Gardeners with planting space limited to patios, decks, or balconies can still create miniature habitats for pollinators and birds by incorporating native plants. Join Extension Master Gardener Elaine Mills to learn which plant species are suitable for use in containers while providing the best wildlife support. She offers tips on containers, soil, and plant maintenance and illustrates a wide variety of attractive plant combinations, using ferns, grasses, sedges, perennials, and even small shrubs.
Zoom session – June 20, 2025
Video of Presentation
Photo © Elaine Mills
Chapter Breaks
- 0:00:00 Introduction & Overview
- 0:03:56 Benefits of Container Gardening
- 0:04:57 Tips on Containers
- 0:11:54 Tips on Soil for Containers
- 0:15:09 Pot Maintenance & Care Tips
- 0:18:08 Special Considerations for Balconies
- 0:19:10 General Guidance on Plant Selection
- 0:22:49 Ferns, Grasses, Sedges & Perennials
- 0:28:31 Keystone Perennials for Containers
- 0:31:42 Bog Containers
- 0:32:57 Vines & Shrubs
- 0:37:00 Stand-Alone Pots
- 0:40:35 Questions
- 0:45:32 Single-Season Plant Combinations
- 0:55:05 Multi-season Plant Combinations
- 1:15:32 Resources
- 1:16:35 Questions
Additional Resources
Container Gardening with Native Plants – Handout
Addendum – Answers to Chat Questions
Native Plant Selection
Ferns
- Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
- Marginal Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis)
- Royal Fern (Osmunda spectabilis)
- Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)
- Video: Common Native Ferns of the Mid-Atlantic
Grasses
- Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
- Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
- Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
- Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)
- Bottlebrush Grass (Elymus hystrix)
Sedges
- Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica)
- Appalachian Sedge (Carex appalachica)
- Plantain-leaved Sedge (Carex plantaginea)
- Gray’s Sedge (Carex grayi)
- Video: Native Grasses, Sedges & Rushes for the Home Garden
Colorful Perennials
- Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana)
- Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)
- Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
- Beebalm (Monarda didyma)
- Turk’s-cap Lily (Lilium superbum)
- Oxeye (Helianthus helianthoides)
- Video: Native Blooms for the Summer Garden
- Video: Native Flowers, Fruit & Foliage for Fall
Keystone Perennials for Lepidoptera & Pollen Specialist Bees
- Blue-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
- Gray Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
- Rough-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
- Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
- Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)
- Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
- Maryland Golden Aster (Chrysopsis mariana)
- Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
- Autumn Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)
- Container Friendly Keystone Plants, Homegrown National Park
Bog Plants
- Soft Rush (Juncus effusus)
- Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
- Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica)
- Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
- Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris)
- Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia spp.)
- Fragrant Water-lily (Nymphaea odorata)
- Yellow Pond-lily (Nuphar lutea ssp. advena)
- Blog Post: Create a Mini Bog Garden, Mt. Cuba Center
Vines
- American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens)
- Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
- Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)
- Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
- Cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata)
- Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans)
- Virgin’s-bower (Clematis virginiana)
- Video: Native Vines for the Home Garden
Small Shrubs
- Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)
- Common Yucca (Yucca filamentosa)
- New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
- Dwarf Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii)
- Inkberry (Ilex glabra ‘Gem Box’)
- Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria ‘Nana’)
- Winterberry (Ilex verticillata ‘Berry Poppins’ & ‘Mr. Poppins’)
- Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea ‘Arctic Fire’)
- Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa ‘Low Scape Mound’)
- Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica ‘Little Henry’)
- Video: Native Trees & Shrubs for Pollinators
- Video: Native Alternatives to Overused Foundation Plants
Stand-Alone Pots
Controlling Spreaders
- Mint Family members, including Pycnanthemum, Monarda, Physostegia spp.
- Coneflowers (Rudbeckia spp.)
- Blue Mist Flower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
Corralling a Prickly Plant
Controlling Soil pH
- Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
- Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
- Pinxterbloom Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides)
Specimen/Accent Plants
- Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans)
- Eastern Blue-star (Amsonia tabernaemontana)
- Culver’s-root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
- Common Moonseed (Menispermum canadense)
- Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia spp.)
- Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia ‘Running Tapestry’)
- American Beauty-berry (Callicarpa americana)
- Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)
- Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)
Container Garden for Hummingbirds
Seasonal Plant Combinations
Single-Season Pots (Plant NoVA Natives)
- Perennial combination for sun in spring:
- Perennial combination for part-shade to shade in spring:
- Perennial combination for sun in summer:
- Perennial combination for part-shade to shade in summer:
- Perennial combination for sun in fall:
- Perennial combination for part-shade to shade in fall:
Multi-season Pots (Glencarlyn Garden, MGNV Demonstration Garden)
- Three perennial combinations for sun:
- Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
- Butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’)
- Lanceleaf Loosestrife (Lysimachia lanceolata ‘Burgundy Mist’)
- Clustered Mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
- Two perennial combinations for part-shade to shade:
Multi-season Pots (Small Space Garden, MGNV Demonstration Garden)
- Perennial combination for sun:
- Perennial combination for part-shade:
- Perennial combination for shade:
Multi-season Pots (Mt. Cuba Center)
- Perennial combination for sun:
- Shrub/perennial combinations for shade:
Multi-season Pots (Northern Virginia Bird Alliance)
- Shrub/perennial combination for sun:
- Small tree/perennial combination for part-sun to part-shade:
- Shrub/perennial combination for part-shade to shade:
- Two perennial combinations for sun:
- Wetland planter for sun:
Multi-season Pots (Missouri Botanical Garden)
Resources
- Captivating Containers with Native Plants, Northern Virginia Bird Alliance
- Container Gardening for Earth Renewal, Plant NoVA Natives
- Container Friendly Keystone Plants, Homegrown National Park
- Container Gardening with Native Plants, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Container Gardening with Native Plants, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Garden Myth Busters! Improving Container Drainage with Gravel, MGNV
- High-Rise Gardening: Nine Native Perennials to Brighten Your Balcony, MGNV
- How to Clean and Disinfect Plant Containers, Iowa State University Extension
- Kusamono, Young Choe
- Native Plant Container Gardening, Grow Native!
- Native Plant Gardening for Patios and Balconies, National Wildlife Federation
- Pollen Specialist Bees of the Eastern United States, Jarrod Fowler & Sam Droege
- Pollinators of Native Plants, Heather Holm