I'm with you, wanting to plan things for the coming year. I've got Japanese Maples in pots and I love them. Another plant that is nice and is evergreen is camelia. The glossy dark green leaves are great in the wintertime. And the canopy will stop the rain from browning the flowers. I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions.

Hi Dotty, Thanks for your suggestions. That's funny... I was thinking of both of those just this morning. I have a Burgundy Lace maple on my front lawn and I love it. I'm wondering what kind of JM would be a good idea? I also have a Camelia Japonica in my garden. Great ideas and I'm open to more suggestions?

A few more suggestions:
Acer palmatum 'Villa taranto', lovely delicate foliage and color
Fatsia japonica for the bold tropical look
Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow'

and underplant with Brunnera 'Jack Frost' or Hakonechloa 'Fubuki'

Local independent outlets happy to point you in the direction of suitable candidates, likely to have their own finished planted containers on display.

You might consider some evergreen flowering shrubs such as Camellia sasanqua cultivars, Aucuba japonica cultivars, Fatsia japonica, Daphne odora variegata(fragrant blooms in Jan/Feb), Osmanthus fragrans for the taller evergreen shrub), Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki', and filler greens below the taller things such as Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' or Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' and Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens, smaller flowering bulbs such as Ipheion uniflora, maybe using some winter blooming color such as Hellebores and Cyclamens. All of these plants will handle the bright shade it sounds like you have, and give you some good evergreen foliage year round. You could fill in with annual color in the warmer months, and tuck in things like the Cyclamens, Ornamental Kale or Primroses for winter color. Some trailing perennial flowers that work well in bright shade might include Campanula porschkaryana, or variegated Vinca minor such as 'Illumination'.

Thank you so much everyone. Many of these plants I have no idea what they are so it will be fun to google them and look at the images. Why should I choose Camelia Sasanqua over Camila Japonica? What is the difference between the two? Thanks again for all your help. Now I have plenty of ideas and I'll print these all out.

Again, all you have to do is just visit some local outlets and see what they have in person to find out what the plants look like, how big they are. You're going to be there anyway, in order to make purchases.

The large independent garden centers in my area currently have blocks of both kinds of camellias on display near one another, with the usual informational signs.

Note that if cold gets in under the awning during Arctic fronts and freezes the containers much some kinds of plants mentioned here are liable to have problems. Fatsia for instance, which I can't even keep under low-branching conifers, in the ground on Camano Island.

Hi bboy, great idea! I'll definitely want to visit my garden centre soon. The folks there are really knowledgeable and helpful and have a large selection of plants all year round. Thanks again for helping me.

Re: sansanqua versus japonica camellias; I happen to prefer the sansanqua's because they are more graceful in foliage habit and fall into winter bloomers, rather than winter into spring for the japonica's. Also, at least here in northern California, they are much less likely to get camellia blight and are more often the single petal type which I find more interesting. Look at both in bloom and out of bloom and see which you like better. Some of the Camellia sansanqua cultivars are superior for using as espaliers against a wall, which shows them off at their best.

Sasanquas should be grown more in the PNW. I don't know why they're not! I put in two viney ones on the west side of a fence in a narrow bed. Now about 4' tall and 8' wide, kept close to the fence by tying back stems once a year or so. The stems are small, so it's easy to snip off one that is growing straight out. They bloom in late fall or early winter. The blooms are not as large as the Japonicas, but lots of them. Also, they self-clean. Note: Not all Sasanquas are viney - and they come in a variety of heights - check the labels.

I haven't planted any sasanquas because all I see for sale are red ones and red doesn't go with my color scheme at all. I love their flowers that don't turn brown and rot off.

A tip from Marianne Binetti I remember is to go shopping in the month you want a display because that is when it's for sale at the nursery. If you want 3 months of color, go shopping all 3 months.

If you buy a 4" size color spot annual or blooming perennial you can usually transplant it into the gallon size pot that fits inside another pot then put the pot in a pot in your permanent planting. Then swap out the inside pot when you want a seasonal change. This pot in a pot idea is also Marianne's & you won't disturb the roots of the permanent planting. It works great!

I have a full-moon japanese maple that is gorgeous in a 20-24" square pot on our east-facing deck next to our house blocking out the view into our bathroom window.