Illustration for the article titled How To Choose Outdoor Plant Containers For Low Maintenance GardeningPhoto: Lena Suetina (Shutterstock)

People who live somewhere with plenty of outdoor space may have the space to spread out and create a sunken garden – rather than restricting yourself to planters like city dwellers – but container gardening has some advantages. Indeed, choosing the right plants (and the right plants) can make your garden and outdoor space pretty low maintenance.

in the an article for Livingetc, Sarah Wilson Here are some tips on choosing the best (and by that we mean the simplest) planters. Here’s what you should know.

Go big

Leave the smaller pots in there Wilson says:

Pick the largest pots you can find and group them together. Not only do they make an eye-catching statement, but watering and tidying up is easier because they’re all in one place. Another benefit of this simple, easy-care garden idea is that there are only a limited amount of growing plants that can do in one pot, which means less pruning.

And that’s not all. Larger plant containers can mean less time watering. Pro Wilson:

Water thoroughly once a week instead of sparingly and often, which will encourage the roots to stay near the surface where they will dry out faster. Instead, they dig deeper to find moisture. Applying a thick layer of organic material around the base of the plants in spring also helps retain moisture.

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Choose easy-care planters

Caring for your plants is one thing, but certain types of planters are self-servicing. Wilson advises Stay away from them:

Always choose containers to plant and then don’t forget about them. Avoid wood, which requires regular maintenance, as well as ceramics and terracotta, which can be a nightmare during winter frosts as they can break.

Further low-maintenance container options are:

  • Weatherproof resin (that looks like stoneware)
  • Regenerated polypropylene
  • Fiber Cotta (a mixture of fiberglass and clay)
  • Aged metals like zinc
  • Weathering steel