Plants are gray or silvery. Plants with silvery leaves. The gray flowers are herbs and wormwood. Perennials for sunny places

Perennials with silvery leaves, stems, and buds tend to thrive in dry, hot climates, making them great for sunny, dry soil.

They look great on their own, but even more elegant - as a background for flowers in a different shade, for example, cold blue, as in this scheme. If instead you try white flowers, the combination will be even brighter, and dark, almost black leaves will provide an effective contrast.

Necessary plants and planting scheme

• RUSSIAN SAGE, OR PEROVSKIY

Perovskia atriplicifolia - 2 seedlings. Zones 5-9 (minimum temperature not lower than -29 ° С)

Replacements. Other perennials from 1 to 1.5 m in height, with blue flowers and / or silvery leaves, such as wormwood "Powis Castle" (Artemisia) or karyopteris clandonensis (Caryopterisxclandonensis).

• ORDINARY MOLDOVER

Echinops ritro - 1 seedling. Zones 3-9 (average minimum temperature not lower than - 40 ° С)

Replacements. Other perennials from 1 m to 1 m 20 cm in height, with blue flowers and / or gray-blue leaves, for example, "Heavy Metal" millet (Panicum virgatum) or evergreen oat (Helictotrichon sempervirens).

• CABEL BLUE HEAD "BIG BLUE"

Eryngium × zabelii | 6 seedlings. Zones 5-9 (minimum temperature not lower than -29 ° С)

Replacements. "Blaukappe", or other species of erythroat, or other perennials from 60 cm to 1 m in height, with blue flowers and / or gray-blue leaves, for example medicinal rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) [b seedlings] or Amsonia "Blue ice" (Amsonia ).

• MEDICINAL SAGE "BERGGARTEN"

Salvia officinalis | 3 seedlings.

Zones 5-8 (minimum temperature not lower than -29 ° С)

Replacements. Other perennials 15 to 45 cm tall, with blue flowers and / or silvery leaves, such as narrow-leaved lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) or Steller's wormwood "Silver Brocade" (Artemisia stelleriana).

• BLUE oatmeal "ELIJAH BLUE"

Festuca glauca | 5 seedlings.

Zones 4-9 (minimum temperature not lower than -34 ° С)

Replacements. Aidakh fescue ("Siskiyou"), or other types of blue fescue, or other perennials with a height of 15 to 30 cm, with silvery or gray-blue leaves, for example, a carnation "Greystone" or "Firewitch" (Dianthus) or Caucasian razuha, it is Arabis (Arabis caucasica),.

Flower garden care throughout the year

Spring... In early spring, narrow gray-blue leaves appear on blue fescue bushes.

From the middle to the end of spring, the rest of the perennials grow: the silvery lace of the Perovskian sage, the gray-green sprouts of the mordovia, the green prickly erythematosus, the silver sage "Berggarten". By the end of spring, large buds appear on the erythematosus.

In areas with mild frost-free winters, by the end of spring, Perovskii can open their inflorescences.

In early spring, trim the fescue to a height of about 10 cm and remove the dried tops of the muzzle and erythematosus. And when Perovskii and Berggarten sage grow, cut the first to 15 cm, and the second to about half its height. Add more mulch if needed to cover the soil.

Summer... In a warm climate, Perovskii blooms all early summer; in other areas, it looks best from mid to late summer. The spherical buds of the muzzle appear already at the beginning of summer, and throughout the second half of it, it opens its silvery-blue flowers. Mordovnik also adds rich of blue color, from mid to late summer, revealing its silvery buds.

Sage "Berggarten" does not usually flower, but its silvery-gray leaves look great all summer long. Fescue also attracts attention with its leaves, but in the middle of summer it also blooms with green-blue flowers, from which later yellow-brown seed pods appear.

If Perovskia flowers bloom in early summer, then in the middle of summer you need to cut it by half or two-thirds to prevent self-seeding, stimulate more lush growth and possibly another flowering.

Trim off the dried heads of the muzzle flowers to the bottom leaves or to the base of the stem, but you can leave them until the end of the season. During the summer, the lower leaves may dry out and fall off; remove them if you like. Cut off the dried stalks of the fescue immediately above the leaves, otherwise they will turn brown and the seeds will begin to spill out. You can do this earlier if you don't really like its flowers. Water your garden on dry days.

