More half barrels!

Hi,
Having been thrilled with my half barrel purchase last week for �£15, my boss at the Care home was impressed too, and asked me if I could fill 4 more!
Any suggestions then please? They really are quite large half barrels, so I guess a shrub of some sort.....but quite hardy, and will stand up to the winds of Caithness! Please don't say Potentilla, the bosses wife seems to have a love for them already!!Any ideas greatly received.
Lyn

 

pieris flaming silver my favorite!! goes pink,lime has white flowers its a beaut like acid soil apparently,so youll have to review it more im only a beginner lol good luck

 

They're pretty big, aren't they, those barrels? What I've done in the past is to get bulbs in deep round the edges, so they come up every spring, and have a tallish evergreen thing in the centre, like a spotted laurel, or some other shiny-leaved plant, and have bedding in between, which I change according to seasons - have to say, this is for public display things, but that seems to be what you're after?? Ivies are good on the edges too, to give a bit of trailing interest. I've found that makes a reliable display. If it was my own one I was planting up, it would be rather different, I have to say, my own tastes being a bit more for a natural look!