What no flowers? Green is boring I hear you say..

Well – it isn’t boring if you look more closely! I created a leafy area in a garden a while back. It’s called the green garden but it is actually quite colourful – in a quiet way. No showy flowers, but lot’s of different leaf shapes and different leaf colours create a very interesting tapestry.

You can’t beat the big leaves of Gunnera manicata for impact – if you have the space. For the jungle look on a smaller scale (if a Gunnera m. is too big for your garden) Rheum palmatum is a nice plant from the rhubarb family. Many ligularias have nice leaf colours (if the slugs spare them)(try Ligularia ‘Britt Marie Crawford), as do hostas and heucheras. Maybe add an acer for height, leaf colour and leaf shape. And ferns – don’t get me started… I love them now that I look more closely. My favourite is Blechnum – it unfolds quite late and is truly dramatic. Some Pulmonarias give you spotty leaves during the growing season (on top of nice flowers in spring) and Hellebore leaves can also be very attractive (with flowers in late winter). 

Once you get started it’s great fun – so don’t say a garden (or at least part of a garden) without flowers is boring…