Free printable · Side one

The Four-Season
Planter Card

One container, four seasons, the same four decisions every time. Use these four layers as a planning guide. Timing is for Southern Ontario; follow local frost dates and conditions elsewhere.

The Wreath Coach
wreathcoach.com
Download PDF Prints on two sides of one Letter sheet. Use portrait orientation and flip on the long edge.

The formula

Change what fills these four layers.
Never change the structure.
01
HEIGHT
The tallest thing. Sets the silhouette you read from the street.
02
FILL
The body. Covers soil and gives the arrangement its colour.
03
SPILL
Over the rim. Softens the edge so the pot stops being a pot.
04
SEASON
The one thing that says which month it is.
½
Door rule
Container plus planting can reach about half to two-thirds of your front door height.
  • For an 80 inch door, a 24 to 30 inch container plus 18 to 24 inches of planting reaches 42 to 54 inches overall.
  • Widest point at least a third of the total height, or it reads spindly.
  • Between two sizes, take the larger. Slightly oversized looks deliberate. Slightly undersized looks like a mistake.

Four recipes

Height · Fill · Spill · Season

Spring

Early April
Height
Pussy willow, curly willow, red dogwood stems
Fill
Tulips, ranunculus, primrose, violas
Spill
Ivy, creeping jenny
Season
Moss over the soil, birch stems
Cool weather plants go out weeks before anything tender. That head start is the whole point.

Summer

After frost risk
Height
Canna, standard tree, tall grass
Fill
Geranium, begonia, coleus, angelonia
Spill
Sweet potato vine, verbena, calibrachoa
Season
Nothing. Let the planting do it.
Wait for the last frost. One cold night undoes an expensive container.

Fall

Mid September
Height
Burgundy fountain grass, corn stalks
Fill
Ornamental kale and cabbage, mums, celosia
Spill
Ivy, creeping jenny
Season
Pumpkins and gourds at the base
Kale is what carries the planter into November after the mums have finished.

Winter

Mid November
Height
Birch poles, curly willow, red dogwood
Fill
Cedar, pine, fir, magnolia leaves
Spill
Cascading cedar over the rim
Season
Cones, berries, ornaments
Build before the potting mix freezes. Refresh stems that dry out before spring.
The Wreath Coach  ·  wreathcoach.com/planter-card
Side 1 of 2  ·  Rev B · 2026  ·  undated, reuse every year
Side two · Take this to the garden centre

The Garden Centre
Checklist

Most planter mistakes are made before anything is planted. Fill in the numbers before you leave the driveway.

The Wreath Coach
wreathcoach.com
Before you leave tick all five
  • Measure your front door, top to bottom
  • Photograph the entrance from the end of the driveway, not from the step
  • Count the hours of direct sun the spot gets
  • Check your container has a drainage hole
  • Note your brick, stone and door colour
Write it down before you shop
Door heightin
Container heightin
Target planting heightin
Hours of sunhrs
Palette
What I planted this year pencil, or dry-erase
Buy by layer in this order
01Height
  • One tall element, roughly the height of the container again
  • Odd number of stems if using branches
02Fill
  • Three to five plants, one dominant colour
  • At least one with texture rather than flowers
  • Enough to hide the soil completely
03Spill
  • Two or three trailing plants for the rim
04Season
  • One seasonal accent, and only one
+And
  • Quality potting mix, with enough depth for the plants’ roots
  • Keep drainage holes open; gravel beneath the soil does not improve drainage
  • Pot feet to help keep drainage holes clear in winter

Leave on the shelf

Five things that look fine in the aisle and fail on the porch
  1. Non-frost-rated terracotta outdoors here. It absorbs water and splits in the first hard freeze.
  2. Mums already in full bloom. They are finished. Buy them in tight bud.
  3. Any pumpkin you can dent with a fingernail, or one carried home by its stem.
  4. A container narrower than a third of its own height.
  5. Three of anything flanking a door. Two, or one.
More seasonal planter help

Get practical seasonal planter tips by email, plus a one-time welcome offer for eligible planter kits and accessories. This printable card is free to use without signing up.

wreathcoach.com/planter-card
Keep it alive  ·  sheet protector on a nail, or laminate and write on it with dry-erase
Side 2 of 2  ·  Rev B · 2026
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