Green envy: Four verdant containers

Verdant tapestry shopping list

• Copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Tahiti’)
• Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus)
• Goldheart English ivy (Hedera helix ‘Oro di Bogliasco’)
• ‘Lemon chiffon’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Lemon Chiffon’)
• Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’)
• Curly-leaved parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. crispum)

Planting steps and tips

1. Place the tallest plant—in this case, papyrus—in first.

2. Next, add the acalypha and curly-leaved parsley. Paul harvests the parsley throughout the season to eat and use in hand-tied bouquets.

3. Add the heuchera and ivy. Plant only one ivy, but pull the runners through the plant material to give the appearance of multiple plants.

4. If you have lysimachia, pluck it right out of the ground—and put it back in the fall.

Tip: If you have a small garden, incorporate edibles into your containers, then you can harvest them all summer long.