The containers I bring into my landscape are like a fine setting for whatever great jewels I have planned to set in them. The setting for a diamond, a pearl, or any precious stone is not only a support structure, but a feature of the design itself. Liken it if you will to the quintessential “Little Black Dress” of your wardrobe, without the fabulous shoes to go with it.
Weeping Cedar centerpiece
When I am with a Personal Garden Coaching client and I am advising the use of a container anywhere, I am emphatic that the container they choose MUST be a style that they REALLY love. Because even when they are empty, a good-looking container can still be a statement piece of its own when placed well. An investment in your garden, long-term, a container will be with you like a great piece of furniture.
A well styled container can be as much a part of the overall design as anything else. It will be a supportive companion to a specimen plant. It can highlight a shape or textural difference. It can also be a vehicle for seasonal changes that brings interest to a bare area in winter.
'Inaba Shidare' Japanese Maple
Winter in particular brings a huge opportunity to review your containers. Most places will have them on clearance and it gives you an opportunity to save money on making a style statement in your landscape.
Pinus Strobus 'Pendula', Heuchera 'Caramel', Euphorbia 'Glacier Blue', Festival Grass
Though I am a girl who loves her jewels, I have to say, the setting says MUCH more about who I am and what I like.
THE Personal Garden Coach 
You always have the most amazing pots & combinations! I would be afraid to put those plants together but absolutely LOVE how they turn out. You have a gift.
Love the weeping cedar pot – I am so stealing that idea! It would not have occurred to me to put such a tall centerpiece in that shallow of a container.
Thanks for pushing my boundaries!
As always, your container combinations are gorgeous, imaginative and unusal. I love the advice that people should spend the time picking the setting. I can’t believe that I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I would pick a beautiful pot and plant over a piece of jewelry or new shoes any day of the week (did I really just say that? Even shoes????)