One thing I am really drawn to is burgundy or dark foliage in borders.
Don’t get me wrong, I love bright blooms, but the longer I garden the more I am interested in what the beds look like from start to finish.
Having shots of colorful foliage is a sure way to add interest and texture to your plantings all season long.
As my garden evolves, so do my choices in shrubs and groundcovers. I am thinking more about contrast and textures and how things will look from early spring to late fall.
I think a good mix and contrast is the key, so that when things bloom it is just am added bonus.
Plus I am trying to get things more noticeable from a distance and they dark leaves do the trick. I am putting a lot of faith in my tiny Japanese Maple to grow…grow…GROW and fill in this area with a pop of color!
Here are a few of the plants I enjoy for dark foliage….. Smoke Bush….a favorite.
Husker Red Penstemon and Plum Pudding Heuchera (picture from last summer)
Red Carpet Sedum (picture from last summer)
Wine and Roses Wilgea (picture from last summer)
Purple Leaf Sand Cherry, Crimson Pygmy Barberry, Diablo Ninebark, Ajuga, Grasses, and Japanese Maple are also plants I use and enjoy for their dark colors…. I am sure I’m leaving out some too. Of course there are a lot of annuals like coleus that are wonderful accents.
Hopefully this might give you an idea or two on how to make your existing things stand out even more.
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Gardening….Brooke
Sure does give me a couple of things to consider,love the red sedum!
ReplyDeleteThanks Darla! I have that sedum everywhere, it has cute little pink blooms for about 2 weeks in late summer, and it is a great groundcover. It never gets over 3 inches high and you can break it off and poke it in the ground and it will root. It looks bad for about 2 weeks, then you see new growth. I got it in one of those buy one, get one for a penny gardening catalogs my first year at this house. It has come back stronger each year and gets lots of comments when people visit.
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