all kinds of textures.

Properly Watering Flowers for Hanging Baskets

Water drains out of hanging baskets very quickly. Additionally, having many plants in one fairly small container means that many roots packed together under the soil compete for water.

These combined issues mean that it is easy for hanging basket flowers to dry out much faster than if those same plants were growing elsewhere. Here are some techniques to keep your hanging flowers moist, happy, and blooming:
- Water regularly!
- Use a plastic liner inside the hanging basket to keep moisture in.
- Try using a self-watering system like a bottle or bulb. These tools add water to the soil as it dries out. Another option is to invest in self-watering planters.
- If plants are still dropping, start giving your hanging baskets a soak once a week. Simply take the basket down from its hanger and soak it in a tub of water for a couple of hours, then hang it back up.
During hot weather, water your hanging baskets daily.

Maintain Nutritious Soil for Outdoor Hanging Plants

Because hanging baskets are, well, hanging, the soil is not exposed to nearly the same amount of microbes, bacteria, and insects that normally work to improve the soil in the garden. In addition, the more frequent watering needs flush out the essential nutrients that your plants need.

To make up for this, fertilize hanging baskets regularly or add some slow-release feeding spikes to do the job for you. Psssst, scroll to the bottom of this post for my hanging basket fertilizer recipe.

Apply fertilizer every other week to your hanging basket flowers.

Deadhead and Prune Hanging Basket Flowers

Once a week, inspect your hanging basket and remove any dead or fading flowers and brown leaves. Cut back any part of the plant that looks dead, brown, or damaged. This will encourage new growth, more blooms, and make your hanging baskets look lush and full.

Remove any old flowers to encourage the plant to produce more blooms.

Common Hanging Basket Problems

This section is full of proper care tips that will help you keep your hanging basket not just alive but absolutely lush throughout the season.

Why do my hanging baskets die?

Hanging baskets are typically filled with annuals, which are plants that last for a season and then need to be replaced. Even perennial plants that grow back year after year will need to be replaced or significantly pruned in order to continue growing in a hanging basket after one season.

A hanging basket is a temporary planter that’s used for decoration but certainly not something that’s meant to be produced for years without maintenance.

Understanding the basics of the growing conditions can help reduce the chances that the hanging basket will die.

How often should I water a hanging basket?

Hanging baskets need to be watered regularly throughout the growing season. In most cases, many plants are competing for root space in the soil, so there is less space for the soil to hold water.

That, in combination with the drainage that happens from a basket hanging in the air, means that your hanging basket should be watered much more often than in-ground gardens.

If your hanging basket is in a sunny location, then you will need to water it at least once a day and sometimes twice in the heat of summer.  If the hanging basket is in a shadier location, however, you might be able to go for a few days between watering.

How to check if your hanging basket needs to be watered?

Check to see if the soil is dry by sticking your finger into the top of the soil. If it feels warm and dry, then it needs to be watered; if the soil feels cool, then it can wait another day.

Ideally, watering should be done slowly, allowing the soil to absorb the water. Pour the water on the surface of the basket so that you can see it sparkling but not pooling on the soil. When the water starts to pour out the bottom of the basket, the soil has been saturated.

If the soil has dried out, it will need to be rehydrated by soaking it in water for a few hours.

If you happen to be going away on vacation or won’t be able to water your hanging baskets for a few days, set up a kiddie pool or big tub with a couple of inches of water and set your hanging baskets in it when you go away. This will allow your hanging baskets to stay hydrated while you take a break from daily watering.

Should you line a hanging basket with plastic?

With proper drainage in your baskets, overwatering and root rot are unlikely. However, lining the basket with something to hold in water could be problematic.

Some hanging baskets have plastic liners to hold in moisture, but most annual plants require free-draining soil in order to keep their roots healthy. You can also find self-watering hanging baskets that hold a small reservoir of water below the basket for roots to access when they need it.

You can also use clear plastic trays that hang on a hanging basket to help collect the water and hold it below.

All of these tools may allow you to go a few days extra without watering, but they will require additional management to ensure that the roots don’t sit in standing water, which can cause them to rot.

What is the best fertilizer for hanging baskets?

My favourite fertilizer mix for hanging baskets is a homemade mix from my book, Garden Alchemy!

This soil mix is excellent at holding moisture and is highly nutritious for your hanging basket flowers. Use this every two weeks, and you should see your flowers thrive!

Get the recipe for my fertilizer mix in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How do you revive a hanging flower basket?

Hanging baskets that you’ve hung up at the beginning of the season can look a little overgrown, brown, and straggly. This is a fairly easy fix.

Follow basic pruning rules to clean up the basket. Use scissors to remove any dead, diseased, damaged, or dying plant material. Even if this means cutting off half of the planter, you’re removing plant material that’s taking away energy from reproducing healthy plant material, and it will perk back up in no time.

Go back to my vacation rehydration tips and fill a kiddie pool or a tub with water and submerge the basket for an hour or two to give the plants a deep drink.

Top up the basket with a few handfuls of good quality compost, and add a bit more hanging basket fertilizer mix (recipe at the end of this post).

Lobelia is a popular filler plant for hanging baskets.

More Tips for Hanging Basket Flowers

The Best Fertilizer for Hanging Basket Flowers

If you have hanging basket flowers that are looking a little sickly, whip up a batch of my DIY hanging basket fertilizer and perk them up.
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Stephanie Rose

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June 26, 2024