I'll Probably Kill It

We're in need of a little help around here. Our front door is, well, DRAB. I'd like to change that, but have no idea how.

I have the exact opposite of a green thumb. When I put on my big girl panties and moved into my very own apartment, all by myself (!), my mom gave me two philodendron plants. Apparently those plants are hearty, require minimal care, and are pretty hard to kill off. Whelp, I went and managed to kill 'em. Both.
This leads me back to our front door...

1. That's a planter - with NO plants. It's been sitting empty for.ev.er.
2. That's a rock. You can't kill a rock.
3. Even our wreath looks sickly. How is that possible?
The other green stuff you see is taken care of by the gardeners. Woohoo for HOA dues.

We were browsing through the plants at our home improvement store and there were so many vibrant, beautiful flowers and plants to choose from. I wanted to snatch up a few and pretty up my entrance.

All that color! These would certainly take the drab out of front entry.

After a short conversation with Scott we both knew better than to blow money on something that wouldn't last us a week. Anything we considered buying I knew I'd probably kill. The lady in the store suggested we try plants that are common in the desert (we do live in desert climate after all). These were our options:

Blah. So boring.

Um, thanks, but no thanks. These would just blend right in with the rest of the boring brown canvas we call an entry. 

I spotted some lawn/garden ornaments and figured those were more up my alley. They have color and they can't be killed. Sounded about right for me.

Sadly, I walked away from these too. Where was I to put them? It the empty planter? 

Getting real nit picky, and probably impossible, I don't want to put artificial plants out. A few of our neighbors have done that and the plants turn an insane, unnatural color, and are obviously fake. If we're being really real (which we are) I'd probably find a way to kill a fake plant, too. Whomp whomp.

Here's where I need some guidance, if that's possible at this point. Is there anything out there that I can put in our entry that is durable, doesn't look like a cactus, and won't mind a lot little neglect? (Our door faces west.) Sarah {Our Journey}, I know you have a phenom green thumb. I'm looking at you!

Beautiful, right? If only I could keep something like this alive!