Winter Interest in the Garden - part 3 - Variegated Leaves.

A really good collection of photos here.
They show what varieties of colour can be found in a small selection of leaves. Interesting.

Every garden needs evergreen plants like these for use as a good winter backbone. It gives the garden interest, as well as colour, structure and rhythm.

Nice close ups.

I can't wait for my evergreens to grow a bit so that they make more impact in the winter.
You have some beautiful plants.

Hi I was only thinking we hadnt heard from you, I thought you might have gone down with the lurgi........so pleased you are ok, another most interesting blog with lovely photographs to go with it, like you I love my variegated leaves and would not be without them, rather worried with these prolonged frosts we are not used to them here.

Great photos Spitz. I love all the different colour variations in the leaves. :o)

Beautiful colours Spritz, they have given me a bit of inspiration, particularly the osmanthus, lovely

Beautiful Spritz, i do love a bit of vairigation in the garden, and you are dead right, they really are the stars of the show this time of year. What varieties are your Phomiums? lovely close ups by the way, they look quite simular to the 2 i have, 'Jester' and 'Cream Delight' - very good taiste me thinks! lol

Yes, Angie - I do believe one is 'Jester' - but the greeny one is that monster that we inherited - so I haven't a clue what that one is! I also have 'Maori Princess' but forgot to take a photo before Christmas and was NOT off out into the cold to take one!

Thanks everyone else for the lovely comments.

Your monster is Phormium Tenax Tricolour, I know it very well as this was the variety I had to take out of my mixed hedge. I now have 5 of them in pots in the back garden

I hope yours aren't 10 ft high by at leat 8 ft Andrea! You'd need MASSIVE pots! lol.

Seriously, thanks for the info.

A lovely selection Spritz , the garden would be a sorry place without these wonderful evergreen plants and shrubs in the winter it would look quite bare !

Good selection of evergreens, enjoyed looking at them.

Lovely tour of your variegated plants Spritz, I do so like anything variegated. Have a few in my pots.
Hope you are beginning to feel better.....Ooops, just seen your other blog so know you are beginning to feel better. :-)

Really enjoyed this latest informative blogs with great photos Spritz. Glad to have you back!

Found the Blog Barbara. Thanks for sharing the photos of your lovely, variegated plants. I have some of your shrubs but I dont have any variegated ivies - as they are quite a nuisance grown in the wrong place, may I ask where you grow yours - would like some and good for the birds too.

There are some that don't get to be a nuisance, Dawn. Look out for H.helix 'Little Diamond' which only grow to about 3'.That's a pretty one growing up a fence.

Otherwise, yes, in the wrong place I agree with you. We had to kill off a beautiful one growing up the side of this house, as it was damaging the wall.

Where are mine? I have a beauty growing up a trellis fence in the shade. The others are all on the walls around the garden - sorry - that's not helpful to people who aren't lucky enough to have some walls, I know.

H. helix 'Adam' seems to be a non-invasive one - he took ages to persuade that he should climb! I like his colouring - it's the middle one of the three photos above.

DO NOT grow 'Paddy's Pride' - that can really get to be a nuisance! (the last photo of the three) Where I have it, I can cut it back, but at our previous house, my husband had to remove it as it covered the whole side of the house and tried to get under the guttering! Talk about vigorous!

I know what you mean about them being invasive. At a previous property we had the golden heart one and it was gorgeous but growing up the house, oh dear, looked great at the start until it went mad .... and then if you remove them you are left with their roots, if you know what I mean. I dont have any walls unfortunately in the garden so I will consider your suggestions for the smaller ones, thank you. I've plenty of trees for them to grow up but that's not the best idea is it? Thanks again, Dawn