Foliage Plants
While flowers are often the primary concern of gardeners much thought should go into the selection of foliage plants, these garden necessities provide color and texture year round and it is often the clever selection of foliage plants that make a successful garden design.
Foliage Plants for hanging baskets and the garden are valuable for the year round color they provide. Foliage Plants that are variegated are always useful however other foliage plants for containers or even the shade garden are also most desirable. Foliage plants includes Silver, Black Red Purple, Variegated, and Gray Foliage Plants as well as Trailing and Indoor Foliage Plants for hanging Baskets
Variegated Foliage Plants
Variegated foliage plants are particularly useful in shaded areas where the natural variegation brings the shadows to life.
Variegated foliage plants include:
- Aucuba Japonica with its green and gold foliage is a stand out plant for a part shaded position in the garden border.
- Cornus alternifolia is a fantastic small tree with stand out foliage.
- Hostas are a great ground cover plant, many with outstanding foliage.
- Athryium niponicum 'picton' or Japanese painted fern is one of the best variegated ferns.
- Euonymus fortunei and cultivars such as 'Silver Queen' and 'Emerald and Gold'
- Phormium variegatum
- Weigella florida 'variegata'
- Hedera canariensis 'variegata' (Ivy)
Black foliage plants
Plants with black foliage can create a dramatic effect in the garden. However most black plants are really just a very dark red, so we include these as well. For shear impact why not try Colocasia esculenta or 'Black Magik elephant ears' (Black Wonder) huge leaves and great dark foliage. Slightly small is Colocasia esculanta 'illustris', the near black foliage has lime green veins ...stunning.
Other Black foliage plants include:
- Canna 'Black Night' and 'Red wine' nice near black to deep red foliage.
- Coleus 'Inky Fingers' really dark red centers with green margins on the foliage.
- Sambucus nigra
- Sedum spurium 'Voodoo'
- Heuchera 'Black Beauty'
- Black Mondo Grass
Silver Foliage Plants
Silver Foliage Plants (plants with silver leaves) for the garden include:
- Plectranthus argentatus - Silver Plectranthus
This one is from Australia and is an excellent silver foliage plant. - Buddleia crispa -
- Senico cineraria - Dusty Miller
- Stachys byzantina - Lambs Ears
- Conostylis candicans -Grey cottonheads
- Artemisia pycnocephela
- Artemisa 'Powis Castle' -Wormwood
An old favorite and perhaps one of the most reliable silver foliage plants of all. - Senico serpens - Blue Chalk Sticks
- Astelia banksii
- Astelia chathamica
- Adenanthus serricea 'Silver Streak'
- Arcotis - 'Silver Pink', 'Blood Red' and others.
- Actinotis helianthi - Flannel Flower
- Salvia officianalis - Sage
- Lavendula angustifolia - English Lavender
Another easy to grow and tough silver foliage plant. - Convolvus cneorm -
- Cerastium tomentosum - Snow in summer
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