Autumn and winter... Perovskia, mordovnik and eryngium often bloom at least throughout early autumn, and their dry stems and seed pods are of great interest in winter.

• Sage "Berggarten" retains the beauty of the leaves until winter.
• Fescue leaves last all winter in a mild climate.
• Fescue should be planted every 3-4 years in early fall. Or you can leave the garden alone until spring cleaning.

If you only have space for a small front garden, then this rectangular garden will look great on its own. If space permits, you can repeat this pattern one after the other as many times as you like to get a long border.

For a change, you can replace some perennials with the proposed alternatives.

Silver curbs look amazing along driveways or footpaths (silver plants do well in open and dry areas - they are just like that along paved areas) or at the base dark wall houses.

When choosing plants to plant in the store, be sure to look at the herbs on sale. Some herbs have silvery or gray leaves and in addition have a pleasant aroma and sometimes a rich spicy taste.

For example, common sage used as a seasoning (Salvia officinalis) usually has gray-green leaves, and some artificially bred species such as Berggarten are distinctly silvery. Many types of lavender (Lavandula) are also gray-silver.

Using gravel as mulch instead of chopped leaves, bark and other organic materials is not very good a good ideaas you will have to replant the plants every few years. But if you are growing silvery plants in humid climates or wet soil, then some gravel will keep the leaves and stems from rotting.

However, do not cover the entire surface with gravel - instead spread it in a ring 15 to 30 cm in diameter around the base of each plant. Better to use gravel the size of beans or finer: when replanting plants, you can simply dig it into the ground.

The green color of plants is the most common and natural color and is often used in the garden as a neutral color. However, another amazing feature lies in the favorable opportunities for using its many shades in the design of your site. First of all, in garden design they often use plants with blue and silvery leaves.

Color is always influenced by various factors, and this is especially true for green, where the size, shape and texture of the leaves play an important role in the appearance of the plant. amazes us with a variety of delicate shades.

Most ornamental foliage plants with tender or large foliage do not tolerate dry and hot conditions, but they feel great in shady corners under the crowns of trees and large bushes.

Shades of green

There is a limitless variety of shades of green - from pale, yellowish and apple green to bottle green and olive green and even more intense dark greens. Compare bright green color young ferns in spring with a glossy emerald color of water lily leaves - or gloomy shades of yew and holly with fresh herbs. The green color of the leaves also appears in the form of specks or shades - for example, bluish green. Look for soft, cool and refreshing shades of green in your garden!

• "Forest" composition for a shady place

The best plants for a “forest” composition are hardy ferns. Among the tall species, it is worth mentioning the male thyroid ( Dryopteris filix- mas) and common ostrich ( Matteucia struthopteris), and the types of kochedyzhnik ( Asplenium) are distinguished by their low height.

- a hardy deciduous fern - especially beautiful in early spring when fresh foliage is blooming. The rest of the year is a great green backdrop for But the stalks of the milkweed are of the haratsias f. wolf ( Euphorbia characias s. wulfeni) are decorative at any time of the year.

Representatives of the genus mountain women ( Epimediums) grow in spreading clumps, their shoots with rounded leaves acquire a bronze or reddish tint in spring, and the cuff is soft ( ANDlchemilla mollis) forms low thickets, and its rounded clumps cover the ground at the end of the season. Raindrops sparkle on the scalloped leaves of a necklace-like cuff.

—- The best combinations

As the color base of the garden, green can be combined with almost any shade, however some combinations look especially attractive:

• dense green foliage with red and white flowers
• bluish green foliage - with silvery foliage and blue flowers
• apple-green foliage with white or cream flowers
• variegated foliage - dark green with golden
• yellowish-green foliage contrasts well with blue and yellow flowers, and is in harmony with apricot or mauve flowers.

Gray, silver and blue tones

The beauty of plants with such dull foliage looks very sophisticated and the "soothing" impression they produce makes them particularly valuable partner plants. Since such plants are not striking, in order to retain attention for a long time, it is worth adding a few bright flowering plantsand both partners will benefit from this, emphasizing the beauty of each other. Grays, silvers and blues are ideal for softening bright colors or, conversely, for enhancing pale colors. And plants with these colors can be used to create the illusion of spaciousness.

