As these photos show, a garden can call for nothing more than a pot and a lush plant.
To grow vegetables in containers, look for varieties with words like bush, baby, dwarf, tiny, midget, and patio in their names. They are bred to be compact.
Before heading to the nursery, study the area you've designated for your container garden—is it sunny? shady?—and then find plants that will flourish in those conditions.
Terra-cotta pots are ideal for container plants because their porous walls let air and water move easily through, so roots grow healthily.
An assortment of herbs can be planted in one pot, so long as their care requirements are compatible.
Potted plants flanking an entry door are warm and welcoming.
Place a large pot in the center of a display, accented with smaller pots for balance.
Make a "centerpiece" for your porch by grouping varieties of the same species planted in similar pots.
Matching pots planted with ornamental grass lend drama to a driveway or path.
Use potted plants to define an outdoor space: Here, they separate patio from lawn.
Ceramic pots are porous, allowing roots to breathe, and a glazed finish helps conserve moisture.
Mounted plants cheer up a bare wall. Hang an even number for a formal look, an odd number for a more relaxed feel.
For an especially easy hanging garden, look for mini petunias: They never need deadheading, and they thrive in sun or a mix of sun and shade.
An old birdbath makes a perfect new home for shallow-rooted succulents.
Create a lush oasis in your yard by arranging potted plants into a sheltering screen.
When potting ivy, make sure the containers have enough depth to allow for proper drainage.
During the winter, you can force bulbs to bloom indoors (like the Christmas Pearl grape hyacinths shown here), then replant outside come spring.
Pungently fragrant paperwhite narcissus are easy to coax into bloom indoors. Use tall containers with no drainage holes.
A terrarium—which lets greens live in a self-sufficient environment—is a no-fuss way to garden.
A humidity-loving tropical houseplant, such as a maidenhair fern or a flame violet, will thrive in a bell-jar terrarium.
Planted in a ceramic pitcher (drilled to add drainage holes), purple shamrock makes the tiniest indoor container garden.
A tangle of roots exposed in a glass cylinder can be just as eye-catching as the leaves above.
Always empty saucers after you water plants: Letting pots sit in water can damage roots.
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