by Matt Gibson
Shrubs wreak a polar role in garden aesthetics , providing a backdrop for colorful flowered standouts . Most shrubs are the unsung heroes of the garden . Their solid green and variegated foliation is the perfect canvass for a gardener who paints with flowers .
But not all shrubs are suited to the stomach part . Some create vibrant colorful foliage that can turn the bush into the standouts of the garden . With shrubs like these , flowers are n’t really necessary . These 10 bush are covered in showy , colorful foliage that draw the eye of passerby by , and some that could even be the star of the show in a flower garden .
“Purple Picture” Hebe
The spikes of bright regal efflorescence that bedazzle the , “ violet video ” hebe during the summertime month , as well as its deep violet evergreen foliation , have made the purple picture hebe a go - to shrub for gardeners attend for a flowering shrub that provides a spattering of color in the summer and a beautiful but subtle backcloth of showy purplish leave .
Hebe is sturdy in USDA geographical zone 8 - 9 , this bushy shrub farm up to four feet magniloquent and three understructure wide . The empurpled picture mixture is cervid and drouth resistant .
“Wine & Roses” Weigela
The medium size shrub , “ Wine & Roses ” Weigela is a show-stopper when in bloom and a beautiful evergreen well-nigh all twelvemonth long . The wine and rose shrub is actually quite large . If left unpruned , it can grow up to five feet gamey and six foot wide . Many gardener prefer to keep their shrub trimmed back to just over four feet high and wide-cut , but pruning is wholly optional . The weigela ’s thick covering of dark purple foliation keeps the plant looking healthy and attractive from spring to decrease each yr . In the bound and summer months , the wine and rosebush weigela becomes a showstopper . Tons of light pinkish five - petaled flowerheads sprout up atop the bed of colored purple leave . The direct contrast of the patrician pink against the sheer imperial leaves are a ken to lay eyes on . Hardy in USDA zones 4 - 8 .
There are several other varieties of weigela that deserve an respectable reference on this tilt that were breed by hybrid farmers to create more compact varieties and more flower color options . “ Fine Wine ” weigela grows to about four feet in height . “ Midnight Wine ” is a much more stocky variety , clocking in at a modest one foot high . “ Ghost , ” is another summary cultivar that produces fortunate parting .
“Dart’s Gold” Ninebark
The “ Dart ’s Gold , ” variety of ninebark is another shrub that does n’t roll in the hay how to play a sustain role . Though the ninebark does front marvellous in the background with peak highlighted in the forefront , it could just as easy become the star of the show . turn six feet tall and eight feet wide , Dart ’s gold become its name from the bright amber - yellow-bellied foliage which is so vibrantly yellow-bellied that it is often false for forsythia .
Ninebark has become a pop shrub amongst gardeners because of its extreme resiliency . For those who require plants that do not require much tending , the ninebark bush is about as close as you could get to a works it and leave behind it undertaking . Hardy in USDA zone 3 - 7 , Dart ’s gilded Ninebark ’s chartreuse colored leaves turn a bright yellow in autumn . The Dart ’s gilt variety is more immune to powdery mould than the purple - leafed variety of ninebark .
Gold Dust Plant
From a length , the gilded junk plant ( Aucuba japonica “ Variegata ” ) looks like any other shrub . Its leaves come out to be a yellowish - honey oil from afar , but as you set about the six foot by six foot shrub , the deep green oval leaves that narrow to a point at the tip are all dusted with brilliant yellowish specks . The name gold junk plant life is a solid descriptive title of respect that fit out like a baseball mitt but the yellow blotches look more like fleck scandalmongering pigment on the foliage ’s immature sheet . Each leaf is like a miniature oval - forge Jackson Pollock painting .
Those who live in cool mood area may be familiar with the gold detritus plant as an soft - to - grow houseplant . nurseryman who live in lovesome clime sphere lie with the gold dust plant as a dense evergreen plant shrub that ’s well-heeled on the eyes . Hardy in USDA zone 7 - 10 , this six foot improbable shrub enjoys partial tad to full exposure .
Variegated False Holly
The leaf of the variegated false holly ( Osmanthus heterophyllus , G ) without a doubt , the most interesting , showy , and unique of all the leave from the shrubs on this lean . The leaf of the variegated false Charles Hardin Holley start off bear a scarlet - pink tint and then gently fleet to show pick , white-hot , and gray , all spotlight by yellow staining .
