Garden Revelry

09/12/2026

I went shopping for plant material for an upcoming workshop this week, and almost talked myself out of my own instincts.

The nursery was full of options. New cultivars, which are always enticing and blooming perennials, but also the tried and true, foliage driven plants. I picked things up, put them back, and walked the rows several times. Returning time and time again to the foliage driven plants. Those with rich texture, mottled patterns, striking variegation or a glossy saturated color. These are the plants that do the real work in a container, especially heading into fall and winter, when flowers are few and far between. Many of them overlooked in the garden are striking in a pot. Moreso than they ever were in the landscape.

in the end, I came home with a plant (in fact 16 of them) that I always come back to, Vaccinium ovatum, our native evergreen huckeberry. It’s not flashy and might not stop anyone mid-scroll, but it offers something in every season – Bronze new growth in spring, small white flowers that bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies love not long after, berries that come on in late summer, and glossy green leaves on burgundy stems that hold fabulous structure through winter when everything else can start looking a little sad sack.

And, here’s the best part. It’s native to the PNW, where I live. And that feels like a bonus. Natives tend to ask less of you, because they’re growing in the conditions they’re built for. Less supplemental watering. Less coddling. And because they evolved alongside our local pollinators, they offer food, nectar, and shelter that many of the ornamental imports simply can’t. They’re not fighting the environment; they’re contributing to it.

Now that I have the focal plant picked out, I’ll layer in other foliage plants around it, include a pop of seasonal color with pansies, which are also a go to this time of year, and tuck in some spring blooming bulbs as the finishing touch. The containers that feel effortless in spring are those that are well planned, and trusting the pay-off with bulbs is worth the wait. This is why now is the moment to be buying and planting your spring bulbs.

I go deeper on building containers around foliage first, then pairing them with spring-blooming bulbs, in my latest blog post, thinking through how fall “thriller” plants like Vaccinium ovatum and spring-blooming bulbs can help you create a container you’ll swoon over all year long.

I’m curious. What’s your go-to plant, the one you reach for even when the nursery is tempting you with everything else?

Fall foliage thrillers that bring beauty now and partner with spring bulbs later for containers layered with interest from fall into spring.

09/02/2026

Would you like to learn how to plant fall containers that WOW?

Join me for a fall container garden workshop at Laughing Goat Flower Farm in Enumclaw.

🪴 Saturday, September 19th at 10am

We’ll walk through the basics of container garden design — color theory, form and texture, along with a few pro planting techniques — all while building a fall season container together.

I can’t wait to create something beautiful with you.

Tickets available Laughing Goat Botanical Gardens.

08/19/2026

Those of you who follow along know that I have a bit of a thing for aeoniums. And this one? I mean, look at it. Those long sculptural stems, giant rosettes larger than a dinner plate and all that drama!

I underplanted it with Sedum “Angelina” to keep the planting simple and add just enough contrast to make the eye of ‘Cyclops’ pop even more.

Simple yes, quiet most definitely not.

A lot of you asked about aeoniums after Hello, Garden ‘s tour of my garden, so they’ve been on mind lately.


Cindy Funes

08/13/2026

Having Hello, Garden tour my garden was so much fun, and one of my favorite parts was being able to see it through her eyes.

Things I walk past every day suddenly became things worth stopping and talking about.

Including this planting.

It turns out this little pink color echo is one of the combinations people most comment on when visiting my garden.

I love weaving one color through a container planting. Here, pink appears in the begonia and fuchsia flowers loosely triangulated with the foliage of the coleus. That repetition helps to move your eye through the planting and ties the arrangement together.

The pink also brings a softness and femininity to the planting which I personally love.

You can watch Kate and me wander the garden, talking plants, pots, and plenty more in the full garden tour on YouTube.

And if you want more container design talk and ideas, you can join my newsletter. Link in the bio.

Repeating color gives your eye somewhere to travel and helps the different plants feel connected.

The sweet pink flowers of Begonia ‘Gene Daniel’s’.

A little pink there, in the petals of Fuchsia ‘Orange King’ .

Color echoes don’t have to be exact or all in flowers. Different shades, flowers, or in this case the foliage of Coleus ‘Wizard Coral Sunrise’ can all be part of the conversation.

Triangulating color is an easy and reliable way to create visual balance, natural eye movement and harmony.

Flowers aren’t doing all of the work. The surprising pinkish red underside of Begonia ‘Gene Daniel’s’ helps to connect the planting without making it feel too matchy-matchy.

08/02/2026

I’m embracing August.

Summer’s golden hour.

Although what bulbs I’ll be planting in fall keep sneaking into my thoughts.

05/08/2026

Friday morning light.

This container reminded me why I love container gardening so much.

These ‘Princess Irene” tulips have been blooming for nearly a month now, still catching the light.

A flower arrangement is lovely, but fleeting. A container garden? It offers that same beauty but with more staying power.

I wrote a little more about this in this month’s blog

livingfloralarrarrangement gardenrevelry

05/01/2026

Happy May Day…or should I say, hello early summer?

Seattle seems to have skipped ahead a few chapters. With temperatures running warmer than usual, tulips tend to bloom out a bit faster.

My cue that they’ve had their day? When the blooms are opening wide during the day but no longer close back up at night as the temperatures cool, or when the petals begin to shatter.

That’s when I know it’s time to deadhead.

Still pretty, but ready for their curtain call.

04/13/2026

A mid-spring wander through the backyard containers.

So many gardens are coming to life right now, and while I’ve loved seeing all the beauty, my own little spring tour begins just steps from my back door with coffee in hand - just as wondrous, just as beautiful.

Because I use these containers to trial different plants and combinations, they’re a bit of a hodgepodge in the best possible way - a rainbow of colors, textures, pots, tulips, and daffodils, all helping me to see what works, what surprises me, and what I might do differently next time.

And the best part? It’s only April.

There’s still more to come before these plantings get changed out in May.

So if one of these combinations strikes a chord save this post or take a screenshot. It’s also the perfect time to start noting favorites and compiling your list for next fall.

Something else I love about spring containers is that they last so much longer than a bouquet on the counter, and are generous enough to snip a few flowers for indoors too.

If you’d like help creating bulbs this kind of spring show, my bulb course is in the Container Design School, linked in the bio.

Image notes:
1. The tour begins.
2. My Meyer lemon tree. And yes, it’s loaded.
3. Last fall’s course demo planter with Narcissus ‘Thalia’ blooming
4-5. One of my favorite combinations this this year. Narcissus ‘Frosty Snow’, Tulip ‘ Light and Dreamy’, and Viola Sorbet XP Raspberry
6-8. Narcissus ‘Geranium’, Narcissus ‘ JetFire’, Tulip praestans ‘Moonlight’, and Pansy ‘Frizzle Sizzle Orange’, Bracteantha ‘Granvia Gold & Crimson Sun’
9. Tucker on patrol. Narcissus ‘Golden Pearl’, Tulip ‘Mondial’, Pansy ‘Matrix Primrose’
10. Narcissus ‘Golden Pearl’
11-12. Tulip ‘Palmyra’ being her velvety luscious self.
13. Tulip ‘Red Riding Hood’, Muscari latifolium, and Narcissus ‘Thalia’ in bud with a Tucker cameo.
14-15 Poncirus trifoliata under planted with fragrant Narcissus ‘Pipit’
16. Tulip ‘Palmyra, Pansy ‘Delta Rose’ to close out the tour.