Very nice looking entryway, Garnet. How much sunlight will the plant in the container receive? The picture was taken when the area was somewhat shady, but that probably changes during the day. Also, what zone are you in? If the winters get cold, you will need to figure out how to safely overwinter the plant if you put a perennial/tree in the container. (Of course, if it is suited to your zone, you can always plant the tree or perennial elsewhere in the garden in the fall so you don't need to overwinter it in the pot, and then you get to choose a new plant for the next year!) Dwarf evergreens can make great container plants but most of them need some sun (4-6 hrs??) There are others that like good morning light but need some protection from afternoon shade. If you can't decide on a "permanent" resident for your container this year you have many annuals from which to choose. That's one of the fun things about container gardening, you can make lots of changes without doing lots of work until you find exactly what suits you and what thrives! Holly

Thanks everyone for your input. While I do like Dracaena, I find it overused so I think I'll go with a different annual to provide height. I don't want to use the railing since it will be replaced this year but I do need some height. Would have loved to have a hosta there but don't have the time to search out the perfect one for that spot. I may just go with annuals this year and use our long cold winters to figure out something more permanent, maybe a larger pot too. I did see some Gaura (an annual in my zone) at a nursery that grows 3ft tall and blooms all summer. Perhaps I'll have a second look at that. Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Always appreciated. Garnet

The wood is just decoration and doesn't stop the grass. I respectfully disagree, based on many years of experience in different states, with different grasses. When I lived in OH, I had "nice" grass, non-rhizomatous, mostly, like it looks like bgaviator has. Bricks or timbers laying on the ground will stop about 95% of the grass permanently, especially when the bed is well mulched such as this. Wherever there's a low spot, or seam between pieces, the grass may creep under/through. Easy to fix in a few minutes about every-other month. As the timber settles, it will sink a bit and then it's even less of a problem, something to check maybe once in the spring, once in the fall. Even here, with a yard of St. Augustine or Bermuda or whatever type of vine-grass this is in my yard in AL, with Bahia invading that, something like this timber is enough of a barrier to easily achieve control. Agree it's not a type of border that is completely certain, but certainly worth doing, especially compared to the effort and expense required for a completely reliable border. I prefer this type of border because it's easy to pick up the timber and definitely remove any invading grass by the roots. I spend very little time on out-of-bounds grass. Often grass is let to make seeds before it's mowed, then not enough care is taken to direct the outflow away from the bed, or it drops in the bed before mowing. When the seeds sprout, the border gets blamed for not doing its' job.

I love sweet autumn clematis too, such a lush growing plant. But if you want showier blooms maybe a clematis montana.... lots of pink flowers, beautiful seedheads, and maybe a few annual vines growing through it to provide blooms later in the season as well. My husband just put in an arbor very similar to yours, a bit smaller, so I'm trying to sway him on what to plant with it!