Fiesta Pollinator Container Garden

Bring fun and vibrant color to your outdoor space with a fiesta-inspired container garden. This bold planter combines lantana, bidens, calibrachoa, and cilantro to create a pollinator-friendly container perfect for Cinco de Mayo and summer decorating.

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Around Cinco de Mayo, you’ll usually find me sharing all kinds of Mexican-inspired recipes. But after a very cold, very long winter, I’m ready to spend as much time outside as possible. I’m in total garden mode right now. With vibrant summer flowers starting to fill garden centers and planting season just around the corner, recipe content is taking a little pause while I get my hands in the dirt.

In the spirit of Cinco de Mayo, I decided to create a festive container garden bursting with color - filled with pollinator-friendly flowers and a fun, unexpected herbal accent. So I headed to a local greenhouse and picked out a few gorgeous plants for this project. Using the thriller, filler, spiller method, I put together a container that’s not only a feast for the eyes, but one that will attract plenty of bees and butterflies, too.

Flowers to Grow in Your Fiesta Pollinator Container Garden

There were plenty of flowers for me to choose from, but I chose flowers that were pollinator-friendly and had bold, fiery color combos like orange, red, yellow, pink, and purple. And it's not a fiesta without a punch of flavor, so I also added cilantro as an herbal touch.

  • Luscious Citrus Blend Lantana: Lantana is a must in any pollinator garden. Its clusters of flowers attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. It's a heat-tolerant plant with a long blooming season. Use it as a thriller in your container garden.
  • Blazing Embers Bidens: I used Bidens as my filler flower. These flowers are also a pollinator magnet. They're rich in nectar and will bloom through summer.
  • Minifamous Uno Ember Eclipse Calibrachoa: After seeing monarch butterflies stop at our calibrachoa plants last summer, I knew I wanted them everywhere this year. Since they cascade over planters and hanging baskets, use them as a spiller accent. Their flower shape is perfect for hummingbirds and butterflies. They'll also bloom all through summer.
  • Cilantro: As an unexpected twist, I also added cilantro to my container garden. Nothing says "fiesta" like flavorful cilantro. I wanted to honor classic Mexican cooking with this staple herb. When it goes to seed, the tiny white flowers that emerge are also pollinator-friendly.
  • Zinnias: Zinnias are one of my favorite summer flowers to grow. They're available in a ton of different colors and their tall blooms attract butterflies and bees. They're heat tolerant and will bloom all season.
  • Marigolds: Marigolds are a must in any garden as a pest-deterrent. But their bold orange, yellow, and red colors would make a bold addition to a fiesta container garden. They also attract many beneficial insects.
  • Petunias: Petunias are another great filler/thriller. Their shape attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. With so many colors available, they would make a gorgeous addition to any container garden.
  • Ornamental peppers: Want to add a standout plant to your fiesta container garden? Add an ornamental pepper! It'll definitely give your container garden that "fiesta" feel while adding bold accent color.

Fiesta Pollinator Container Garden

With my flowers picked out and purchased, it was time to choose my container (I chose a decent-sized barrel planter) and start planting. I used a standard potting mix and, as I usually do, supplemented it with fertilizers. I positioned my plants before I started digging around in the dirt. Once everything was in place, I gave the container a good watering before setting it out in a sunny spot on our deck.

I started my container garden by filling my planter with standard potting soil. Then, I added all-purpose fertilizer and earthworm castings. Once I knew where I wanted my flowers to sit in my planter, I started by planting my "thriller," the lantana. It's going to be the tallest plant in the container garden so I planted it back.

I planted the bidens (my filler) next. Their red and yellow blooms just scream "fiesta" and look like little rays of sunshine.

Next, I added my "spiller," the calibrachoa. As this grows, it should start cascading out of the planter. The vibrant colors of the these flowers should attract all sorts of beneficial insects.

Last, I planted cilantro right in the middle. It's an unexpected accent in a container garden, but I love its dual purpose - it's an herb I can use in the kitchen and it also adds lush greenery to this container.

Then, I gave my container garden a thorough watering and placed it in a spot on our deck where it would get lots of sun.

SUPPLIES

STEPS

  1. Make sure your planter has drainage holes at the bottom. Then, fill it with potting soil. If desired, mix in all-purpose fertilizer and earthworm castings.
  2. Position your plants where you'd like them. Then, dig holes and plant the flowers and herbs in place.
  3. Once everything is planted, water the container thoroughly and place in a sunny spot. Enjoy these flowers and watching the pollinators feed from them all summer long.

This fiesta-inspired container garden came together so easily! It’s already bringing a bright, summery feel to our deck with its vibrant blooms and fresh cilantro. It’s also a simple way to create something that’s not only beautiful, but supports pollinators all season long.

Did you make this Fiesta Pollinator Container Garden project? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!

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