The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
The right selection offoliage plantscan greatly impact your garden.
Choose foliage that will add bold shapes, fine textures, and brilliant color to your yard.
You’ll also find foliage that changes its color throughout the season.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Here’s a roundup of the best foliage plants to intersperse among your blooms.
Caladiums
Caladiums, also called elephant ears, look truly unique in a garden.
In cooler climates, grow them asannual plantsand bring them indoors for the winter.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Caladiums are toxic to humans and pets.
Canna
The Spruce / K. Dave
There’s no missing the tropical flair of canna plants.
Even without the flashy blooms, these plants stand out.
The Spruce / K. Dave
Some gardeners even remove the flower stalks, so that the plant can focus on the foliage.
Many artemisia plants(Artemisiaspp.)
They pick up the slightest glint of sunlight in partial shade and light up surrounding plants.
Joshua McCullough / Getty Images
Artemisia is toxic to humans and pets.
It wasn’t until a sun-loving coleus was developed that the plant truly captured the hearts of gardeners.
Sun-worshiping coleus comes in a rainbow of colors, sometimes all on one plant.
The Spruce / Cori Sears
Pinching makes the plants bushier and fuller, with more glorious colorful leaves to enjoy.
Coleus is toxic to pets.
Coral Bells
The Spruce / Kara Riley
The original coral bells(Heucheraspp.)
The Spruce / Kara Riley
were charming plants with ruffled green leaves and airy pink bell-shaped flowers that made them thefavorite plant of hummingbirds.
Today there are varieties with purple, bronze, and patterned leaves.
They form tidy clumps and are perfect for edging borders, planting under taller plants, and for containers.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
Hosta
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
Hostas (Hostaspp.)
come in shades of green, gold, and blue, as well as withvariegated leaves.
Although known as shade plants, there are hosta varieties for full sun.
The Spruce / Autumn Wood
Only a handful of hosta varieties, such asHosta plantaginea, have attractive flowers.
Hostas are toxic to pets.
There are numerous grasses to choose from, including native prairie grasses such aslittle bluestem.
The Spruce / Anastasia Tretiak
This is a sub-shrub that remains evergreen in hot climates.
In cooler climates, it is grown as an annual plant or as a houseplant.
Persian shield tolerates full sun, but the iridescence makes them almost glow in partial shade.
The Spruce / Kara Riley
Rex begonia is toxic to pets.
New Zealand Flax
New Zealand flax(Phormiumspp.)
is a wonderful dramatic accent in the garden.
Colin Varndell / Getty Images
In warmer climates,Phormiumsare evergreen perennials for warm climates.
They are related to the edible sweet potato, but the tuber is not as tasty.
The ornamental foliage comes in a wide variety of colors and names.
The Spruce / Autumn Wood
Plectranthus
Plectranthus(Plectranthus argentatus)is a free-growing, bushy plant that loves damp soil.
The leaves are thick and slightly fuzzy, with a ruffled edge that appears as variegated white.
Most plectranthus are grown strictly for foliage.
Jozef Jankola / 500px / Getty Images
Pinching them back periodically will keep them full and lush.
Japanese Painted Fern
Many ferns, with their lacy fronds and airy growing habits, are lovely.
Despite its moderate height, the Japanese painted fern(Athyrium niponicum)stands out in the crowd.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
The cultivar ‘Pictum’ has reddish-purple stems that make the silvery-green fronds shine even more.
‘Burgundy Lace’ takes it a step further with pink-tinted fronds.
Newer cultivars, such as ‘Helen von Stein’, have been bred vegetatively.
Georgia Glynn Smith / Getty Images
This means they do not bloom, so no deadheading is required to keep them looking great.
Amaranthus tricolor is a sunburst of yellows and orange.
These annual plants will light up your garden on the cloudiest days and for weeks on end.
David Q. Cavagnaro / Getty Images
Amaranthus tricolor is an annual plant and easy tostart from seed.
This soft, powdery gray foliage plant is extremely drought-tolerant and forgiving of many tough growing conditions.
Dusty miller is toxic to humans and pets.
Sirintra Pumsopa / Getty Images
The plant has a definite tropical flair and enjoys being grown partially submerged in water.
Elephant ears are toxic to humans and pets.
Lungwort
Lungwort(Pulmonariaspp.)
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
has stunning flowers in early spring; however, they don’t last very long.
Foliage plants are ornamental plants that are grown for their leaves rather than flowers.
Foliage plants are indoor houseplants, outdoor garden plants, or both.
Ron Evans / Getty Images
Pothos and spider plants are indoor plants and hostas are outdoor foliage plants.
Ivy can be both an indoor and outdoor plant.
Foliage plants typically need less direct sunlight than flowering plants.
For indoor plants, select aspot with indirect light.
Many outdoor foliage thrive in partial shade.
ensure the light conditions of the plant are met.
The same applies to water, fertilizer, and pruning.
familiarize yourself with the plant’s needs.
And the care is generally simpler as it is sometimes tricky to coax a flowering plant into blooming.
Also, there is no deadheading or other flower care involved in foliage plants.
Safe and Poisonous Garden Plants.
North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
