Story by Jenny Andrews
Photos by Chelsea Stickel; `Sweet Tea' Foamy Bells courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries |
Rivaling the pageantry of a richly tricked-out runway show, colorful foliage plants are as eye-catching as any flowers, sometimes more so. And the display can last all season, even all year — far longer than most plants can hope to bloom. Whether striped, splashed, edged, speckled or awash in a solid vibrant shade, these leafy garden luminaries add pizzazz to the border and make container combos pop. |
'Pink Chaos' Coleus
Hot-pink leaves with ruffled, variegated borders edged with a thin line of light green make Solenostemon 'Pink Chaos' look like an explosion of neon paisley. Grows 6 to 18 inches tall. Can be perennial in Zones 10 to 11, but elsewhere is an annual.
|
New Guinea Impatiens
One of 22 varieties in the Celebrette Series, 'Coral Light' has a kickin' combination of large coral flowers hovering over dark-edged foliage midstriped with a blaze of more coral. Needs some shade, but laughs at heat and humidity. Grows 8 to 10 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide. Annual.
|
Bright Star Yucca
A glowing combination of blue-green and butter-yellow, with a tantalizing blush of pink on older plants and in cool weather. Bright Star (officially named Yucca gloriosa 'Walbristar') forms a spiky crown of flexible swordlike leaves. Slow growing, it eventually forms a short
| 
'Blazin' Lime' Beefsteak Plant
Oleander (Nerium oleander)A cultivar of Iresine herbstii, which is also disturbingly called chicken gizzard and bloodleaf, 'Blazin' Lime' is the new sister to the popular 'Blazin' Rose'. Sports lime-green leaves with cream-yellow veining on fuchsia-pink stems. Puts on the best show in light shade. Heat tolerant. Grows 1 to 2 feet tall. Annual. | 
'Anne Greenaway' Spotted Dead Nettle
A vibrant groundcover for the shade garden, Lamium maculatum 'Anne Greenaway' forms a 6- to 8-inch-tall mass of scallop-edged variegated leaves that glitter with chartreuse, silver and mint green. Clusters of small lilac-mauve flowers add to the display in late spring, but the foliage can last all year in mild-winter regions. Perennial. Zones 3 to 8. | 
'Sweet Tea' Foamy Bells
Coppery-orange leaves, 4 inches across, are marked with cinnamon-colored stars. X Heucherella 'Sweet Tea', a hybrid between Tiarella and Heuchera villosa, forms a neat mound 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. Performs best in light shade. Looks fabulous no matter how hot the summer. Perennial. Zones 4 to 8. | | | |
