This is the AFTER to the above image. The main color is provided here by Astilbe of a couple different cultivars/colors. The "bones" are provided by Buxus and Ilex.

This client wanted a vacation at home! Specifically they loved the Caribbean [me too!] and wanted to as much as possible replicate that tropical feel in suburban Philadelphia. Not an easy request - it's 23 degrees here right now, and that is not unusual for Philly in the winter. So I chose "bones"...