Winter Interest in my garden - part 2 - Variegated leaves.

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I’m glad that nobody dozed off during part 1, so I’m hoping that you’ll stay awake and enjoy part 2!

Coloured leaves are wonderful to ‘lift’ the spirits in the garden in the chilly and damp days of winter.

What about variegated-leaved plants and shrubs, though? Is there a place for them, too, amongst the other plants in my garden?

Well yes, because they come in all shapes and sizes, from large shrubs, to small plants; bright, muted, gold, silver, pink, cream, yellow and of course green. They can be specimens on their own – or planted alongside others to make a ‘picture’ within a bed or border. Texture and form? Yes, that’s there too.

LARGE

Aucuba japonica ‘Picturata’

This shrub always gives the impression that it’s in the sun, even on the dullest day. I have to clip it to keep it in shape, and to stop it getting unmanageable, but it’s not a problem.

Aucuba japonica leaves

This particular one has a lot of yellow in the leaves – other Aucubas may not be as bright! They also have tiny purple flowers in the summer – but they’re hard to spot. Aucubas are often found in gardens on busy roads, as they are such a good-natured species that they can cope with air pollution. At least I haven’t got that here to test mine! I have small geraniums planted under the ‘skirts’.

small

Here’s a beautiful variegated Heucherella – one of my favourites. These plants enjoy some shade, so it’s lovely to see the colour of the leaves tucked away under a shrub or in a dull area.

x Heucherella ‘Alabama Sunrise’

Yes, the yellow flowers of the Chrysogonum virginianum are still there as well – for a short while, anyway. This was a new plant to me – I found it when I was getting rid of all that Comfrey, and wanted some new shade plants! It has been in flower since then, and I was told that it flowers for nine months of the year. What a find to plant each side of the Heucherella!

BRIGHT

How bright can bright get? As bright as the leaves on the new Euonymus japonicus I planted in a space where I removed a few thuggish Japanese Anemones. Wonderful – more sunshine for dark wintry days. It will glow amongst the bright flowers of the ‘hot’ border in the summer.

Euonymus japonicus ’Maiden’s Gold’

muted

Variegated leaves are not all brightly coloured, though. They can be subtly marked, and be just as beautiful, but in a different way. Their planting companions will help them to create a cameo in a border which will last right through the year, but give me a lot of colour and pleasure during the winter in particular.

Heuchera ‘Strawberry Candy’

This Heuchera may be green – but its leaf markings make it special now – alongside a very pretty Lophomyrtus ‘Little Star’. Then, in the summer, the Heuchera’s bright pink flowers will ‘pick up’ the pink in the leaves of its companion.

Lophomyrtus ‘Little Star’

GOLD

I’m always revamping beds and borders in my garden, as I know many of you do, too. There are times when a shrub gets too old to prune or keep any longer – this was the case with a Hebe at the back of the corner bed. However, that made a revamp possible, and I found a beautiful replacement. No, it doesn’t flower, true, but it glows gold and green all year round instead! I was able to tuck a new Hebe in as well – one grown from a cutting. I hope that this Griselinia will grow and spread to make a glorious ‘backcloth’ to this bed.

Griselinia littoralis ‘Bantry Bay’

SILVER

I have several Euonymus shrubs in my garden. They are such useful and accommodating plants. They’ll grow in shady or sunny positions, and will take hard pruning to keep them to the shape and size required for that particular situation.

Euonymus fortunei ‘Silver Queen’

There are two ‘Silver Queen’ shrubs kept clipped in the top border. This gives a bit of structure all year round.

Euonymus japonicus ‘Variegata’

This very similar shrub differs from the ‘Queens’ in the size and shape of its leaves, and its upright growing habit. It is to be found in a narrow shrub border alongside a path. I have two blue Clematis growing through the shrubs in the summer.

PINK

The Lophomyrtus could appear again here – but instead, here’s my Hebe ‘Heartbreaker’. This little Hebe, which doesn’t often produce flowers, starts off with pale cream and green leaves. There’s only a hint of pink during the rest of the year, but it gets pinker and pinker as the temperatures drop! It has red violas to keep it company.

Hebe ‘Heartbreaker’ in mid November

Again, on December 5th

I have another new shrub in my garden – a Pittosporum. I’ve got an all-green one, a dark leaved one – and now a variegated version! It won’t grow as large as the others, and I’m hoping that it proves to be as hardy here as they are. It has pink, cream and green leaves and black stems. I loved it at first sight!

Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Magic’

This is planted near the main paved path to the front door, to give a little extra colour as I walk in or out. During the summer, this area comes alive with pink and mauve flowers, as the main colours.

TEXTURE & FORM

Very seasonal – Holly and Ivy!

Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Lawsoniana’

I inherited three variegated Holly shrubs – well, they’re more like trees, really. They are all different, but this one is my favourite. It has no prickles, but does have berries – that is, it does for a very short while – until the birds get there! I never have holly with berries on it to decorate the house at Christmas time. I don’t begrudge the birds, though.

Hedera helix ‘Adam’

To finish with, here’s a lovely shaped set of leaves – close-up to see them better. Ivies can be useful – and especially beautiful are the variegated forms. This one is planted to climb up a stone wall, to soften it, and to create a ‘background’ against which my Hamamelis can glow in a few weeks’ time.

You may well get to see the two I have in another episode!

I must stop – I could show you more – but I’ve gone on too long already. I hope you saw a few shrubs and plants to enjoy, as well as an insight into how I use them in my garden?

• 8 Dec, 2009
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