The same inherent virtues that make vines so useful for indoor decoration and in the landscape make them nearly necessary in container gardens. Their soft, fluid curves counteract straight lines,blend container with setting or plant with container, or unite all three into an artistic whole.
Vines have the lines to create unity – to gather several containers together, soften transitions between plants and containers, keep the eye from wandering away from the picture. Vines can be used to achieve balance – by providing accent or background, or needed lines. In the wide variety of vines and hanging plants there is everything the container gardener needs to create good designs – an incredible selection of sizes, patterns, colors, textures, and structural forms. And vines are adaptable – most can be trained or pruned to shape or size. They are also undoubtedly practical, providing tremendous display for small root space.
Selecting Vines for Containers
Like any indoor or outdoor plant decoration, vines are chosen to fulfill some specific function – to blend or unify, scent or provide background. Low danglers are used as edgings; tall climbers can be trained to frame a window. Consider the plant’s habit. Does it naturally climb or hang? Will it want to reach the roof in one season, or is it more restrained? Can it be pruned to size without removing flowering shoots? Will its roots adapt to confinement and still nourish the plant?
Consider the appearance of a vine in relation to its container like those patio container plants, the area it will decorate, the plants it may be combined with. For example, avoid reddish-purple flowers against red brick, pale pink against white; play rough textures against smooth, and the reverse; contrast different foliage shapes with each other.
And, of course, consider the plants’ cultural needs. Select varieties according to the amount of light, sunlight, moisture in the growing area.