Create the perfect combination planter using the ‘Thriller, Filler, Spiller’ technique!
Use the ‘Thriller, Filler, Spiller’ planting concept from Proven Winner plants for upscale combination planters!
Thriller
Thrillers are taller plants that add vertical drama to a container planting. They can be flowering plants, foliage plants or even ornamental grasses. For containers that will be viewed from all angles, place the thriller in the middle. For containers that will only be viewed from the front, place the thriller in the back. In the graphic above, Angelonia was chosen as the thriller.
Thrillers for Sun
- Purple Fountain Grass is a good option; it’s and annual grass with purple leaf blades and it blooms in the late summer or early fall. This one needs some room; can grow quite a bit in one season. We consider it an annual but if we have a mild summer, it could overwinter.
- Salvia! There are a lot to choose from; the Skyscraper series, the Proven Winner Rockin’ salvia series, and other annuals salvias such as Red Flamingo, Purple in Bloom and Black & Blue.
- Cannas are an outstanding option, particularly for a tropical look. They have big leaves and colorful summer bloom stalks in reds, oranges, pinks, and yellows. The leaves can also be variegated, green or bronze in color.
- Angelonia, also known as the summer snapdragon, is another good option. Pay special attention to the series you are getting; Serena is smaller, while Archangel and the Proven Winner Angelface grow much taller.
- Tall coleus varieties; so many foliage colors and leaf shapes to choose from! Wasabi is an outstanding lime green/ chartreuse option while Proven Winner Rediculous is an eye-catching red color. There are many others to choose from too; be sure to read the tags for plant size.
- Gomphrena Truffula Pink has everything you need in a thriller! This Proven Winner globe amaranth is heat and drought tolerant, attracts pollinators and has a fine plant texture, allowing for your fillers and spillers to be more dense without overwhelming the arrangement.
- Spikes and cordylines; you can’t go wrong with these. We love that they work in sun and part sun. We love that they add height without being overbearing. We love that they give that English garden feel instantly!
- Larger thrillers include tropicals such as Majesty palms, and hibiscus trees or shrubs such as Sky Pencil or Emerald Colonnade hollies.
Filler
Next, it’s time to add your filler plants. Fillers are rounded or mounded plants that are placed around or in front of the thrillers. Place the fillers mid-way between the planter edges and the thriller to leave room for the spiller. In this image above, the filler is a Proven Winner Supertunia, with large round blooms contrasting to the spires of the Angelonia blooms.
Fillers for Sun
Supertunias are a series of Proven Winner petunias that are self-cleaning (no deadheading needed!), vigorous growing and there are tons of color options!
Pentas are a must have for butterflies and hummingbirds; they flock to these bright annuals that love heat and sunshine.
SuperCal; these may not be a Proven Winner but they are winning plants to us! They have a more mounded plant shape and if they get a bit leggy, give them a hair cut and they will come back strong. Totally different color options than available in Supertunia line.
Geraniums are a traditional favorite for a reason! The foliage is a nice green, the blooms are huge and striking, making them perfect for a simple and effective container garden.
Smaller growing sun coleus; we could go on and on about sun coleus because there are so, so many options. We can’t even dream of naming them all. If you haven’t visited our sun coleus tables, it’s a must!
Diamond Frost Euphorbia is another heat and drought tolerant plant, one that offers a unique airy texture with white little bloom clouds. Perfect in just about any sun planter combo.
Superbena is a tougher, more long lasting verbena than the regular ones and yes, you guessed it; it’s a Proven Winner series. Love the color options like Peachy Keen and Cashmere Pink… oh, and Stormburst! This is a plant that could be your filler or your spiller or maybe both. Superbenas are more heat tolerant, disease-resistant AND continuously bloom (just be sure to feed them).
Spiller
Add the spillers next! Plant spillers around the edges of the container; all the way around if it will be viewed from all angles or around the front if it will only be viewed from the front.
Spillers for Sun
Purslane is maybe the most heat and drought tolerant annual we have plus, the blooms are beyond showy!
Cora Cascade Vinca is a trailing vinca, a plant we talk about often and yet, we still have customers new to it. This post is about pots but many of these plants work wonderfully in landscape beds as well and this is a prime example. Think about how many vinca plants it takes to fill an area when planting from 6 pack flats and then consider that one Cora Cascade vinca will cover an 18 inch (or more) area fast. Less labor, more enjoying!
SuperBells and Million Bells look like small petunias, with smaller bell shaped blooms. SuperBells are like Million Bells on steroids; more prolific bloomers than the regular and more vigorous. Just like Million Bells, we suggest these plants for planters. They don’t fare as well in landscape beds.
Scavola, also called fan flower, is another tough trailing plant. The blooms have a unique fan shape, and as they grow, you will see whole branches of layered blooms. It’s a good one to mix in because the flower shape offers a good contrast to all the other flower shapes.
Creeping Jenny the accent of all accents! Choose from green or gold depending on the rest of your chosen plants. And actually there are totally different kinds of lysmachia to choose from as well, some of which bloom! We love the dense ropes of rounded leaves that Creeping Jenny, also known as Moneywort, offer.
Sweet Potato Vine; from the traditional lime green Margarite to the new options from Proven Winner, and to black leaved varieties to tricolor ones, this is another plant that offers a myriad of options that will accent your planter perfectly.
Silver Falls Dicondra; this is that plant that looks like Spanish moss, sweeping down out of our hanging gardens every year. Loves the heat and sun but also does just fine in part sun. Has truly silver foliage. If you haven’t grown it, it’s a must!
Asparagus ferns are a filler and spiller all at once. we love the fluffy, green, cloud-like branches that both reach upwards and trail down as it grows. The leaves are small and needle like, so pairing with a larger leaf plant really makes a statement.
Done!
Other key tips include choosing a premium potting mix, such as our Good Earth brand potting soil, use Good Earth brand Jump Start at planting to get the roots growing, check soil moisture often and fertilize with BR-61 for amazing blooms! The annuals mentioned and the images are from Proven Winners; a great line of successful annuals that we carry here at The Good Earth. Read our container gardening blog post for more planting tips!
