Great idea! Another might be a caladium for some punch.

Martie

Certain coleuses should work too.
Both, calladiums and coleuses in a pots could be placed right on top of the former places of spring bulbs thus partially solving the problem of overwatering and marking the space.
This year I'm trying different irises (siberian, ensata and pallida) in pots for the same purpose. So far, can't say I'm happy.
Ostrich/Cinnamon ferns while being too agressive to put in a 'normal' bed, could give a fancy accent to certain places in a movable pots.

While their leaves are not huge, I love those of Peonies. And I also very much like the size and scale of grasses for sunnier borders.

I have mostly partial shade gardens here, so I use a lot of Hosta, Solomon's Seal, Iris. I am also quite fond of Rodgersias, Kirengeshoma, and Asarum europaeum. I have tons of ferns, all "natives", but my favorite "planting" (I built the back garden around them, actually) is in its own special area, so I have not noticed any tendancy toward invasiveness or any quality I might consider "rank".

I like the idea of using Caladium and larger leafed annuals in planters... think the concept of elevating them is terrific, too.

Since your space is not hot sun, another option for large leaves is ligularia.

Mindy, after I saw Dan Hinkley speak at the Amherst, NH garden club last month I ran out and bought ornamental rhubarb, Rheum 'Ace of Hearts'. Wasn't it just amazing when he showed his slides of plant combos with and without just one plant? The garden settings went from stunning to ho-hum. Since most of my garden is shade to part shade I'm used to gardening with foliage textures and shapes and was struggling to tone down the fine texture you get with most sun plants. In the shade you have so many bold options-hostas, ligularias, rodgersias...I guess that's why I like tropicals so much-bold foliage for sun.

Sue

i agree with you, sue. i have been playing more with tropicals, but mostly set off on their own. for some reason, for instance, i find that in my own gardens, i'm not comfortable trying to combine flowering tropicals with non-tropical flowering plants.Ex. Cannas: i have them in their very own wet bed, with some strong colored though non-tropical foliage. i like the black leaved cannas, so i have them in w/ yellow acorus edging backed w/ ligularia marie... and vitex agnus castus and varieg bamboo and black colocasia.and ravenna grass.
in trying to figure out, right now,why i feel this way about cannas, i think it must be their loud flower colors- which don't go well in my borders. and i guess when i see them, my mind strongly subconsciously feels that if i'm not in calif or hawaii, they don't belong. ha. oh well...i do love them as the alpha plant in their own bed.
best, mindy

Mindy:

I felt the same way about tropicals until I started doing some serious container planting and saw the results in miniature. Now, in the ground, papyrus lives happily by Siberian Iris and Ligularia; cannas and hibiscus live with heirloom roses; Passiflora(s) wind themselves through more open species of Viburnum. Odd combos that I wouldn't have ever tried without containers, first.

As a history buff I also think back on the early treks into the wild without any modern conveniences and how excited those folks were with their discoveries. Can you imagine, for example, if Rosa chinensis had never been plucked up and carried across an ocean????

Getting a bit off the track, here, but I've learned that bold tropicals in unexpected places don't cheapen the stature of a garden. Give it a try!

Martie

Mindy, if it's the canna flowers you don't like, try cutting them off. I have to admit I rarely consider flowers at all when I combine plants-just the shape, color and texture of the foliage. Since many perennials have relatively short bloom times I've taken to using larger annuals like tender salvias as fillers.

Anyone who is interested in containers and tropical plants should get a copy of Sydney Eddison's book, "Gardens To Go-Creating and Designing Container Gardens". It's filled with basic info and color photos to get the idea juices flowing.

Sue