Silver tones

Most plants with these leaves are especially good. Most plants with gray and silvery foliage prefer sun and well-drained soils, and their pale coloration is the result of adaptation to arid conditions. If you look closely at the leaves, you will see that the coloration is mainly due to the surface layer of hairs or waxy bloom, which reduce evaporation and protect the plant from the hot sun.

It should be noted that many of these ornamental foliage plants form outwardly rather unremarkable flowers, such as, for example, in wormwood. In other plants, flowers are more spectacular, for example, the airy bluish-lilac inflorescences of the Perovskian swan-leaved ( Perowskia atriplicifolia) significantly enhance the beauty of the plant itself, but this is not always appropriate for a “completely deciduous” composition. Regular removal of the greenish-yellow button flowers from silvery santolins will stimulate the abundant growth of spectacular greenery, and many gardeners also remove yellow "daisies" from brachyglottis ( Brachyglottis).

In humid conditions, very few plants with silvery foliage grow well, among which the sand willow is especially attractive ( Salix exigua). This shrub grows well on all types of soil except dry, but responds especially well to wet soil. And some with gray foliage - for example, pea cypress ( Chamaecyparis pisifera) and juniper virginiana ( Juniperus virginiana) also love fertile and non-drying loamy soils.

Interesting plants with silvery and bluish leaves

The bluish green foliage brings soothing yet intense tones to the color scheme. Few plants have a pronounced blue foliage, but the more their value for creating spectacular combinations in the garden!

Wormwood ( Artemisia) - thanks to its filigree leaves, wormwood is considered one of the best plants with silvery leaves.

(Festuca glauca) Is a tussock-forming cereal with a pronounced blue color. The plant is decorative all year round, covered with the smallest "diamonds" by frost after freezing. Blue coloration is especially noticeable in spring on young growth.

Tsmin, or Petiolate immortelle (Helichrysum petiolare). This small thermophilic plant is prized for its spreading capacity, which makes it especially popular for summer and hanging baskets. The pubescent grayish foliage is especially attractive in the sun, but seems rather dull in cloudy weather.

Hosts, especially 'Halcyon' and 'Big Daddy', are excellent bluish-green varieties for shady areas with damp soils. The 'Halcyon' host is the bluest host of all. Its leaves have a pronounced venation and retain their color better in the shade.

In some conifers, the foliage also has a surprisingly beautiful blue tint, especially in junipers such as m. Scaly ( Juniperus squamata) and many varieties ( Picea pungens).

Juniper horizontal (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Glauca’) is a smoky bluish or blue conifer ideal for group planting. By itself, the juniper creates a low, spreading carpet that looks thick and delicate at the same time.

(Ruta graveolens) - an attractive small plant with a strong aroma and yellow flowers - forms a neat curtain of leaves with a shade sea \u200b\u200bwave, finely dissected, but with pronounced rounded edges. It grows well in sunny areas, but this plant can irritate sensitive skin.

Santolina pinnate f. neapolitan ( Santolina pinnata s. neapolitana) - its dense mass of thin stems gives the impression of a rounded silvery cloud. These plants are good for mass planting and show the best silvery coloration in poor soils.

Plants with gray and silvery foliage are easy to find a place for, but remember that their beauty can only be appreciated in comparison with other colors.

—- The best combinations

Blue and silver shades of foliage are appropriate almost everywhere, but especially successful combinations can be considered:

• Greyish-bluish foliage and (or purple foliage)
• Silvery and gray foliage and pastel flowers - apricot, pink, or mauve
• Silvery foliage contrasting with bright blue or vibrant pink and red
• Silvery foliage that enlivens gloomy purple flowers and leaves

We will talk in more detail about other shades of colored foliage in the garden - yellow and gold, red, purple and bronze, and others ...

Very often in crosswords one comes across the description of the word: "Perennial ornamental grass". What are they? And why decorative? Where can they be planted? Here you will find the answers to these questions.

If you have a little time to take care of your garden, but you still want it to look beautiful and well-groomed all year round, you can plant it with ornamental grasses and cereals. We already talked about cereals in.

In principle, this division is conditional. What they have in common is narrow, long leaves and the fact that they grow in pretty bumps. You may well find, for example, feather grass or sedge both among cereals and among ornamental grasses. We have isolated cereals in a separate article only because of their pronounced panicles.

