Creative gardening is about using plants to create a colourful and rewarding display. The use of colours, shape and form all combine to create a desired effect, The colour combinations are a matter of taste and using the colour co-ordinates page you will find it easy to select a contrasting or harmonising theme for your basket and container displays.

Having selected the Colours the next stage is to work out how many plants and of which habit. The information on this page explains the simple classification of plant habits used by KinderGarden and should help you to choose the correct number of each type for your own situation. It may also be useful to look at the Starter Plant and Seedling Range pages as these also have the preferred location of each variety; sun or shade etc… You will also find that when you go to buy your plants all this information is clearly displayed on each variety picture card.

The following is a general guide to how many plants are required when planting up mixed baskets and containers. Single variety plantings may require more or less varieties subject to the vigour and habit of the variety selected.

Habit Classification

Plant habits vary considerably form species to species and understanding their basic form is the key to selecting the right plant, for a particular position in the garden, or for that favourite pot. To help we have categorised all their varieties into three general habit types these are colour coded and appear at the top of each picture card.

Definition: these varieties display a growth form that is basically upright with a height greater or equal to its width at maturity.

Use: as bedding and as central plantings in baskets or containers to provide height.

Examples: Zonal Geranium, Upright Fuchsia

Spreading Spreading Spreading

Definition: these items have a growth form that is basically prostrate or flat having a spread or width greater than their height at maturity.

Use: These are the most versatile of subjects. Use to great effect as mass bedding or in baskets and containers either on their own, when they will creep over the edge of the basket/containers, or in mixed plantings, where they ‘fill in’ the gaps between Bush and Trailing Varieties.

Examples: Diascia, Nemesia, Impatiens

Definition: plants having a habit that has little height preferring to creep over the edge of its container or basket and ‘trial’ over the side. Some of these cascade straight over the edge while others tumble more gracefully

Use: In baskets, window boxes and tall containers. These varieties are planted towards the outer rim where their natural habit can develop freely.

Example: Lobelia, Trailing Petunia, Surfinia, Ivy Geranium, Trailing Million Bells

Baskets

Size Bush Spreading Trailing

30 cm (12 inch) 2 plants 4 plants 4 plants

45 cm (18 inch) 3 plants 6 plants 6 plants

Containers

Size Bush Spreading Trailing

40 cm (16 inch) 1 plant 5 plants 5 plants

45 cm (18 inch) 3 plants 6 plants 6 plants

60 cm (24 inch) 3 plants 8 plants 8 plants

SPREADING SPREADING SPREADING SPREADING SPREADING SPREADING