Question
I have two questions, please. I live in Ontario Canada. I have a BOP that I have transplanted into a much larger pot.  I would like to add some other plant or plants to the pot. It is  6 foot bird in a 18 inch pot.  Could you give me some names of plants easily available I could plant in the container that would look good and grow well with the BOP. This container gets southern exposure.

I would also like to makeup a large floor container of plants for my dining room, no BOP this time.  Could you give me some names again of common plants I could group together that would look good and grow well together.  I would like a variety of color if possible.  Exposure would be south facing again.

Answer
If you put anything else in that 18 inch container, the roots are going to compete with the BOP, and it will suffer as a result, but if you really want to go ahead with this, I would go with a shallow rooted annual such as Marigolds or Petunias; the same annuals mixed with some taller ones, like Snapdragons in the middle would suit any container in a Southern exposure, just don't make the common mistake of overcrowding them, for they will all suffer. Go to your nearest Home Depot or whatever box stores you have nearby and check out their selection, I could go on forever with possibilities, they are all just fine, but you need to keep the taller ones in the center and the smaller ones outside with trailing ones at the edges. Nick