A few years ago my wife complained about the boring area outside her bathroom window. I had tried to plant various perennials in the ground, but the dry sandy root filled ground, which is mostly shaded just would not cooperate with my efforts and the plants withered or died. I finally decided to lay down weed guard fabric and cover with leaves, and then made a mass planting of perennials in mostly 3 gallon nursery pots. Here is the result, which has made the wife happy and works for us.
[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/aghenderson/5777440902/in/photostream[/url]