Each spring and fall I have the pleasure of designing and planting the containers at Frank Stitt’s
Chez Fonfon restaurant next to his acclaimed restaurant, Highlands Bar & Grill.
The aspidistra (cast iron plant) is thinned out each season…
Pardis Stitt, Frank’s wife, likes Chez Fonfon to have a simple color scheme of white and green, and she and I both love different foliage colors, textures and leaf patterns, so it’s always fun to put together combinations of foliage with a few white flowers to brighten things up. The planters are in quite a bit of shade, both from the building and from trees planted there, so for flowers it’s violas for winter.
The emphasis is on foliage, though, and I’ve included curly parsley for it’s fresh green color, a small blue fescue grass, and a shade loving heuchera for this planting. Holdovers from the summer are aspidistra, which I thin out each season, and a tiny leaf green ivy. After planting, I added birch branches to add more height and winter interest. (Branches are an easy way to get color in planters during the holiday – red twig dogwood branches would also be pretty.) While it looks a bit top heavy with the tall aspidistra at first, the parsley and heuchera will add fullness to the composition as it grows in. I’m also trying the Cool Wave white trailing pansies here this year, hoping they get enough sun to bloom well.
These planters get more sun…
This fall Pardis asked if I would also take a look at the planters at Bottega, their other wonderful restaurant.
They are smaller and placed in the courtyard. I’ve included pictures of the two on either side of a wall fountain and shade garden. Because they’ll get more sun than the planters at Chez Fonfon, I’ve included one of my favorite ornamental (and edible!) kale, ‘Red Russian’, for height, a dark leaf heuchera on the shady side of the planter, trailing rosemary and more of the Cool Wave trailing pansies. I especially love the contrast of the birch against the lightness of the wall. It will be fun to watch all of these grow out, knowing their dedicated staff take great care to keep them looking their best.
One of the filler plants I used was a tiny grass, Acorus minimus – all the acorus love moisture so it should do well. I rounded out the filler plants with a few ferns and another bog plant called Syngonanthus chrysanthus ‘Mikado’. This is a definite test since we know next to nothing about this plant; however, the fountain basin should give it the boggy conditions it is supposed to prefer!
The last planting is shown to serve as an example of how you can definitely have color in the shade using foliage in addition to flowers…the ‘Garden White’ caladium in contrast with the golden carex and sunpatien really catches the eye! The planter at the top of this post is also one for shade, and, once again, the foliage is the star.
Ok, this might not be the moss hanging basket for your front porch…in fact, its proportions are massive, at least 30″ across and almost as deep. This basket belongs to a customer who hangs it in in a shady garden area.
This year, she wanted an all white and green foliage basket filled top to bottom with shade loving plants. What a fun project! The basket itself is a heavy duty plastic coated metal frame with openings that plants can be inserted into. Many folks use sphagnum moss or coco liner for these type of plantings, and it works well. However I prefer to use fresh green sheet moss and layer the plantings from the bottom up.
Owners Frank and Pardis Stitt prefer white and green for the front of this French cafe, located next to their acclaimed restaurant Highlands in downtown Birmingham. These are fairly large, tan colored cast stone planters with nice clean lines. A mix of contrasting green and variegated foliage with a touch of white add light to this shady spot, and the stone wall adds a pleasing backdrop to the planting.
These cork bark pieces are so organic and natural…we love them and wanted to pass on just a couple of ideas for planting them. Actually, they were one of those happy accidents – one wrong stroke of the keyboard, with a different item number ordered than planned, and, voila, these cork bark pieces arrived the other day that were rounded, with just enough space for planting rather than being flat…oh, happy day!
Of course, if you’ve been keeping up with previous posts, you know we’ve gotten in some pretty cool looking succulents, as well as air plants and the beginning of the new season’s herb offerings. So, with all this bounty to work with, one bark planter became a succulent, herb, airplant design and the other became a study in silvery grays and blues with a pop of chartreuse…
As with any combination planting, look at color, texture and form of the plants you’re working with. The bark is rough and brown…in one planting the red coloring of the hens and chicks play off the brown of the planter while the red edging of the thyme also picks up the color of the succulents. The spiky air plants contrast with the rounded forms of the rolled bark as well.
Container gardening – putting together great combinations that are long lasting and beautiful is something we love to do! The planters here show groupings of houseplants (yes, you can use combinations of houseplants too!) chosen for the variation of leaf color, shape and size…and perfect for a summer on a shady porch or patio.
One is a loose, informal combination and the second arrangement is much more structured – see the difference?
The last example is a small planter filled to the brim (don’t be skimpy with your plants!) and designed to be seen on a table or shelf. We’ll continue to showcase more container ideas to spark your imagination and creativity and help you choose the perfect combinations for your home and garden. We may be in the middle of winter now, but spring is fast approaching and we want you to enjoy creating your own container gardens – or, if you’re in the area we’re always glad to help. Happy planting!