I’m not clear about what problem you’re solving. If that was my deck, I’d start with a small table on the left under the lamp—allows you to put a tray of drinks or whatever down while you open and close the door. Shrubs—hollies and yews, if you are all in for traditional and evergreen. Since the door and deck are not symmetrical, I would not go with a matched pair. (Beware of the dreaded funeral home entry look.) If the back of the house simply looks bare to you, consider a cover over the door and plantings (especially an ornamental tree to help establish a partial overhead plane) around the deck. Back to pots. Mixed pots with annuals, perennials and something evergreen would be fun to play with. Large pots with bubblers bring water and wildlife. Vines in pots can provide height, and there are beautiful options for small frames they can climb up.

Try this website for the best plants for the PNW - containers, dry shade and all other conditions. www.greatplantpicks.org/    All plants on the lists are usually easy to find in the better nurseries and websites on line. This is a great resource and you will find many different options for your requirements.

This is the view from our bedroom window. I have 46cm wooden barrel containers either side of the log store. The one of the right has a Photinia serratifolia (pink crispy) which is meant to grow to max 1.75m tall and 1m wide. I want something of a similar size for the other planter. It must be evergreen to provide a nice view all year round, and also compliment the Photinia. Ideally something flowering, which won't drop too much on the slate. I can switch the planters around if necessary (i.e. put the Photinia on the left). I was thinking of perhaps an upright rhododendron but they mostly seem to have a larger spread than height. Any ideas? (I'm in the UK) Thanks :)

Oh, the design and raw materials that go into packaging!!!!! Some of these packaging materials/containers are amazing! What a waste, though, for all of that engineering and precious resources to go into something that is to be used for once for some dubious purpose and cast into the mountain of waste. We must do better than that! I read somewhere that most of what we purchase ends up in the waste stream within six months. True, or not true, it is certainly believable. All of this head scratching to find ways to use these excess packaging materials is a good example of a solution that is looking for a problem. Normally, you have a problem/need and you look for something to fill that need. But, what I see more and more often is that there is no need, but plenty of solutions to that non need. So, we create needs by saving and storing our excess stuff in repurposed containers, thus leading us to save and store excess stuff that is probably not worth it. How many small items does one have to store and how many old containers? Some of this packaging is wonderous to behold, indeed! I love, love, love the packaging that Apple uses. That is the best cardboard, ever! I have a passion for cardboard as a building material and usually have a small stash of unusual and interesting cardboard to play with. When grandson was little I made all manner of things for him from cardboard. I love cardboard as a building medium. We are awash in way too much seriously good stuff. The best we can do is to reduce our consumption, and even more importantly, we need to adjust our expectations of what we think we deserve to have and to have it for as cheap as possible. Consumption of cheap consumer items is not good for the health of our only home, Earth. The store that you bought the item from is not where the responsibility rests. The major responsibility rests with the manufacturer and us, the consumer. I agree that those who produce the product should bear responsibilty for it. But, quit buying all manner of stuff that leaves you with empty containers and quit buying all of that stuff that gets stored in these containers.. There is good life without the major portion of all that. Our expectations are way beyond reasonable. We really do think that we are all that special! We cant buy our way out of this extraordinary and unprecented mess by trying to find stuff to store in our endless supply of used containers. We are only fooling ourselves, not Mother Nature or the polar bears.