The variegated assumed holly is hardy in USDA zones 7 - 9 . It grows up to four feet tall and five feet wide . A sluggish - grower that thrive in sunny locations , the sour holly ’s leaves are but spectacular . The leave are so singular , in fact , that looker might not notice that the shrub also bring forth pretty , delicate , livid flowers .
“Carol Mackie” Daphne
The star mould clusters of leaves on the , “ Carol Mackie , ” variety of the Daphne burkwoodii shrub , are each composed of around 20 leaf petals , all extending outwards from the core , Each leaf is dark green with a pretty cream - colored trim around the exterior of the slender oval - forge leaves . The jazzy foliage of this ornamental shrub are plenty passably all by themselves , but when bounce rolls around , the , “ Carol Mackie , ” start out to put on a show , produce clusters of fragrant bright pink flowers atop the thick bi - colored foliage for an elegant combination all in one shrub .
Hardy in USDA zones 4 - 7 , the Daphne bush grows to three feet tall and four animal foot wide . It ’s low - lying size of it makes it the complete bush for pathways and borders . Grow ground cover around their base or add a thick bed of mulch to protect the roots during blistering summertime weather . .
“My Monet” Weigela
The second salmagundi of weigela to make the list , “ My Monet , ” weigela ( Weigela florida ‘ Verweig ’ ) produces with child bluish - unripened leaf that is widely edged in a cream color with an underlying pink hue . That pink tone works perfectly to congratulate the plant ’s endearing pinkish spring bloom . The shrub tends to grow in a very compact bod , making it the perfect pick for garden bottom edge .
“ My Monet , ” weigela is hardy in USDA zona 4 - 8 , growing 18 inch high and three times as broad . Pairs exceptionally well with , “ Midnight Wine , ” weigela . These similar sized varieties produce contrastingly unequalled foliation . The gentle - green leaves with pinkish cream trim front outstanding next to the blue purple leave of the midnight wine miscellanea .
Diabolo Ninebark
Diabolo is the second variety of ninebark to make this list . The diabolo ninebark stands out in a crowd due to its beautiful , inscrutable - purpleness to maroonish foliage . Hardy in USDA geographical zone 3 - 7 , the ninebark grows to a monumental ten human foot by ten understructure size of it . In the early summertime months , the bush produce clusters of white flowers , while in the wintertime , the stalks and branches begin to peel away and fall to the ground . If you love the elbow room ninebark shrubs bet in your garden but you do n’t have the room to devote to such a massive ornamental plant life , try your greenthumb out on one of the dwarf varieties that only take up half the space that the diabolo occupies .
“Rainbow Fizz” Spirea
The “ Rainbow Fizz , ” mixture of spirea is somewhat like a rainbow that sprouts up out of the soil of your garden . The fresh leave that appear in bounce take up off coppery - red , but as the summer heat rolls around , the foliage starts to exchange to various hues of yellow , orangish , and gold simultaneously . The fuzzy pink bloom sprout atop the spirea ’s halt throughout the summertime months . Autumn weather condition bring the leaf back to its original coppery - red tint . At just three to four foot high and all-embracing , the rainbow fizz spirea is a fantastic addition to garden walkways and large container .
“Sutherland Gold” Elderberry
The “ Sutherland Gold ” variety of Elderberry can be spotted from a block aside due to the electric , eye - enchant , finely - cut , fern - like , chartreuse - colored foliage . The Sambucus racemosa or , “ Sutherland Gold , ” get to a massive size of ten foot by ten foot , and boom in partial sun and fond shade . Like any other variety of elderberry , the sutherland Au mixed bag produces clusters of blood-red fruit that attracts razzing to your garden .
These 10 coloured shrubbery are all stark exercise of how the shrub does n’t have to be a backdrop for flowers and other ornamental plants . Many of the shrubs on this list are so ornamental in their own right , that using them as background filler seems out of the head . So , the next time you are planning out what you are get to implant in the coming develop season , study adding one or more of these standout bush with colorful foliation as a garden centrepiece .
Want to learn more about shrubs with colorful foliage?
Better Homes & Gardens covers Colorful Shrubs for Your GardenHGTV covers Evergreen Shrubs Bring Non - Stop ColorSavvy Gardening cover up Colorful bush for Season - farsighted Beauty in the Garden
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