Advanced search

Plant Life Valerie Easton

All That Glitters

Foliage flush with metallic sheen reflects well on its garden neighbors

Metallics are newly stylish, not only in fashion but also in the garden.

"A high-shine look always dazzles a crowd," Vogue declared in an April story devoted to the hipness of shoes, purses and even dresses in platinum, copper and pewter. Gold lame used to be the extent of such luster, but now clothes and accessories glint in shades from silver to bronze. And so do plants.

While I'm not sure why anyone besides Dorothy in her quest for ruby slippers would want to wear glittery shoes, metallics make good garden sense. Think of how gorgeous your plants look drenched in morning dew or gilded with first frost. That freshly glistening look is what metallic foliage brings to the garden, but all day long and into the evening, as well as on frost-free days.

Silvery or bronzed foliage changes in intensity with every passing cloud or drop of rain. Sunlight and moonlight reflect off metallic leaves as effectively as off water, which is a good reason to mass these trendy plants.

Just as the most engaging conversationalist at a dinner party brings out the best in those around them, so do plants with metallic leaves glam up their neighbors. Their foliage sparks the plainer plants around them, yet they themselves read as neutrals, so are ideal for repeating in pots, beds and borders.

A great joy of gardening is messing around with color combinations. Shimmery, reflective metallic foliage adds a whole new dimension to the fun. To enhance the glisten of moonlight, accent white flowers with silvery-leafed plants. Think of a bed of iceberg roses or a stand of tall 'Casa Blanca' lilies trimmed out in Heuchera 'Pewter Veil' or 'Saturn' with their large-veined leaves in frosty-glazed green and gray.

On cloudy and misty days, red and orange flowers heat up our gardens. Pairing flowers like red daylilies or orange crocosmia with copper and bronze leaves just enhances the warming effect. That's why the 'Bishop of Llandaff' dahlia is so ubiquitous. Its red-orange flowers are shown off to perfection by their own copper-tinted mahogany foliage.

The award for the brashest metallic foliage of all must go to Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus). You'd suspect this annual of being backlit with neon if it hadn't been popular since the Victorians grew it in their greenhouses. Really, it's hard to believe Persian shield's iridescent purple and green leaves are even made of vegetable matter. Surely they've been forged! Stick one of these annuals into a container to amp up the wattage of your garden. Another great metallic-toned container annual is Coleus 'Orange King,' which glows copper with hot-pink ribs on its fat leaves.

Shady garden spots really benefit from a dose of silver or gold to amplify any available light. Try carpeting a shadowy area with dead nettle (Lamium 'Hermann's Pride') for its reflective green-veined-in-silver leaves, or with golden creeping Jenny for its high shine.

Plants with a sheen to their leaves may be the newest garden bling, but because their fancy foliage lends many months of eye-catching interest, I wouldn't be surprised if we'll be seeing a lot more precious metal in our future.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "A Pattern Garden." Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.

Buy a link