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26 May 2011
Colourful Garden Plants as Accents
Garden plants with great foliage are the perfect accent for all your beautiful flowering plants. Often the focus is on the splendid varieties and colours of flower petals but the diverse selection of coloured foliage will give depth and contrast to the garden. Using colourful foliage shows a gardener’s desire to increase the aesthetic value of the garden. Blue, red, green, white and gold plant foliage are just a few possibilities to enhance the pinks, oranges and purples of flowering garden plants. Choosing foliage plants with interesting leaf shapes, sizes and textures will also add character to the garden. Creativity is important but even a subtle introduction of great foliage to flowers can be surprisingly pleasing to the eye.
Blending Colourful Foliage with Aloe Vera
A native to Africa, Aloe Vera is revered for its medicinal, topical, and cosmetic uses.
This truly fascinating foliage adds contrast to other tropical plants, palms, and flowers. The leaves of these garden plants are dark gray to green and serrated like a crocodile’s back. The long and slightly twisted stalks of Aloe Vera can grow 30 cms tall by 20 cms. Starting from the plant nurseries at 10 cms tall, it’s a good idea to keep the baby Aloe indoors or in your own nursery before planting. As the Aloe Vera matures, it won’t flower indoors but if nurtured outside in warm conditions, the yellow and orange flowers will bloom.
When the Aloe becomes strong, plant this foliage in the yard near the white hibiscus and the cabbage palm (or maybe adjacent to the Bird of Paradise and the Scarlet Fuchsia (Graptophyllum excelsum)). Make note of the care instructions for each of the plants and flowers so that all their needs are met or protected as you diversify with great garden foliage.
Great Foliage and Colourful Seasons
The colours of your foliage may change with the season. Most plant foliage lasts throughout the season and some all year around. While selecting the textures and colours it is important to inquire of the plants seasonal colours and densities. Knowing these changes for various plants and flowers will help a gardener plan their season to season vision. Some plants will change colours in the spring with blossoms while some may lose their leaves in the fall and others remain unchanged the whole year. Make the seasonal garden more appealing by placing smaller plants and flowers toward the front of the bed and around the bases of taller foliage. As seasons change, the thicker density of the foliage will not hinder the view.
Other Great Foliage Plants to Buy Online
Adding variety to a garden landscape with foliage is a creative process but also requires close attention to the needs of each individual plant species. Trying a contrast of shapes, colours and sizes, will bring fascinating variety to the backyard. Some combinations will work and others may fail but for a true gardener it is all an adventure. Here are some suggestions for great foliage:
Philodendron Xanadu (large plants)
Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus africanus)
Philodendron Selloum (Finger Leaf)
Travellers Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis)
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