What to use to fill a 9 inch fence-post?

[RoboticsProfessor]

I have a short brick wall in front of my house. There are seven "posts" which are square brick enclosures standing about 18 inches higher than the wall. The bricks are laid so that there is an inside space 9 inches square where something can be planted.

Previous owner planted ice plant here. OK but boring.

For Christmas, I got 7 poinsettias and they looked pretty nice.
I'm thinking something colorful to plant here. I don't mind seasonal planting or changing once in a while.

Thanks for any ideas,

Zero gardening experience, but retiring soon and want to learn.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Hi roboticsprof! Welcome to TEG. This suggestion is rather predictable, but i think i'd get some petunias - probably the ones that would vine out and hang down outside of the brick. Supertunias, i think i've seen them called. They come in all different colors, but would need water and fertilizer often in a small space like that. Ohhhhh, or coleus...you didnt say if this is a sunny or shady spot, but there are coleus for either

 

[Carol Dee]

Wave petunias will cascade beautifully. So many colors to chose from, too.

 

[digitS']

I can agree with this and have some experience with just this sorta thing, kinda.

I built brick corner posts for my picket fence about 10 years ago. The one along the property line & beside the driveway has a little square planter built beside the post. My intention was to put a cast-iron water pump on the brick post, above the planter. I even have the pump but . . . this is only about 2 blocks from an elementary school. I'd have to be policing that set-up constantly to keep the kiddies from playing with it -- "You kids! Get off my planter!!"

Anyway . . . . . . what looks nicest in there is the wave red petunias. The ones that are just about the same color as the bricks .

We had a geranium in there last year and while I really like that salmon red geranium color, it isn't quite right. It is a low planter and probably something like a dracena would help in with the petunia since the planter is so low but then I would want to put some lobelia or something in also. It really isn't large enuf for 3 different plants.

Steve

 

[RoboticsProfessor]

Thanks for the ideas!!

Didn't mention it, but the posts are in a front yard facing East, so sunny.
And the bricks are a really pale yellow, almost white, so most colors should work.

 

[thistlebloom]

Just wondering RB, is that nine square inches, or a nine by nine square?

 

[RoboticsProfessor]

Now that I know how to upload photos, here's the photo I should have started with...

The inside size (where the poinsettia is now) is 9" X 9".

I'll visit the local nurseries today to see what is available.
I did some research on wave petunias, and I like the idea of using several different colors, but I'll take the list I made from all your suggestions and see what they have.

 

[thistlebloom]

As well as petunias, look for some calibrachoa also called "Million Bells". They are covered with tiny petunia shaped flowers and come in a lot of different colors, and unlike petunias look tidy without having to deadhead them.