Container Gardens of the Southern Living® 2025 Idea House
Beautiful, edible, and pollinator-friendly: See how I used the Southern Living® Plant Collection to bring the modern homestead theme to life in every container.
Nestled on five acres in the Virginia countryside, the 2025 Southern Living® Idea House celebrates the beauty and practicality of a modern homestead.
Taking cues from the surrounding landscape and the vision laid out by the landscape architects of Waterstreet Studio, I created planters that are as functional as they are beautiful, filled with plants that nourish pollinators, produce food, and elevate outdoor living spaces. A total of 25 containers were placed throughout three main areas of the property, from the front entrance to the back terraces, each one designed to reflect the landscape and the modern homestead theme.
Southern Living® plants are the stars of these modern homestead container gardens.
Every design features standout selections from the Southern Living® Plant Collection, including evergreen structure, flowering shrubs, and fruitful edibles. In a soothing color palette of white, butter yellow, and shades of purple, these container gardens reflect the home’s relaxed elegance and natural surroundings.
The formula was simple: start with a show-stopper “thriller” plant, then layer in flowers, herbs, and foliage to visually connect each container to the landscape and to each other.
Planter Ideas for a Southern Porch Using Camellias
The Idea House welcomes visitors with a covered front porch and stunning pair of double doors, made even more inviting with four large planters. Handmade wooden cubes finished in natural bark flank the front doors, while a pair of large urns punctuates the steps.
October Magic® Ivory™ Camellias anchor the rustic wooden planters at the front entrance.
Front Door Planters
October Magic® Ivory™ Camellia - Evergreen foliage with fall blooms that support pollinators when other floral resources are limited
Climbing Asparagus Fern - Semi-evergreen with soft, feathery branches that spill over the edge
Endless™ Flirtation Browallia - Annual with delicate white flowers that brighten the design
Diamond Frost® Euphorbia - Annual white filler that visually connects the plants in this container
Diamond Snow® Euphorbia - Similar to Diamond Frost, but denser and more concentrated for added brightnessChoosing the Right Plants
Left to right: Climbing Asparagus Fern, Diamond Frost® Euphorbia, Endless™ Flirtation Browallia, and Diamond Snow® Euphorbia. (Endless™ Flirtation and Diamond Snow® images courtesy of ProvenWinners.com).
Front Step Planters
October Magic® Ivory™ Camellia - Repeats the centerpiece from the front door for continuity; evergreen foliage and fall blooms for pollinators
Pacifica White Vinca - Upright annual with bright white flowers
Stardiva® White Scaevola - Trailing annual with fan-shaped, white blooms
Greek Oregano - Edible, perennial herb with soft, mounding foliage Evergreens for Sun
October Magic® Ivory™ Camellias continue the design in terra cotta urns flanking the front steps
Design Takeaway
Looking for the best plants for Southern porch planters? These camellias offer lush green height and structure in summer, white blooms in fall, and evergreen interest through winter. They’re a hardworking anchor plant for year-round interest.
Container Gardening with Figs, Hydrangeas, and Culinary Herbs
The dining terrace overlooks the rear landscape, stretching from lawn, to naturalized meadow and pond beyond. A curated collection of planters links the landscape to this outdoor gathering space, softening hardscape edges and guiding guests between the house and yard.
The Dining Terrace
A collection of terra cotta planters, curated by the Charlotte Moss interior design team, links the dining terrace to the landscape beyond.
At each of the terrace’s outer corners, a trio of planters in staggered heights creates a layered effect and visual presence.
Designing in Groups of Three
This trio of planters in staggered heights features fig, hydrangea, herbs, and trailing annuals for layered interest and pollinator appeal. Snapped just before the next downpour; please ignore the planting chaos!
Tall Urn Planter
DownHome Harvest® ‘Little Miss Figgy’ Dwarf Fig - Compact deciduous tree with large, lobed foliage and succulent fruit
White Little Lucky™ Lantana - Upright annual with white blooms that attract pollinators
Purple Cuphea – Mounding annual with petite purple flowers that bloom continuously
Mid-Sized Fluted Planter
Mini Touch™ Holly - Evergreen sphere with petite, boxwood-like leaves
Stardiva™ White Scaevola - Trailing annual with fan-shaped, white blooms
English Thyme - Semi-evergreen, fragrant herb with a trailing, bushy growth habit
Shortest Planter with Handles
‘Snowcicle’ Oakleaf Hydrangea - Deciduous shrub with creamy-white blooms that will lure pollinators to the patio all summer. (Update: I noticed the ‘Snowcicle’ were getting too much sun here, so I later replaced them with White Wedding® Hydrangea, a more sun-tolerant variety.)
Surdiva® Sky Blue Scaevola - Trailing annual with periwinkle blue flowers
Green Sage - Semi-evergreen herb with fuzzy, aromatic foliage
Design Takeaway
Don’t limit yourself to a single centerpiece. If your container is large and the space allows, plant multiples (like I did here with four ‘Little Miss Figgy’ trees in one planter) to create a bigger impact and stronger structure.
