By Mick Vann
Most of us struggle as designers… and when faced with a terra cotta pot or half a whiskey barrel by the front door to fill with plants, for me there’s quite a lot of guesswork involved.
Luckily over the past few years a design secret has been leaking out into popular garden magazines, giving us non-designers a useful handle: ‘thriller, filler, spiller.’ It rhymes, it’s easy to remember… and it works like this.
All you need is three different types of plants. Oh . . . and there’s a bit of show-business involved!
For the centerpiece of your pot, you choose a ‘thriller.’ This is the star that needs to catch everyone’s eye. It works well if it has some height to it – and maybe also sways attractively in the wind. Your star can be a flower, grass or an ornamental.
For the filler, think of it as a ‘supporting actor’ that complements rather than competes with the star. (Remember you’ve got to keep the star happy, and un-threatened!) It should be of medium height, and you can plant it all around your thriller. Begonias, vincas, zinnias and marigolds are all good candidates for this role.
Finally, the spiller, which could be thought of as ‘the extras,’ or even the movie set. It should grow low to the ground, and drape over the pot, softening the rim of the container, and helping to bind the design together. Good spillers include: moss rose, purslane, silver ponyfoot, cora cascade vinca,
Be sure that you take into account where they are all going to reside. Your trio of plants should all flourish in full sun, or all flourish in dappled shade etc.
A few weeks ago I asked some of the gardeners who work at It’s About Thyme to put together some plants in a container that followed this design idea, and was delighted when Jerry Hinton and David Sargert stepped up to the challenge.
Jerry created a very pretty arrangement using skyflower / durantia as the thriller, santolina as the filler and blackfoot daisy as the spiller.
David also created a lovely design, using Persian shield as the thriller, and a combo of silver ponyfoot and wandering Jew as the spiller and filler.
It can be fun activity to put the four elements of the pot and the three plants together at your local nursery. Good luck… and happy gardening everyone!
If you have a question for Chris, send it via email to iathyme@yahoo.com. Or mail a postcard to It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748
www.itsaboutthyme.com
