Perennials with golden foliage create color interest in the garden even when little is blooming
A splash of gold foliage in a shady area looks like dappled sunlight, and it really shines in sunny gardens. There are many great plants with yellow or gold foliage to choose from.
Grasses
- Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ is this year’s Perennial Plant of the Year – and a fine one it is. An ornamental grass and one of the few that grows and even prefers some shade, it grows in an arching, one way pattern rather like waves crashing on the shore. It is mainly gold, with a thin border of green. Its sister, H. macra ‘All Gold’ is entirely yellow. Both are hardy in zones 5-9.
- Yellow Foxtail Grass (Alopecurus pratensis ‘Aureus’) is another lovely golden grass that grows 1-4’ tall. It prefers part shade, and is not drought tolerant so keep it watered moderately throughout the growing season. Hardy from zones 4-8.
- Bowles Golden Sedge (Carex elata ‘Aurea’) is a moisture lover that will even do well in bogs or shallow ponds. In a garden area try scattering some of those polymer crystals that hold water into the planting hole, or line the planting hole with plastic to retain moisture. This sedge is relatively small, 18-24”, and can be planted in part to full shade in zones 5-9.
Perennials
- Heuchera x villosa ‘Citronelle’ is a golden chartreuse – a real standout in a shady border. H. ‘Caramel’ has bright yellow-orange foliage with purple undersides, while H. ‘Crème Brulee’ has leaves of ruffled amber-gold. A new addition to the heucheras, H. ‘Tara’ emerges golden yellow with bright red veins, which fade to pure yellow as the season heats up. Heucheras are hardy from zones 4-9.
- Filipendula ulmaria ‘Aurea’ (Queen of the Meadow) has deeply dissected golden foliage that reaches about 15” but is then surmounted with plumes of white flowers that reach about 2’. It prefers shade and goes well with some of the darker toned heuchera in zones 3-9.
- Lobelia ‘Golden Torch’ (Lobelia cardinalis ‘Golden Torch’) has bright yellow leaves when grown in sunlight, which will be more chartreuse when grown in part shade. The flowers are ruby red, making this a real color highlight in the garden. It grows about 2’ high and spreads to 18”. Lobelias also like a moist growing situation in zones 3-9.
- Brunnera ‘Spring Yellow’ in new with lovely golden spring foliage that turns more green as summer progresses. It is loaded with forget-me-not blue blooms and prefers shady sites. It will grow to about 12” in zones 3-9.
- ‘Sweet Kate’ Spiderwort (Tradescantia x andersonia ‘Sweet Kate’) has golden foliage and lovely blue flowers that last for only a day but keep replenishing themselves. They thrive in just about any situation from moist shade to poor, dry soil in sunlight. Hardy from zones 3-9. Another good spiderwort is T. ‘Blue and Gold’. They reach about 12 – 18” at maturity.
- Veronica prostate ‘Trehane’ has tiny, sunny gold leaves and brilliant blue flowers in late spring to early summer. It grows very low to the ground and so makes a good groundcover or front of the border plant. It enjoys sunlight and is hardy from zones 5-8.
While all of these plants look good with geen, they make a really striking statement when partnered with deeper purple foliage plants. It's hard to go wrong with leaves of gold in the garden.
The copyright of the article Perennials with Gold Leaves in Landscaping is owned by Carol Wallace. Permission to republish Perennials with Gold Leaves in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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