That's a good start. A couple of other things that come to mind that you might also use are Bright lights Swiss chard, some of the reddish lettuces and perhaps a dwarf nandina. Some of the nandinas are neat little balls of bright foliage color. You might also put in a varigated Boston ivy vine to drap over the pot. I'm trying to think of something for height like a grass that doesn't freeze but haven't come up with anything yet. Well, maybe one of the cold tolerant agaves would do the trick. Also some of the sedums are very cold tolerant and would add a some different colors and textures with their foliage. Just read the tags at the store to find out how much cold they will take.

Sounds like fun. Let us know what you come up with.

Oooh, I really like the idea of Swiss chard in containers, maybe with something drapey in front of it...Thanks!

You can use a Japanese Aucuba for the height in the pot - either variegated, or a solid green one with its red fruit. I had the latter in a container one year for the holidays, and it looked quite festive. It's now in the ground and doing very well.

Lin

Thanks so much!

I hadn't even considered nandina, but that's a great idea! I was wanting to replace some of the existing shrubs (variagated ligustrum) with nandina anyway, but I probably won't be ready to do that until spring. I could use the nandinas in containers over the fall and winter, then just transplant them in the spring!

Japanese aucubas for height is a great idea!!! And it's something else you could plant in the yard later also.

What about some bulbs? Freesias will pop out when it gets warm. Tulips are always pretty to me, even when they are just foliage.

I am thinking about the purple rain pan-ola that drapes with colorful chard next to it.

Parsley will eventually get tall and I love it with pansies and violas and panolas. Dill goes up too and it has that feathery dill texture.

The kale in my pots turns into an weird umbrella shape over the pansies and I remove it. I really like cyclamen but they stop blooming when it gets cold.