Now we will add descriptions and photos of other ornamental grasses, and see which of them can survive in our zones.

Calamus (Acorus gramineus)

Narrow erect leaves with a wide yellow stripe in the middle make this bush very attractive. Its height reaches 30 cm and it can be planted as a curb, additions to flower beds in the foreground, on alpine hills. A plant can overwinter in our conditions, but it only needs to be properly covered with foliage.

Cortaderia selloana

Many people grow a pampas grass in their garden - cortaderia. It is a very large herb native to South America. It reaches up to 3 meters in height. The main advantage of this herb is fluffy white panicles, they somehow resemble a fan. Only this herb is very fond of heat, so it is not suitable for a garden in cold regions.

Forest ogika (Luzula sylvatica)

Tough, dark green leaves with a narrow yellow-cream border form a neat curtain no more than 20 cm high. Such a bush is suitable for the foreground of flower beds.

Sedge (Carex)

Many sedge varieties also have golden or creamy stripes along the edges of the leaves. In general, this herb has a very wide variety of species and varieties. Here you can choose the color and shape of the foliage, the size and shape of the bump. Spectacular and beautiful, sedge is hardy and picky and can survive even in northern regions.

Wormwood (Artemisia)

Wormwood has a large selection of varieties and species. By the way, they like to use it in crosswords, like a medicinal plant. What most species have in common is that their leaves are openwork, unlike most ornamental perennial grasses, with cut edges, a bit like parsley. Also, they are all extremely frost-resistant and undemanding to soil. The growth of the bush can vary depending on the variety from 30 cm to 1.5 m.

Bulbous ryegas (Arrhenatherum bulbosum)

Also a beautiful cereal, its leaves are in a white-green strip, straight, not hanging down. A loose, but neat bush does not creep, reaches a height of up to 30 cm. It is drought-resistant and relatively frost-resistant in comparison with other types of ryegas.

Sesleria blue (Sesléria)

The most unpretentious grass and very decorative. But few people grow it on their plots. And in vain - she can winter without snow and shelter and is able to endure frosts down to -30 degrees. It grows in the sun and in the shade, can survive even under lilacs and birches. And in spite of everything, she always looks elegant and attractive. Sesleria's leaves are two-colored: bluish on one side, and silvery on the other. And this remains in the winter.

Greybeard (Spodiopogon)

This plant also tolerates frost well, as it is of South Siberian origin. The sulfur beard is not aggressive, so it will not kill neighboring plants.

Reed (Phragmites)

It has several types, many of which reach up to half a meter in height. A very beautiful variety Variegata, which has golden-colored leaves. Only he has a drawback: it grows very slowly and is very delicate. This variety does not like deep planting. The plant is aggressive, so be careful when planting.

Hasmantium broadleaf (Chasmanthium latifolium)

It looks different depending on the species, but what all species have in common is that it is very beautiful and has colorful foliage. Growth also varies greatly from 20 cm to 70 cm.

Hakonechloa

A rare Japanese herb, but you can get it from us. Quite an interesting bush in shape and color. It grows unusually - in one direction and forms a fluffy hat 35-40 cm high. From hakonehloa, you can make a border for large flower beds. Growing up, they merge with each other, forming a continuous border.

Elimus sandy (Elymus)

If you have dry areas in your garden, pick up sandy elimus for them. It has narrow bluish-gray leaves. It can reach a height of up to 1 meter. This herb looks very fancy. It grows very quickly, which is why many gardeners plant it in a bucket without a bottom. In this way, they try to limit the overgrowth a little.

So, our list was supplemented with the following ornamental herbs for the garden with a photo:

1. Calamus cereal (Acorus gramineus),
2. Cortaderia selloana,
3. Forest ogika (Luzula sylvatica),
4. Sedge (Carex),
5. Wormwood (Artemisia),
6. Bulbous raigas (Arrhenatherum bulbosum f. Variegatum),
7. Sesleria blue (Sesléria),
8. Greybeard (Spodiopogon),
9. Reed (Phragmites),
10. Hasmantium broadleaf (Chasmanthium latifolium),
11. Hakonechloa,
12. Elimus sandy (Elymus).

