Spillers in my garden
I love spillers, I don't know why but I love plants that spills over the edge of the pot. Spillers instantly dress up any containers and I love how they overflow from the container. Container gardeners are familiar with the phrase "Thrillers, Fillers & Spillers". It's a technique to create beautiful container garden. "Thriller" is a big, bold plant that you put in the center of the container, this is the focal point and it should catch your attention. "Fillers" are plants that fill the gaps, they are plants that gives volume to the container. "Spillers" tumbles out of the pot, they soften the edges of the pot and makes the container looks full. Here's an interesting article that talks about different plants you can use for each category.
Examples of plants you can use (taken from the article)
Thrillers
1. Agaves (Agave spp. and cvs., Z 11)
2. Bananas (Musa spp. and cvs., Z 8–11, and Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, Z 11)
3. Cannas (Canna ‘Pretoria’, ‘Tropicanna’, and ‘Black Knight’, Z 8–11)
4. Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’, Z 9–10)
5. Taros (Colocasia esculenta and cvs., Z 9–11)
Fillers
1. Begonias (Begonia spp. and cvs., annual)
2. Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides cvs., annual)
3. Dusty miller (Centaurea cineraria ‘Colchester White’, Z 7–9)
4. Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus, annual)
5. Plectranthus (Plectranthus spp. and cvs., annual)
Spillers
1. Angelonia (Angelonia angustifolia and cvs., Z 9–10)
2. Cupheas (Cuphea spp. and cvs., annual)
3. Fairy fan-flower (Scaevola aemula ‘Blue Wonder’, annual)
4. Heliotropes (Heliotropium arborescens and cvs., annual)
5. Lantanas (Lantana camara cvs., annual)
6. Pentas (Pentas spp. and cvs., annual)
7. Trailing petunias (Calibrachoa cvs., Z 8–11)
Here are some spillers in my garden:
Million bells

Japanese Hakone Grass (my new favorite)

Nasturtium

Creeping Thyme (can be used for fillers too, you can be creative with this one)

Purple Oxalis

June 17th, 2009 - 21:18
We have similar tastes in plants. Your favorite spillers are among my favs too. If you swap out sweet potato vine for creeping thyme, you’d have my top 5.
June 19th, 2009 - 12:36
Beautiful photos!
June 19th, 2009 - 14:33
Sandy – so nice to see you again. Thanks for your nice comment.