Where long daylight hours are guaranteed but long summers are not, it’s a good idea to be ready when the sun does come out. Lifestyle photographer and gardener Mette Krull  gathers pots around doors, staircases, and outbuildings to keep everything at hand for those balmy moments spent outdoors. Her plant portraits are hugely popular on Instagram @krullskrukker); let’s take a closer look at her garden:

Photography by Mette Krull.

Above: Mette lives with her graphic designer husband and two daughters on the island of Funen in Denmark. Her 1903 house has been supplemented by various garden outposts and pots, everywhere.

Her collections of pots are a study in proportion and leaf shape. The long stalks of Physostegia virginiana are imaginatively partnered with the urn containing them.

Above: Wide steps leading from the kitchen terrace to the garden are lined with double rows of containers.

Above: The shrub Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’ will eventually outgrow this container, in which case it will move into Mette’s garden (or a bigger pot). 

Above: Mette has a talent for tablescapes, mixing the unusual with the edible. Note the single kohlrabi, toward the left, looking like an alien cabbage.

“The terrace is located right outside our kitchen, so we spend a lot of time here relaxing with family and friends,” says Mette. “I have a lot of herbs here, as well as my big, ugly, gas grill.”

Above: Mint, lemon verbena, and the glaskål (Danish for kohlrabi) are balanced by a wandering Ajuga reptans.

Above: The crinkly leaves of a three-year-old wasabi plant try to escape from an urn in the greenhouse.

Above: Plants that aren’t supposed to like pots do seem to like Mette’s pots. Shown here: rhubarb, heuchera, and clematis.

Above: “The little shed” in the garden, with flower heads of valerian reaching for the roof.

Above: Lilac and olive trees frame the black tool shed, with more containers hanging on the walls or stored in an old apple box.

Above: A terra cotta rhubarb forcer is given an extra role as a tray for seedlings. Every surface is explored for its plant-carrying potential.

Above: Texture and scent take precedent over color, with this collection of pelargoniums and mint.

For container garden ideas, see 10 Easy Pieces: Terra Cotta Rhubarb Forcers and Gardening 101: How to Prevent Cracks in Terra Cotta.