If you're looking for a perennial ornamental herb for a crossword puzzle and haven't found one here, look elsewhere for grains, which are often referred to as herbs.

Calm harmony emanates from the composition of wormwood leaves touched by gray, inscribed between coral-red centranthus and purple monard... In this magnificent still life from nature, you can also include dark blue paniculate inflorescences of oak sage. If not for the silvery-gray beauty, then a group of these magnificent garden plants would look prim and boring. A few silver leaves are like a pinch of salt in a soup, without which it would seem bland.

Silver effect

The lighter the flowers, the sharper they contrast with the green of the leaves. The silvery leaves, as if covered with a light veil, without pretending to be attention and politely keeping themselves in the shade, gently erase this contrast. Delicate pinks and light lilac-blue tones can now be highlighted, complementing each other with success.

Among plants with rich flowers, silver-gray neighbors create smoother transitions from one color to another. The modest yaskolka is almost imperceptible among the red poppy and blue catnip, but it is thanks to it that the most delicate inextricable harmony with the light gray leaves of the catnip arose.

Most silver garden decorations love the sun

It is in sunny places that they thrive and their leaves acquire the most intense silvery color. The soil is also an indispensable condition: it must be loose, slightly moist or dry. Pruning in mid-summer after flowering promotes intense coloration of the leaves and uniform growth of the plant.

With the onset of cool autumn days, you shouldn't expect much from these sun worshipers.

True, santolina, sage and lavender do not shed their leaves for the winter in areas with a warm climate, but they are also affected by the short daylight hours and high humidity: the silvery color of the leaves weakens and even disappears completely.

Silver thuja (video)

Silver tones in the country (video)

Reviews and comments

(4 estimates, average: 5,00 out of 5)

Galina 12.09.2014

Looks nice, but I prefer bright colors. Or silver combined with blue. Bells, for example, or lupines. The bright spots further enhance the silvery beauty. On a flower bed, I usually make a catnip center flower arrangement and surround it with white and blue bells. Marina 03/01/2016

And they forgot about edelweiss, it is also silver. And it also blooms with silvery flowers. Even though the flower itself is inconspicuous, but its shape is very original, like an asterisk. By the way, it is quite unpretentious.

Anna 01/19/2017

Well, plants with silvery hues still have to look. We have been looking for all kinds of flowers of these shades for a long time. And then they also need to be correctly combined with other colors. This is necessary so that they look harmonious on the flowerbed, and not separate from other flowers. True, this is not difficult to do, it is enough to experiment once in the spring and then choose the right combination of colors.

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Plants of a silver-gray scale do not look like gray mice at all. Rather, they look like prim diplomats at a high society reception. The design of a flower bed in gray tones requires special art so that gray does not become boring, but looks noble.

To create such an elegant and stylish flower garden with your own hands, it is not at all necessary to paint everything in gray tones.

Also choose plants with gray or gray color

Also magnolia, lichen, sherry, hawthorn or reed pine. They protect the plant from sun rains and most of them want to dry out dry habitats. Svatolnna needs a sheltered shelter, it is sensitive to salinity and can hibernate in winter. Its small cans can be formed.

Heap is good for time and moon, he doesn't care about drought. A smaller cake variety gives a compact shine. The giant mushroom is a two-bladed blade that stands up to one meter high. This is a blooming blue second year. Lobster is a distinctively gray-haired, perennial perennial that blends into dry perennial hair.

On the contrary, you need to apply a variety of matching colors. Later in this article we will look at an approximate planting plan, using its example you will see how you can combine different colors in the design of a "silver" flower bed.

In cloudy weather and in shady corners, plants of a silvery scale bring light and emit different colors, in the sun they shine with a noble metallic luster. In the design of flower beds, you must follow the rules of accents.

For "silver" flower beds, there are plants with leaves different sizes, shapes and textures, variegated flower beds can be surrounded by one or two dominant species. Such dominants act as an elegant accompaniment in the background of plantings - for example, low bushes of sage or wormwood.

Empty spaces will be filled with groundcover species such as byzantine purge or gray fescue... Silver-gray color diplomatically connects flashy juicy colors or shining cold tones, like a frame that emphasizes the beauty of semi-precious stones. But silver is best combined with muted, delicate pastel tones.

