Variagated penta and red sun coleus

Mustards and St. Mary's Thistle

Deck planting for 2005.

Color in the shade garden

Pennisetum and candy lily

Canna and Lantana

Green and white

The front border

I love this color combo! The red blooms of the penta are brought forward by the red leaves of the coleus. I also used red impatiens in this bed and the effect was good. I've had a difficult time finding this penta. Growers tell me it is hard to produce. I've seen the name "Stars and Stripes" before and have also seen unnamed selections. Last year I found them at Cold Creek Nursery and Singing Springs Nursery, but I notice that they are not offered this year by Singing Springs at all. The red coleus doesn't have a name that I know of. I found it about 8 or 9 years ago at a local shop and have carried it over every year since. I love the fact that it blooms very, very late in the season, has a good growth habit. and stays neat and disease free.

The color of the leaves contrast so well and brighten warm winter days. Red Giant Mustard and Green Wave Mustard with St. Mary's Thistle (Silybum marianum) for the fall/winter garden. The mustards are so easy to grow from seed. I mail order them via the internet. Many companies offer them. The thistle is a plant I first saw at Riverbanks. I found some seed to purchase and gave them a try. They are very winter hardy and have great variegated leaves, but they also have LOTS of thorns--might be good to keep the neighbor's kids at bay! A word of caution: don't let them go to seed!

This collection in a concrete pot on my deck begins with the impatiens repens. It is a creeping form that has an occasional yellow flower that I found at Big Bloomers. The leaves are a deep green and the stems are a deep blood red. Combined with the red strap leaf caladium and the chocolate caricature plant (Graptophyllum pictum), the color connects and ties the grouping together.

This decidious azalea teams up with the yellow variegated foliage of the carex below.

The Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' teams up nicely with the candy lily (Pardancanda norrisii) blooms for a great color combo. The sedum 'Autumn Joy' in the foreground will bloom soon in this same color hue.

The yellow variegation teams up nicely with the yellow blooms of Lantana 'New Gold' for a striking look.

The green hostas provide a simple and clean contrast to the variegated alstermeria.

This grouping includes a Musella lasiocarpa, which is the banana looking plant. It is very hardy and even the stems and blooms have survived the winter. Also included is a red sun coleus, the duckfoot coleus named 'India Frills" and a dwarf Lespedeza thunbergii called "Spring Grove." I love the bold foliage of the banana with the fine textured leaves of the lespedeza.