Elevate Your Patio With These Gorgeous Plants

No matter how tiny or big your patio is, flowers in containers can add color, fragrance, and beauty to your outdoor space in a hurry. You can change them up from year to year and season to season to keep your look fresh. And if something starts to fade, it's easy to swap it out for new plants. But before falling in love with plants online or at the nursery, do some homework. How much sun does your patio get? Is it all-sun, all the time? Or is it shady for most of the day? You need to select plants that can take the conditions. If a plant label or description says full sun, that's about 6 or more hours per day. Part sun or part shade is about half that. Consider what time of day your patio gets sun, too. Is it gentle, morning sun or hot-as-blazes afternoon sun? Plants that prefer part shade aren't going to be happy sizzling in hot afternoon sun.

For best season-long color, display both annuals and perennials (which come back for many years) on your patio. Just read the labels to be sure perennials are suited to your winter climate (check your USDA Hardiness zone). Now, read on for our favorite patio plants to provide to any container. (And check out these best balcony plants too!)

Fan flowers, which look like tiny fans, are pretty, hardy annuals that bloom all summer long. They come in shades of purple, blue, white and pink and look great spilling out of containers. Fan flowers need full sun.

SHOP FAN FLOWERS

Why not add perennial edibles to your patio garden? New ever-bearing strawberry varieties sport little berries that are almost too pretty to eat! Keeping them in tall pots also prevents your friends, the chipmunks and other rodents, from gnawing on them. Strawberries need full sun.

SHOP STRAWBERRIES

Replace faded annuals with these harbingers of fall in late summer. Mums come in a rainbow of shades, which pair well with autumn’s gourds and pumpkins for a fun seasonal display. They need full sun.

SHOP CHRYSANTHEMUMS

If you want hummingbirds, plant these amazing annuals! Bright orange-y tubular flowers keep pollinators coming back all season long. These annuals need plenty of space to grow, so give them their own container. Cuphea needs full sun.

SHOP CUPHEA

Begonias come in a ton of deep, saturated shades including white, pink, orange, rose, or red. They bloom continuously without deadheading (pinching off spent flowers) until a hard frost. They’re almost impossible to kill! Some types are grown for their spectacular foliage. Most need part to full sun.

SHOP BEGONIAS

Roses are hardier than you think! Shrub or landscape types work well in pots, but make sure the pots can withstand freezing temperatures over the winter. For example, ceramic and terra cotta aren’t good choices; plastic and wood are better options. Roses need full sun.

SHOP ROSES

These climbing plants have trumpet-shaped pink, red or white flowers on vines that climb gracefully up any trellis you provide. You can bring it in over winter in cold climates, but they’re fussy and will drop leaves. They need mostly sun, but give them some shade during the hottest part of the day (especially in Southern climates).

SHOP MANDEVILLA

There’s nothing like popping a freshly picked cherry tomato off the vine and into your mouth! Look for newer varieties which remain compact and pretty in containers, rather than heirloom types, which are sprawling vines. Cherry tomatoes need full sun.

SHOP CHERRY TOMATOES

If you're looking for annuals that thrive on neglect, choose marigolds! They don't mind heat or drought and will last until the first hard freeze. Their bright colors really pop in planters! Pinch off the spent flowers to keep them blooming.

SHOP MARIGOLDS

Make your patio pots do double-duty by adding beauty and giving you fresh herbs for dinner! For full sun, you can’t beat basil; look for different types including Italian, Genovese, purple and Thai. Rosemary is another sun lover. If you have mostly shade, consider cilantro, parsley and thyme, which like sun but do okay in shade.

SHOP HERBS

These cheery, low-maintenance annuals resemble petunias, but they’re actually a different plant. They come in a stunning array of colors with single and double flowers, including pinwheel varieties. They'll even handle a light cold snap. They need part to full sun.

SHOP CALIBRACHOA

Lantana is as tough-as-nails. This annual blooms all summer with zero help from you! It is drought tolerant and loves the sun, so it won't fade when summer is sizzling. Pollinators love it! Lantana needs full sun.

SHOP LANTANA

These hardy plants with silvery foliage and deep purple-blue flowers create a sense of romantic charm. And they smell amazing! Plant these perennials in pretty pots or baskets and place near seating areas so you can run your hands over the flowers to release their fragrance. Lavender needs full sun.

SHOP LAVENDER

This sturdy annual looks amazing cascading out of planters or window boxes. Place pots near seating areas so you can enjoy its honey-sweet scent. It prefers full sun but will take a little shade.

SHOP SWEET ALYSSUM

This fast-growing annual vine comes in creamy white and cheery oranges and yellows. Give Black-eyed Susan vine its own pot and trellis so it can climb to its heart’s content, and create a colorful privacy screen too. It needs part to full sun.

SHOP BLACK-EYED SUSAN VINE