IN KEEPING WITH the other week’s article, let us add to our list of great summer plants. All of these selections are for their foliage.
1. Rex begonias
These begonias are noted for their large 6- to 8-inch leaves and the incredible texture and designs on top of them. Many people have seen the “Iron Cross” version of a rex begonia with its perfect, thick black cross in the middle of each leaf. Rex begonias come in a multitude of colors and weird leaf designs. Because the plant comes from corms, this unusual plant will be around for years. They love indirect light and well-drained soils and are a knock as a shade planting around impatiens.
2. Hostas (funkia)
Here is another gorgeous foliage plant for the shade. They are available in a range of colors, such as blue, yellow, white, variegated or multi-hued. Hostas range in size from just a few inches high to 4 or 5 feet tall. A hosta’s leaf shape can vary from long and narrow to broad or spooned. Buy numerous varieties and create a real noticeable shade flower bed out of colored leaves.
3. Bronze leaf cannas
Canna lilies are great, but the bronze leaf ones are exotic. Huge banana leaves with great veins give these plants real appeal. Because they are tall (4 to 6 feet), use them in the center of pots or beds as a high focal point. Their dark leaves set off bright colors superbly, and they will continue to grow in size until the first frost. Cannas are bulb-type plants, so next year, you will have even more. The new and shorter tri-colored varieties “Tropicana” or “Bengal tiger” are the cats’ meow around the taller bronze leaf cannas.
4. Sedums
Sedum offers a wide array of leaf colors along with myriad textures. They bloom at different times of the year, great fall colors, are tall and in between, and can be cut or dried. They are especially drought-tolerant as well as disease- and bug-resistant.
5. Purple ruffled basil
Use ornamental Basils to excite your senses of smell, sight and taste. The dark opal variety has a rich color on thick 1-foot plants. It is also superior in flavoring oils. “Purple Ruffles” is an award winner because of its unique pattern and high visibility. “Manette,” another version of the plant, is a perfect 10-inch plant with delicious fragrance and mild flavors in cooking.
6. Coleus
This plant created a craze in the Victorian era, and one look at it will make it clear why. Coleuses have interesting leaves edge with nice serrations. They come in a host of color combos and leaf variations that include ruffled, oak leaf and, my favorite, sabered. They have great color and mood appeal, especially when planted en masse, and are perfect for shade or semi-shade areas.
7. Amaranthus
Stunning, brilliant, awesome — what is it? These words always follow amaranthus. They are 4 to 6 feet tall, columnar plants with high contrast leaf colors and poinsettia-like leaves (blooms), and they are drought-tolerant. Like a cat, they want to lie out in the full sun all day.
8. Caladium
Caladiums are the perfect filtered-light foliage plant. With unusual, 6- to 10-inch, heart-shape leaves, caladiums are perfect as greens for flower arrangements. And the more you harvest caladiums, the better it will look and grow. The color patterns on their leaves are their claim to fame, because no other plant can compare. They are from corms, so you get more every year.
9. Elephant ears
Now that you are hooked on caladiums, find their uncle, the elephant ear (colocasia). Elephant ears are exactly that — huge leaves that look like the ears of a pachyderm. Seek out the dark varieties like black magic for a startling effect in the shade of a partial-shade garden. These plants are big bulbs that produce more each year, which keeps them inexpensive. Try planting elephant ears around caladiums for a stunning border.
10. Grasses
Please get ornamental grasses for your yard. Like the whiskers of a cat, grasses give year-round interest to the yard and a spiky texture. Wonderful varieties like Japanese blood grass, acoruses or blue festucas give a nice color to the yard. Their winter tassels sway in the breeze for great effect. Grasses get few bugs or diseases and fare very well on the North Olympic Peninsula. The purple ornamental millets (pennisetum glaucum) are especially nice for a bizarre colored-corn effect.
11. Artemisia/silver brocade
I know we just had this listed as a pendulous material two weeks ago, but I just want to reiterate my point. This is a perfect, white, oak leaf and is a fantastic low-growing highlighter.
12. Croton (or other tropical foliage plant)
Be creative and use indoor plants as outdoor summer accents. In winter and spring, move them back indoors to enjoy. I especially enjoy using the bright, multicolored croton or the burgundy rubber tree as a centerpiece to a pot.
13. Ornamental produce
The plant industry has introduced many great edible foliage and vegetable plants to the market. Ornamental kale, cabbage, parsley, swiss chard, beets, peppers and carrots are just a few. The leaf colors on these vegetables are excellent, and our cool evenings make them delectable to eat. Try a curly parsley border with a purple basil middle and a tall Russian kale center as a 100 percent edible, ornamental leaf bed.
You might even want to plant some catnip. Your felines will love it.
So, while doing all of that, stay well all!
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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
