Potted Plants Outdoors

May 14, 2025

The outdoor terraces and stone ledges around my Winter House are filled with potted plants.

This time of year, I always display a variety of warm weather specimens around my home - potted flowering plants, small evergreens, and even some ground covers look good planted together in urns. This week, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, potted several planters outside my carport.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: Before potting anything, Ryan places the plants in their designated spots and positions them in the order that looks best. He selects plants that not only fit the containers but also look good grouped together.

: It’s always fun to visit local nurseries and select plants for one’s own gardens and terrace planters. Neighborhood shops sell what grows best in the area and experts on staff are there to answer any questions. This is a weeping dawn redwood, Mesasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Miss Grace.’ It has green needles that turn bronze in autumn.

: Landscape fabric is made from a solid sheet with perforated holes to allow water to soak through. It is available at any garden shop.

: Ryan places a layer of weed cloth in every pot to protect the vessel itself. This will also make it easier to remove the plant next autumn, when it is put back in the greenhouse or planted outdoors.

: The fabric is cut larger than the pot and then positioned generously so it covers the entire inside of the container.

: Ryan does this for all the pots on the ledge.

: Then the container is filled two-thirds of the way up with a good quality potting soil. Using a proper soil mix will help to promote faster root growth and give quick anchorage to young roots. Here is the inside of the urn. One can always add more soil later if needed. I use Miracle-Gro potting mix.

: Fertilizer is also added to the soil. This is Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed, an easy to use plant food that nourishes above and below the soil.

: Ryan removes the plant from the urn and inspects the root ball.

: Remember, whenever transplanting always scarify the root ball, meaning tease or loosen the roots, so they are stimulated. This will help the plant roots grow and form a good foundation in the pot.

: He fills the pot with soil to just under the urn’s lip.

: And then cuts off the excess weed cloth. Any cloth that can be seen afterward can be tucked into the soil.

: Ryan top dresses the potted specimens with natural colored mulch.

: Miracle-Gro makes an organic variety that is available at garden stores.

: Here is the potted weeping dawn redwood. It will add so much interest on the wall. It is planted in an antique faux bois, or “false wood,” planter.

: Here, Ryan prepares to plant artemesia, also known as wormwood, absinthe, southernwood, and mugwort. Artemisia leaves are covered with whitish hairs that give it a silvery, grayish look.

: When planting different specimens in one pot, be sure to consider the growth habits of each plant to ensure there’s enough room to last all season.

: Here is small evergreen which will do nicely in this pot before it is transplanted somewhere outdoors next fall.

: This pot is planted with a young Abies koreana, a small to medium-sized evergreen coniferous tree. It is underplanted with Dichondra argentea, or silver ponysfoot, a trailing perennial known for its striking silvery foliage and drought tolerance.