COLOURED FOLIAGE

Colour in the Garden

There is nearly always a particular request when designing a garden: Lots of Colour!

A "Cumbria" garden is often designed around coloured foliage rather than flowers.  The foliage lasts for most of the year, and in some cases all year round.  Flowers tend to be here today, gone tomorrow.

There are an enormous number of variegated plants and shrubs available to the gardener, but the very best for foliage display has to be the Japanese maples, with their seemingly endless range of colour combinations and their wonderful Spring and Autumn displays.  As a result of this, the maple has become a trade mark of a "Cumbria" garden.

The Japanese maple will grow in almost any free draining soil, and adapts well to container cultivation.  There are varieties that grow only a few centimetres high and others that grow up to several meters, so there is a maple for everyone.

The lovely delicate pink and white
foliage of "Orido
Nishiki"

Another group of
maples that provide stunning colours are the "Japonicum" varieties, often a bright gold as shown here.

Acer Campestre "Harlequin". 
A variegated form of the common field maple.

Maples make simply stunning displays of colour. Here Acer Pal' "Bloodgood" in full autumn colour contrasting beautifully with the pink, white and green of Acer Pal' "Kighari Nishiki".

If you would like to know more about Japanese, and other varieties of Maples there is an excellent book available.  Japanese Maples, By J.D.Vertrees, Timber press, Forrest Grove, Oregon ISBN 0-917304-09-8