Gray rabatka - flower garden scheme

If you want to create a gray bed, adhere to the simple rules that we offer, you can easily create an excellent flower garden with your own hands. We offer you a planting plan, in which we have thought over the design for your flower bed to the smallest detail.

The leading part in this composition is performed by two bushes of macklea cordatelocated in the corners of the house and eye-catching.

She is accompanied by lower erythematosus (Miss Willmott's Ghost), wormwood Louis (Silver Queen) and clary sage.

Before them are located bearded irisesbreaking the surface into separate pieces. As a contrast to the composition for this flower garden, alpine sheep.

Foregrounds are occupied lavender and byzantine purge, the euphorbia hangs over the masonry.

In the figure of the planting plan, the number of plants is indicated through a fraction. Letters indicate:

a - Louis wormwood (Artemizia ludoviciana Silver Queen)
b - Bearded Iris (Iris barbata Superstition)
from - Narrow-leaved lavender (Lavandula anqustipholia)
d - Seaside cineraria (Senecio cineraria)
e - Eryngium Miss Willmott's Ghost
f - Alpine sheep (Helictotrihon sempervirens)
g - Melianthus (Melianthus major)
h - Stachys byzantina
i - Gypsophila paniculata (Gypsophila paniculata)
j - Wormwood (Powis Castle)
k - Schmidt's wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana Nana)
l - Sunflower (Heliathemum Henfield Brilliant)
m - Clary sage (Salvia sclarea)
n - Macleaya cordata
about - Euphorbia myrtle (Salvia myrsinites)
p - Pseudo-weaver (Pseudolysimachion spicatum subsp.incanum)

For this flower garden, the most interesting combinations with gray were used:

The silvery-gray color of the foliage gives a waxy coating (cuticle) or the finest hairs that protect the plants from scorching sun rays and the drying wind. Such species grow best in open, sunny places, this is their habitual habitat.

Many silvery species are decorative-leaved plants, their flowers are small and inconspicuous. When creating a flower garden composition, it is important to observe the following rules: in the background there are one or two tall sculptural bushes, medium-sized plants (various sages or wormwood) accompany them as an accompaniment, the empty spaces are filled with ground cover plants (Byzantine purse or gray fescue).

Wormwood for borders

Chernobylnik, or wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris), has long been known as a spice for poultry dishes. The popular vermouth owes its appearance to wormwood (Artemisia absintmm).

For the garden, wormwood herbs will provide a whole range of different sizes and shapes, giving it an elegant look. The main thing is to find dry places for them, reliably covered with snow in winter.

Be careful! Wormwood reproduces incredibly quickly. If you do not control the rapid growth of this grass, it can easily turn into weeds. Therefore, mark the place of the wormwood on the plan of your flower garden and make sure that this grass does not overstep its boundaries. Weed out all plants - "violators" in a timely manner.

Plants in gray

The waxy bloom or hairs on foliage and stems characteristic of all gray plants give them a variety of shades.

The leaves of the seaside cineraria shine with bright silver. A metallic luster is characteristic of wormwood. Salvia officinalis has a noble olive-gray color. The leaves of the alpine oat and fescue give a bluish tint. In stonecrop-squeak, the leaves are gray-green, and in the bluehead they are covered with a gray-lilac bloom.

The most beautiful gray perennials for your flower garden

Clary sage (Salvia sclarea). A bright fragrant biennial with ascended inflorescences for the background. Blooms from June to September. Height 80-100 cm.

Sunflower (Helianthemum Henfild Brilliant). Beautifully and profusely flowering shrub with olive-gray foliage and fiery orange flowers. Blooms in May-June. Height 15-20 cm.

Gray fescue (Festuca glauca). The poorer the soil, the brighter the bluish bloom appears on the leaves. The plant needs a shearing, from which it grows into a dense carpet. Blooms in August. Height of leaves 15 cm, inflorescences - 30 cm.

Macleaya (bokkonia) heart-shaped (Macleaya cordata). An outstanding, but rare perennial with large lobed-cut leaves and golden flowers in openwork racemes. It grows quickly thanks to the creeping rhizome. Blooms from July to September.

Sedum-squeaky, "hare cabbage" (Sedum telephium Herbstfreude). Compact gray-green plants bring calm notes to your composition. Blooms in August - October. Height 50 cm.

