Colorful foliage

Good morning everyone. It is mild, breezy and partly cloudy out this morning. I will be heading off to work later, so not much time to play in the gardens today. I will go out and put the sprinklers on, as it is one of my two days to water with them.

In a garden forum there was a thread about colorful foliage and that's the inspiration for this post today.

Colorful foliage adds much beauty to our gardens. I sometimes take them for granted, since I want to see all colors of the rainbow in my gardens. These shrubs and plants are colorful all year long down here.

First off, are the coleus. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about them.


Solenostemon is a genus of perennial plants, native to tropical Africa, Asia, Australia, the East Indies, the Malay Archipelago, and the Philippines. They are commonly known as Coleus, a name which derives from an earlier classification under the genus name Coleus, species of which are currently included in either Solenostemon or another genus, Plectranthus.



Then we have copperleaf ~ Acalypha wilkesiana macafeana.

Copperleaf, sometimes referred to as beefsteak plant, attracts attention with its unusual, colorful variegated leaves. The large leaves are mottled in red, copper and pink. The color varies from leaf to leaf and appear as if someone randomly colored the areas between the veins. It resembles some large-leafed coleus cultivars, however, the leaves are not uniformly variegated like coleus leaves. Although it is grown for its foliage, it does produce long, slender spikes of greenish-pink flowers. For more information, visit Copperleaf Plant



Next we have Snow on the Mountain, or Snow Bush. ~ Snow bush? Yes - snowbush is a tropical plant that is well adapted to our Florida Yards, but will not survive areas with freezing temperatures. It is named because if gives the appearance of its leaves being covered with that cold white stuff – the green leaves are spotted and splotched with white, and pink and purple are sometimes blended in for an additional surprise of color.

For more info click on Snow Bush.




Next we have colorful, tropical crotons, Codiaeum Variegatum.

Codiaeum Variegatum was first introduced to America by the Henry A Dreer nursery in the 1870's. They are grown for their dazzling leaves which may include crimson, scarlet, pink, yellow, brown, and orange shades, as well as green, white and cream. For more info click on Crotons.net

We have 3 or 4 different ones.
















That's if for this morning from tropical s.e. FL. Hope you all have a great weekend playing in your gardens if the weather permits.

FlowerLady