After I'd had a chance to reflect on the lessons of the Azalea Trail, I went home and fixed up the containers on my front porch, keeping in mind that more is more. It's a struggle not to put pots and pots of all different plants on the porch but the hodgepodge style doesn't really have an impact. There's no focal point, no internal logic to the arrangements. So I'm trying to do better.
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| Ta-da! A little bit more like spring... |
What do you think? I've had the variegated aspidistra in this black plastic pot for a few years now, and it was time to dig it out and divide it. I like the white variegation because it shows up nicely against the dark green fig ivy wall. Usually I stuff this pot with different shady flowers and caladiums but I'm simplifying this year and sticking to just a few plants. In addition to the aspidistra, I've included a 10" hanging basket of a cane begonia called 'Kristy' and a few straggly tails of some variegated vinca vine that will fill in as the spring progresses. Off to one side, I popped in a bulb for an elephant ear called '
Hilo Beauty'. It won't start growing until the weather warms up a bit more.
Rather than using ferns or impatiens or other shade-suitable plants, I used another pot of begonias in a basket sitting on the ground, and a pot of Philodendron cordatum 'Lemon Lime,' because I love that light green color, which also ties in to a little pot of Sanseveira on the chest in back.
All the plants mentioned above will keep their good looks until the first frost, when the philodendron and begonias will need more protection. But the vinca vine and aspidistra can be pretty much left alone.