Byzantine purse, “hare ears” (Stachys byzantina). The pubescent leaves of the purée have a silvery sheen, especially in the foreground. It blooms throughout the summer, it is advisable to remove the inflorescences. Height 15-20 cm.

Euphorbia myrtle (Euforbia mirsinites). Differs in thick folded leaves. Suitable for stone fences or curbs. Blooms in April - May. Height 10 cm.

Alpine sheep (Helictotrichon sempervirens). Elegant leaves and ears rise above the low plants. Blooms from July to September. Leaves length 30 cm, inflorescence height 70 cm.

Sage medicinal "Mountain Garden" (Salvia officinalis). This magnificent variety with gray foliage will play the lead roles. Blooms in June - July. Height 20-40 cm.

The most beautiful gray annuals for your flower garden

Gazanie (Gazanie Talent Silberblatt). Sunny flowers of this variety will play a stunning performance in the gray garden. Blooms from June to October. Height 15-20 cm.

Mealy sage (Salvia farinacea Silber). An excellent variety that is distinguished by its hardiness and indefatigable flowering from June to October. Height 30-50 cm.

Helichrisum Italian (Helichrisum italicum). Its gray leaves smell like curry, and it grows in large bunches. Flowers must be cut, they are not decorative. Height 20-35 cm.

Seaside cineraria (Senecio cineraria). It is difficult to find another plant with such silver foliage. There are varieties with finely dissected leaves or compact with small leaves that are suitable for setting. Blooms non-decorative. Height 15-20 cm.

Melianthus large (Melianthus major). Numerous leaves are gray-green, ascending. The flowers are inconspicuous. Sculptural plant for the background. Height up to 100 cm.

Pubescence (Gnafalium obtusifolium). As a plant for balconies it has been known for a long time, but it is good to keep it in the garden. Long shoots will cover large areas. Blooms non-decorative. Height 10 cm.

Wireworm (Calocephalus brownii). A kind of creature with elongated "wire" shoots. Creates an interesting contrast to large-leaved plants. Blooms non-decorative. Height 15-25 cm.

The green color of plants is the most common and natural color and is often used in the garden as a neutral color. However, another amazing feature lies in the favorable opportunities for using its many shades in the design of your site. First of all, in garden design they often use plants with blue and silvery leaves.

Color is always influenced by various factors, and this is especially true for green, where the size, shape and texture of the leaves play an important role in the appearance of the plant. amazes us with a variety of delicate shades.

Most ornamental deciduous plants with delicate or large foliage do not tolerate dry and hot conditions, but they thrive in shady corners under the crowns of trees and large shrubs.

Shades of green

There is a limitless variety of shades of green - from pale, yellowish and apple green to bottle green and olive green, and even more intense dark greens. Compare the bright green of young fern fronds in spring with the glossy emerald color of water lily leaves - or the somber hues of yew and holly with fresh grass. The green color of the leaves also appears in the form of specks or shades - for example, bluish green. Look for soft, cool and refreshing shades of green in your garden!

• "Forest" composition for a shady place

The best plants for a "forest" composition are hardy ferns. Among the tall species, it is worth mentioning the male thyroid ( Dryopteris filix- mas) and common ostrich ( Matteucia struthopteris), and the types of kochedyzhnik ( Asplenium) are distinguished by their low height.

Hardy deciduous fern - especially beautiful in early spring when fresh foliage is blooming. The rest of the year is a great green backdrop for But the stalks of the milkweed are of the haratsias f. wolf ( Euphorbia characias s. wulfeni) are decorative at any time of the year.

Representatives of the genus mountain women ( Epimediums) grow in spreading clumps, their shoots with rounded leaves acquire a bronze or reddish tint in spring, and the cuff is soft ( ANDlchemilla mollis) forms low thickets, and its rounded clumps cover the ground at the end of the season. Raindrops sparkle on the scalloped leaves of a necklace-like cuff.

The best combinations

As the color base of the garden, green can be combined with almost any shade, however some combinations look especially attractive:

• dense green foliage with red and white flowers
• bluish green foliage - with silvery foliage and blue flowers
• apple-green foliage with white or cream flowers
• variegated foliage - dark green with golden
• yellowish green foliage contrasts well with blue and yellow flowers, and harmonizes with apricot or mauve flowers.

