At work we have been refreshing our building and preparing for the future. I wanted to do something to make our front entry look nicer, so I had a plan. We have a nice bench but it was rather plain by itself, so I thought I would dress it up with some flowers.
Here is what I imaged.
Something nice and lots of color on a wire stand similar to this.
The problem is I only have a $50.00 budget.
So off to the greenhouse I go to investigate what my real options are. On the way I prayed that God would direct me to the right plants and give me an idea of how to make this work.
I got to the greenhouse and starting looking at what they had. All the impatiens were gone, and she did not have any blooming type plants that were for shaded area.
But God!
She had a beautiful plant called a Caladium.
Caladiums, Caladium bicolor, are grown for their long-lasting, colorful foliage. Color combinations include various shades of red, pink, white, green, and yellow-green, with prominently colored midribs and contrasting margins. There are two basic types of caladium cultivars: fancy- and strap-leaved. Fancy-leaved types have large, heart-shaped or semi-heart-shaped leaves borne on long petioles. The strap- or lance-leaved types have smaller, narrower, thicker, elongated leaves on short petioles giving the plants a more compact habit. Strap-leaved caladiums produce more leaves per tuber than fancy-leaved caladiums. Fancy-leaved types range in height from 12 to 30 inches while most strap-leaved types are under a foot in height.
Caladiums grow best in the partial shade of open, high-branched trees. They will perform reasonably well in full shade, but the color may not be as outstanding. Caladiums traditionally needed protection from full sun for best growth and color, but some of the newer cultivars tolerate exposure to full sun for a couple of hours daily.
PERFECT! Caladiums are a plant that grows up, and provides height, but I need something that spreads out and has some fullness.
The Swedish ivy was the ticket.
The plant has glossy, green, round leaves, which show a deep purple color in the center sometimes. This deep purple can also be found on the plant stems and on the underside of leaves. The upright racemes appear white, pale violet or pale pink and can sprout sporadically throughout the year. Plectranthus verticillatus is a robust plant doing well in indirect sunlight, mostly cultivated as hanging houseplant. In frost-free areas it is also found as groundcover in gardens or sprouting down walls. It likes to stay moist and it also responds well to pruning. It can easily be rooted with cuttings and its vulnerability is low; but a weak plant can be infested with spider mite.
I used the Swedish ivy as the base of the pot and the Caladiums as the centerpiece, quite beautiful.
After I got these potted, I knew they needed something for a little height next to the bench. I looked all around our place and I found these 2 logs we cut and they were almost identical in size, a PERFECT FIT.
After getting this bench and flowers we power washed the walls and cement and it looks so nice.
Budget. The pots were 2.00 each, the Caladiums were 5.99 each, the Swedish Ivy were 8.00 each, and the potting soil was 7.99. Logs FREE. Total is $ 39.97
Thank you God for giving me direction and the results were so much better than I could have imagined.
Linked with:
Lowell Lane 
Maybe next year we can do something like this at home.
I do like the planters on the stumps.
Laura