Using Evergreens in Planters to Define Edges and Entrances
Four additional terra cotta urns help define the footprint of the dining terrace. Two tall planters sit near the back doors, while a matching pair of mid-size urns flanks the dual staircases leading to the yard. These containers help define the flow of the space and signal key transitions between the house, terrace, and landscape.
Tall Urns by TERRACE Entrances
Oakland® Holly - Upright evergreen with bright green foliage; an enduring performer that can later be transplanted to the garden
White Little Lucky™ Lantana - Upright annual with white and pale yellow blooms
Green Sage - Semi-evergreen herb with fuzzy, aromatic foliage
Surdiva® Sky Blue Scaevola - Trailing annual with fan-shaped, periwinkle blooms
English Thyme - Fragrant herb with a trailing, bushy form
Tall Oakland® Holly adds vertical interest and helps transition between the patio and landscape, whether you’re stepping outside or returning from the garden below.
Mid-size Urns by Stairs
Mini Touch™ Holly - Compact, spherical evergreen with dense, boxwood-like foliage
Stardiva™ White Scaevola - Trailing annual with fan-shaped white flowers
Silver Edge Thyme - Fragrant evergreen herb with silver-tipped leaves and a trailing, bushy growth habit
These lattice-patterned urns echo the mid-sized planters in the nearby trios, repeating the Mini Touch™ Holly, scaevola, and thyme for a cohesive look.
Design Takeaway
Evergreens are a great choice for structure and longevity in container gardens. They offer an instantly “finished” look and are surprisingly low maintenance. When planting, allow at least two inches between the root ball and the pot’s interior wall. Most will thrive in containers for a year or more before needing to be transplanted or replaced.
Pollinator-Friendly Grill Terrace with Edibles & Natives
The Grill Terrace sits just off the kitchen garden, where ten rolled-rim planters in assorted sizes bring edible and pollinator-friendly plants from the Southern Living® Plant Collection into this casual outdoor space.
These are some of the hardest-working and most charming planters on the property. Packed with fruit-bearing shrubs, herbs, and long-blooming pollinator favorites, they echo the productivity of the kitchen garden while softening the corners of the bluestone patio. As I finished planting, a hummingbird zipped by…a perfect reminder of the purpose behind every plant selection.
Productive and pollinator-friendly choices, left to right: Blackberry, Blueberry, Rosemary, Strawberry, Leucanthemum, Salvia, Gardenia, Gomphrena, Lantana, and Verbena.
Large Planters
DownHome Harvest® ‘Osage’ Thornless Blackberry - Upright perennial that yields delicious fruit and attracts pollinators; when trained on a trellis, it adds instant height to container gardens
REALFLOR® ‘Real Charmer’ Leucanthemum - Deer-resistant perennial with fringed yellow blooms that attract birds and butterflies
Chef’s Choice® Culinary Rosemary - Fragrant, evergreen herb with needle-like leaves and a meandering branch structure
Purple Salvia - Annual with bold purple flowers that anchor this arrangement and feed hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees
‘Rose’ Verbena - Native perennial grown nearby at Monticello’s Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants; vibrant blooms brighten the arrangement and attract butterflies
Mid-Sized Planters
DownHome Harvest® Bless Your Heart® Blueberry - Attractive deciduous shrub with plump summer blueberries
White Little Lucky™ Lantana - Upright annual with white flowers beloved by pollinators
Alpine Strawberries - Hardy perennial with white flowers followed by crimson red fruit; also grown at Monticello
‘Gnome Pink’ Gomphrena - Dwarf annual with globe-shaped blooms – a true pollinator magnet!
Smallest Planters
Diamond Spire® Gardenia – Glossy evergreen with fragrant, white blooms; a restful contrast among the abundance of edibles
Design Takeaway
Fruits and herbs can thrive in containers while adding charm, texture, and function to arrangements. I especially loved tucking in edible spillers like English Thyme and Greek Oregano throughout this project. The softness and scent gave these containers a special finishing touch. The next time I’m stuck looking for that perfect trailer, I’ll head to the herb section at my favorite garden center.
With Thanks
Designing the container gardens for the Southern Living® Idea House is an honor and a creative challenge I truly enjoy. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with the Southern Living® Plant Collection again this year, reaching beyond ornamentals to explore combinations that are pollinator-friendly, edible, and beautiful from every angle.
The real takeaway isn’t just the plant list. It’s the reminder that beauty, function, and a connection to nature can all grow in the same pot.
I hope you’ll have a chance to visit this property in Keswick, Virginia. Whether you explore it in person or take the virtual tour, feel free to share your impressions below. I’d love to hear what you think!
For more photos and videos of these planters, visit me on Instagram! The Idea House is featured in the September 2025 print issue of Southern Living Magazine and online. In-person tours begin August 14 — don’t miss it!
🏠 Learn more about the Idea House and plan your visit
🌿 Curious about last year’s designs? Take a look back
Warmly,
Steph
P.S. A special thank you to Drain Smart™ drainage discs and Potrisers® invisible pot feet for supplying the foundational tools that helped set these 25 containers up for success…before the first plant even went in. You’ve been a part of my best practices for many years and we appreciate your contribution!