Gray, silver and blue tones

The beauty of plants with such dull foliage looks very sophisticated and the "soothing" impression they produce makes them particularly valuable partner plants. Since such plants are not conspicuous, in order to retain attention for a long time, it is worth adding a few bright flowering plants to them, and both partners will benefit from this, emphasizing the beauty of each other. Grays, silvers and blues are ideal for softening bright colors or, conversely, for enhancing pale colors. And plants with these colors can be used to create the illusion of spaciousness.

Silver tones

Most plants with these leaves are especially good. Most plants with gray and silvery foliage prefer sun and well-drained soil, and their pale coloration is the result of adaptation to arid conditions. If you look closely at the leaves, you will see that the coloration is mainly due to the superficial layer of hairs or waxy bloom, which reduces evaporation and protects the plant from the hot sun.

It should be noted that many of these ornamental foliage plants form outwardly rather unremarkable flowers, such as, for example, in wormwood. In other plants, flowers are more spectacular, for example, the airy bluish-lilac inflorescences of the Perovskian swan-leaved ( Perowskia atriplicifolia) significantly enhance the beauty of the plant itself, but this is not always appropriate for a “completely deciduous” composition. Regular removal of the greenish-yellow button flowers from silvery santolins will stimulate the abundant growth of spectacular greenery, and many gardeners also remove yellow "daisies" from brachyglottis ( Brachyglottis).

In humid conditions, very few plants with silvery foliage grow well, among which the sand willow is especially attractive ( Salix exigua). This shrub grows well on all types of soil except dry, but responds especially well to wet soil. And some with gray foliage - for example, pea cypress ( Chamaecyparis pisifera) and juniper virginiana ( Juniperus virginiana) also love fertile and non-drying loamy soils.

Interesting plants with silvery and bluish leaves

The bluish green foliage brings soothing yet intense tones to the color scheme. Few plants have a pronounced blue foliage, but the more their value for creating spectacular combinations in the garden!

Wormwood ( Artemisia) - due to its filigree leaves, wormwood is considered one of the best plants with a silvery leaf color.

(Festuca glauca) is a tussock-forming cereal with a pronounced blue color. The plant is decorative all year round, becoming covered with the smallest "diamonds" by frost after freezing. Blue coloration is especially noticeable in spring on young growth.

Tsmin, or Petiolate immortelle (Helichrysum petiolare). This small thermophilic plant is prized for its spreading capacity, which makes it especially popular for summer and hanging baskets. The pubescent grayish foliage is especially attractive in the sun, but seems rather dull in cloudy weather.

Hosts, especially 'Halcyon' and 'Big Daddy', are excellent bluish-green varieties for shady areas with damp soils. The 'Halcyon' host is the bluest host of all. Its leaves have a pronounced venation and retain their color better in the shade.

In some conifers, the foliage also has a surprisingly beautiful blue tint, especially in junipers such as m. Scaly ( Juniperus squamata) and many varieties ( Picea pungens).

Juniper horizontal ( Juniperus horizontalis ‘Glauca’) is a smoky bluish or blue conifer ideal for group planting. By itself, the juniper creates a low, spreading carpet that looks thick and delicate at the same time.

(Ruta graveolens) - an attractive small plant with a strong aroma and yellow flowers - forms a neat curtain of leaves with a shade of aqua, finely dissected, but with pronounced rounded edges. It grows well in sunny areas, but this plant can irritate sensitive skin.

Santolina feathery f. neapolitan ( Santolina pinnata s. neapolitana) - its dense mass of thin stems gives the impression of a rounded silvery cloud. These plants are good for mass planting and show the best silvery coloration in poor soils.

Plants with gray and silvery foliage are easy to find a place for, but remember that their beauty can only be appreciated in comparison with other colors.

The best combinations

Blue and silver shades of foliage are appropriate almost everywhere, but especially successful combinations can be considered:

• Greyish-bluish foliage and (or purple foliage)
• Silvery and gray foliage and pastel flowers - apricot, pink, or mauve
• Silvery foliage contrasting with bright blue or vibrant pink and red
• Silvery foliage that enlivens gloomy purple flowers and leaves

We will talk in more detail about other shades of colored foliage in the garden - yellow and gold, red, purple and bronze, and others ...