As someone obsessed with flowers, a plant must have spectacular foliage to “wow” me. When plants with amazing foliage are then grouped together it’s even more of a “Wow”! I hate to admit it but flowers are then just an added bonus. Fabulous foliage can consist of amazing color, variegation, interesting texture and/or shape. Below are some combinations I put together to show how easy and fun it can be to create a ‘ plant arrangement’. Use a pot color that is going to cordinate with the foliage. I find ( as shown below) it’s hard to beat chartreuse with cobalt blue. Try incorporating different textures such as ferns with a bigger variegated leaf like a Brunnera. It’s also a must that the growing conditions of the plants are similar – sun with sun plants, high water requirements with high water requirements and so forth. It’s fine to combine annuals with perennials just be aware that the annuals will have to be replaced seasonally and the perennials will have to be replaced if and when they get too big. Planting display pots is a little different than planting normally. Plants require space for their roots to grow so I normally give them plenty of space to start out with but squeezing plants in a little closer for effect is allowed here!!
Some of my favorite foliage plants are listed below:
Sedums
Echeveria
Stachys-lambs ear
Strobilanthus
Heuchera varieties
Acorus
Lamium
Thyme-variegated
Coprosma
Brunnera
Dusty miller
Ferns- especially Adiantum
Polemonium caeruleum
Canna lily, Coleus Kong Red, Coleus Kong Rose, Coleus ‘Electric Lime’, and Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Light Green’ in bright cobalt blue pot for the shade.
Origanum ‘Norton Gold’ in center, Deschampsia ‘Northern Lights’, Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Red’, and Parrot’s Beak Lotus in green ceramic pot for the sun.
Simon Says Gardening 
I have some petrified wood in my front yard and am interested to find out what the value of the pieces are. Could you help me?
Hi Cindy,
My guess is a woodworker would have the best idea of how much they are worth. I would look up locals woodworkers. Wish I knew some ( would put them to work).Good luck!
My orchids flowers have dropped. How do I care for it now and when will it bloom again?
Hi Linda- It really depends on the type of orchid you have. Let’s assume a Phalaenopsis- most common kind sold at stores. They can bloom multiple times a year if happy. To keep them happy they need bright light and humidity. Some people place them on water filled trays filled with rocks to increase humidity. If you haven’t transplanted it out of the container it came from do so now. Orchid bark is the media to use. Soak the pot in water once or twice a week to saturate the bark. Sometimes they will rebloom on existing flower stalks but my experience has been that there are less flowers when this happens. When the flower stalk dries up cut it off. Fertilize with a balanced orchid fertilizer every third watering. Hope this helps!