Cottage-Style Porch Rail Planters: How to Create a Full Look Without Overthinking It
Are you wanting to add a little color to the front of your house this summer? Maybe your porch rails are looking a little bare and you want to create that overflowing cottage garden look without spending a fortune or needing a gardening degree.
Well, this year I finally put together some cottage-style porch rail planters that are actually still alive four weeks later… which honestly feels like a personal accomplishment.
In the past, I’ve had porch rail planters before, but I think I probably just stuck all the same flower in there. Winter? A whole bunch of pansies. Summer? Probably a whole bunch of petunias. Definitely not a mixture. Nothing creative about it.
Overall… pretty bland.
And I also have an unhealthy attachment to those coconut liner baskets. I absolutely love the look of them. So naturally, that’s always what I gravitate toward. The problem is by mid-summer, my plants are dry, crispy, crusty little skeletons hanging off the porch.
So this year, I decided to do things a little differently.
And somehow — against all odds — I have now kept these planters alive for four weeks and counting. Not only alive, but honestly looking better than ever.
So here’s what I did (and this same concept can easily be applied to containers or window box planters)…
The “Thriller, Filler, Spiller” Method
Apparently there is an actual formula to creating planters, and the garden people call it “thriller, filler, spiller.”
I did not invent this. Fully borrowing this from people who know what they’re doing.
But honestly, it makes so much sense.
When you’re creating porch rail planters, window boxes, or really any kind of container planter, you want three different types of plants.
Thriller
Your thriller is the taller, showier plant. The one showing off in the back.
Some people use ornamental grasses or taller seasonal plants. For me, I chose geraniums because I love flowers, I love blooms, and I’m trying to create more of a cottage garden feel around our house.
That’s basically the direction I’m going with our entire yard at this point, so naturally the porch planters needed to match.
For my 30-inch porch rail planters, I used two pink geraniums as my thrillers.
Other great thriller options could be:
- Lantana
- Verbena
- Salvia
- Angelonia
- Ornamental grass
- Coleus if you want more foliage than flowers
Filler
Next, you want your filler plants. These are what make the planter feel full and lush.
I used purple petunias because these planters get a decent amount of afternoon sun, and I have learned the hard way that shade plants absolutely do not thrive in this location.
The petunias have done great so far, and I love the contrast between the pink geraniums and the purple flowers.
Other filler options could be:
- Calibrachoa (Million Bells)
- Impatiens for shadier spots
- Begonias
- Dusty Miller
- Dianthus
- Alyssum
Basically, you want something that helps fill in gaps and makes the planter look lush and overflowing.
Spiller
And finally, you need your spiller — something trailing that hangs over the edge and softens the whole planter.
This year I used sweet potato vine, and I am obsessed with it.
I have never planted it before, but I love the color, the size of the leaves, all of it. Mine hasn’t fully started trailing over the sides yet, but it’s growing quickly and I can already tell it’s going to spill over beautifully once it fills out a little more.
It gives that overflowing cottage garden look I was going for.
Other spiller options could be:
- Creeping Jenny
- Trailing verbena
- Bacopa
- Ivy
- Wave petunias
- Lobelia
What I Planted in My 30-Inch Porch Rail Planters
For each 30-inch planter, I used:
- 2 thrillers
- 2 fillers
- 3 spillers
So seven plants total.
I wanted them to feel full right away without being so overcrowded that they couldn’t grow throughout the summer. So far, I think the balance has worked really well.
My Biggest Tip for Coconut Liner Planters
Now let’s talk about the coconut liner baskets because apparently I’ve finally learned my lesson.
If you use coconut liner baskets or porch rail planters with coconut liners, line the inside with plastic or landscape fabric before adding your soil.
Game changer.
Those baskets dry out ridiculously fast. Like “water it in the morning and it’s already crunchy by dinner” fast.
This year I lined mine first, and it has made a huge difference in helping the soil retain moisture longer.
If you use plastic, just poke a few holes in it so water can still drain. If you use landscape fabric, the water will naturally drain through slower.
Either way, it helps tremendously.
My baskets are staying moist so much longer this year, and honestly, I think that alone is probably why my flowers are still alive.
So anyway — those are just a few simple tips if you’re wanting to create your own cottage-style porch rail planters this summer.
And again, if I can keep these alive for four weeks, there is hope for all of us.
Happy planting!
