We moved the tall containers, that I got as a Mother's Day gift years ago, with us from Illinois. They were heavy and bulky and I was so worried they would break in the move, but I love them and it was worth the risk to me. They fit well in the front entryway to the house and the colors even work with the new house. Not perfectly, but close enough.
My goal for this planting was to combine some lovely Heuchera and Coleus for the foliage and then mix in a few more plants for interest. Even though the front door faces south this spot is full shade because of the porch roof. The plant on the east side does get a tiny bit more reflected light in the late afternoon so occasionally we just switch the liner pots inside the taller containers to keep the growth more even.
I started with 'Obsidian' Heuchera because I am a sucker for the dark foliage. Then I added in 'Neon Lights" Tiarella because I loved the cut leaf foliage and also the dark veining which played nicely with the Heuchera. I wanted a Coleus with smaller leaves for contrast. The Greenhouse didn't have a huge selection available yet since I was there so early in the season but Solenostemon hybrida 'Burgundy Wedding Train' seemed like a good choice. The leaf shape spoke to the Tiarella and the colors worked well too. I needed a taller plant for the back so I went with this lovely grass which had a nice airy feel to it. (I've lost the plant tag, if it shows up, I'll edit accordingly). Then I added a Bacopa, which is a nice no-fail trailing plant. I chose Snowstorm because I knew the small white flowers would add a little sparkle in and around the dark leaves. The last choice was something that flowered well in shade. Easy choice to go with a Begonia. I don't use them a lot because they tend to be a bit delicate, especially when it is time to transplant them but they like the shade and the flowers are pretty. I hemmed and hawed a little bit about which color I wanted but finally decided on a nice soft yellow. 'Solenia' seems to be very happy in this spot and brings a nice soft touch of light to the pot and to the front door. The nice surprise is that the petals are tinged with just a touch of rosy pink as they age which plays nicely with the other colors in the container.
