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Focus on Foliage
for Season - Long Colour by
Lorraine Flanigan
Season-long colour – it’s what we all strive for in our gardens. From the minute the snows melt in spring to the first fluffy flakes of winter, we expect our gardens to be full of pinks and purples, lilacs and lavenders, rubies and russets, lemons and oranges. But if the truth were to be told, this is one of the hardest things to achieve in garden design. June is often a month of plenty, filled with the blossoms of Roses, Peonies, Foxgloves, Yarrows, and Bellflowers. Some of these colourful flowers spill over into July, but by midsummer, the garden produces an occasional flowery spike, bravely waving above a sea of green. By fall, we’re waiting for the trees to turn colour to add a touch of brightness to the garden, and during winter, we’re opening the design books, searching for perennials with late-season flowers. By spring, we’re so delighted with the small clump of Crocuses making their way through the snow, that we’ve forgotten our good intentions of finding flowers to fill in the gaps. This is where perennials with colourful foliage come to our rescue. Not only do the rich bronze, burgundy and plum leaves of plants like Bergenias, Heucheras, Persicarias and Tiarellas act as foils for flowers, enhancing the pink petals of Cranes Bills (Geraniums) and Dianthus or the bright orange spikes of Torch Lilies (Kniphofias), but foliage adds colour to the garden that lasts from spring until frost. The ruby-red fall foliage of Bergenia ‘Bressingham Ruby’ shines as brightly in the garden as any velvety red rose. Performing best in part shade to full sun, the leaves of this Blooms of Bressingham beauty start out glossy green in the spring, accenting its rosy-red flowers. In addition to clusters of frothy flower spikes, four Coral Bells (Heuchera) varieties from Blooms feature attractive foliage. The bronze leaves of ‘Harmonic Convergence’ are marbled with silver, giving a shimmering luster to the mixed border while ‘Bressingham Bronze’, a dark, plumy Heuchera micrantha with large ruffled leaves forms generous clumps of handsome foliage in both sunny and partially shaded gardens. ‘Silver Lode’ has leaves that are almost complete matte silver on the upper side, with the main veins outlined in dark bronze green and the undersides of the leaves are red purple. White flowers bloom from June into mid-July. Its sibling ‘Raspberry Ice’ has foliage with an intriguing mesh of dark veins over a background of raspberry and frosty silver with burgundy undersides. As an added bonus, the two-toned pink blooms flower on numerous pink stems from late spring into August. A hybrid of Coral Bells and Foamflower, Foamy Bells (Heucherella) ‘Quicksilver’ is a garden chameleon, its leaves turning from red to green and then to bronze, overlaid with silver. These demure, compact perennials make colourful edging plants for the front of the border. Two new Foam Flowers (Tiarella) feature extended bloom periods along with a colourful foliage show. ‘Pink Pearls’ has sprays of very light pink, starry flowers from midspring well into summer. In fall and until frost a mass of red and bronze mature leaves are mixed with the bright green new growth of late summer. The foliage of ‘Pink Brushes’ starts out in spring as shiny green with distinctive maroon central veining creating an unusual “quilted appearance.” The color deepens through the season, saving the best for last. After frost, the entire plant becomes a gorgeous medley of autumn colors, bronze and dark greens edged in bright red. Coming into their own during the cool days of autumn are the leaves of Persicaria affinis ‘Dimity’, turning bright scarlet as they carpet the garden. A ground-hugging perennial that’s been a good performer since its introduction over 20 years ago, ‘Dimity’ also flowers from early summer to early fall – a perennial that performs all season long. Blooms of Bressingham – providing perennials for all seasons.
Pictures of individual plants available |