Annual Accent Foliage
 Give your annual flower displays an extra pop by including accent foliage in the mix. Annual foliage helps showcase flowers and comes in a wide range of growth habits including: upright, mounding or trailing. Pair foliage with flowers that like  the same type of sun exposure. Some will grow best in shade, while others prefer full sun. Since they are non-flowering, still others can take either shade or sun. They are grouped in this manner below.
For a low maintenance container planting, mix several different types of foliage for a striking display. Those listed as 'trailing' can be used in containers OR planted in the ground and allowed to grow as an annual groundcover.
Accent Foliage for Shade
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Dead Nettle (Lamiastrum)
Habit: Trailing
This is actually a perennial but we often use different varieties of dead nettle in our containers.
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Pictured: Hermann's Pride
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Ferns
Habit: Trailing or Mounding depending on variety
Beautiful when paired with begonias. Simple and elegant.
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Joseph's Coat (Alternanthera)
Habit: Upright to mounding
Colorful foliage ranges from thin leaves to more tear-drop shaped. Comes in many different colors and textures.
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Persian Shield (Strobilanthes)
Habit: Upright
Veined purple leaves have a distinct sheen to them.
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Accent Foliage for Sun
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Dusty Miller
Habit: Upright
Lace and traditional types both have silver foliage that pair well with just about anything. Particularly nice with pastels.
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Flowering Cabbage
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Flowering Cabbage/Kale
Habit: Mounding (very rounded form)
These get rather large so use them in the ground or in a larger container. Wonderful rounded leaves deepen in color when the weather cools in the fall. Cabbage has a smooth leaf while kale is more frilly.
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Flowering Kale |
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Grasses
Habit: Upright to mounding (depending on variety)
Annual grasses add a lot of texture to combinations. They are a great alternative to traditional spikes.
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Pennisetum (Fountain Grass) 'Fireworks'
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Fiber Optic
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Pennisetum Rubrum (Purple Fountain Grass)-- Spring
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Pennisetum Rubrum (Purple Fountain Grass)
--Turning color with more sun
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Variegated Licorice
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Licorice Plant (Helichrysum)
Habit: Licorice types are trailing, Icicles type is upright
Tolerant of heat, wind, and full sun, these are a TOUGH plants.
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Licorice
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Lemon
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Livingstone Daisy
'Mezoo Trailing Red'
Habit: Trailing succulent leaves are light green edged in white. Adds a softness to the mix. This plant, though primarily grown for it's foliage, does offer tiny pinkish-red 'daisies' that you may want to consider in your overall color scheme. Likes it hot. Can also be grown in part sun.
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New Zealand Flax (Phormium)
Habit: Upright
Likes it warm and sunny. The more sun, the better the coloration on the sword-like leaves.
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| Pictured: Lancer Red and Tricolor |
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Accent Foliage for Shade OR Sun
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Asparagus fern
A wonderful standby that mixes well with just about anything. Gently arching green fronds add texture and movement to any combination.
Habit: Trailing
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Coleus
Habit: Most are upright or mounding. There are a couple of types that will trail slightly that we offer from time to time.
Coleus fills up a container and can add colorful height to a planting. There are so many different colors and leaf forms that you can achieve a totally different look with each type. The darker the leaf, the more sun it can take. Lime green types must be planted in shade only.
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Defiance
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Dipt In Wine
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Photo Courtesy Welby Gardens
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Photo Courtesy Proven Winners www.provenwinners.com
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Peter's Wonder
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Red Ruffles
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Photo Courtesy Welby Gardens
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Photo Courtesy Welby Gardens
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Pink Passion
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Cordyline
Habit: Upright
Extremely striking spike-like foliage. Very colorful leaves add drama to containers.
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Purple Sensation |
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Variegated Creeping Charlie
Photo Courtesy Proven Winners
www.provenwinners.com
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Creeping Charlie (Glechoma)
Habit: Trailing
A sweet small scalloped-leaf vine that grows quickly. An aggressive grower that is easy to root!
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Green (trailing)
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Creeping Jenny AKA Moneywort (Lysimachia)
Habit: Trailing to Mounding depending on variety. Trailing types can also be used on the ground as an almost flat groundcover.
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Goldi (trailing)
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Walkabout Sunset (trailing)
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Spikes (Dracaena)
Habit: Upright
Sometimes, you just need a little green! This upright, grass-like plant has long been a staple to add height to combinations.
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Variegated Swedish Ivy
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Swedish Ivy (Plectranthus coleoides)
Habit: Trailing
Related the standard green houseplant type, this pretty white and green version can be combined with pastels or bright colors.
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Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea)
Habit: Trailing
Lush and tropical looking. These vines are fast growing once the weather warms. They like to remain moist. Works well as an annual groundcover in beds too.
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Illusion Garnet Lace
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Sweet Caroline Raven
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Margarite
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Desana Compact Red
Photo Courtesy Suntory
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Variegated Vinca Vine
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Vinca Vine
Habit: Trailing
An old-fashioned plant that is still widely used today. Although it is an annual here, you may be able to plant this in the ground and have it come back for you if you are in a warmer part of the city.
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Creeping Wirevine
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Wirevine (Muehlenbeckia axillaries)
Habit: Trailing
This vine is so cute! A dainty green plant with tiny rounded leaves that reach over the container and trail down over the sides.
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