my current plant list

. There are certain perennials that come into their own this time of year because they have amazing foliage that are perfect for container gardening. I plant them to last all winter long, and then, in the spring, I plant them out in the yard. I thought I'd take a few minutes and talk about them.

All of the heuceras (coral bells) for example, with the exception of the straight species, have a wide range of colors. With names like, tira misu, plum pudding, gingerale, and rasberry regal (Anyone wanna eat?) the names describe the color range of this great plant, from deep maroon to bright, bright yellow; plum pudding is purple with silver stripes. The heuceras stand up to extreme cold and look good even with snow on them.

Blue fescue(festuca) grass is always a good winter perennial, I often throw it out in the spring, because its a little rough looking and doesn't quite make it through, but it's totally worth it for that metallic blue that only a fescue can do. They are short, so put it in the front of your pot where you can see it.

Euphorbia purpurea is a fleshy perennial (related to Poinsettia) that has purple foliage , and Euphorbia kalipso has gold/ chartreuse foliage with kind of a tropical look to it, that shows up against other dark foliage. If your plants overwinter, and they often do, the blooms on them on quite unique, cactus like, airy bouquets of light yellows and pinks.

Japanese painted fern, give you an airy loose texture, that will spill over the side of your pot a little, there are really many ferns that will look good in a pot, christmas fern is another good one , but it is flatter, so take that into consideration when you place it.

Carex is a group of grasses, (sedges) and there are lots of varieties with gold in the leaf, from 2' to 1''. The one I just planted is Carex 'aurea' it is literally 1'' tall, with bright yellow stiff blades, like a little scrub brush!

Ajuga 'black scallop' is a pitch black ajuga, and of course, any of the lavenders look good all winter, and flush out in the spring. I haven't mentioned grasses which are of course wonderful and every variety works. ( I have a great winter picture of snow sitting on tall grasses; they can be stunning all winter long)

Last but not least are the Sedums, there are so many varieties, Tall and short, groundcovers, etc. Sedum 'autumn joy' is the most popular one, but I find that it doesn't bloom long enough for me; I prefer sedum matrona for a tall variety, It has a heavier leaf and bloom, and the seed heads look good a lot longer. Sedum 'vera jamison' is a good short one with a blue cast to the foliage, and then there are countless ones that are groundcovers that would look great in a small pot on a patio table. ('dragons blood', or 'john creech' to name two)

The list could obviously go on and on, but you get the idea, look for plants that, when planted together, contrast with each other, and have a good hardy constitution. Don't be afraid to cram them in so that it looks like a bouquet, I usually take them out in the spring and replace with spring color, but sometimes if everything looks good, I just pull what looks bad and replace with little snippets of pansies, and that looks great too.