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which has huge deeply cut silver leaves and a flower stem that can reach 6ft with large buds that look like artichoke flowers.
These open to become a purple thistle-like flower attracting bees in droves – a wonderful perennial specimen for the border. Other shimmery favourites include Astelia. This architectural perennial has long, sword-shaped leaves that are covered with a fine silver film. They set the scene beautifully and stand out strongly among other plants.
Plant Astelias in large clumps if you have a big garden, or use them as focal points to punctuate your space and lead the eye around the garden.
To add interest and variation to your planting schemes, it’s always good to include different textures.
Stachys byzantina is the classic silver woolly ‘bunnies’ ears’ that you just can’t resist rubbing between your fingers. It’s a real favourite with children and their clumping foliage complements deep green plants like anemones, hellebores and agapanthus beautifully, adding depth to planting.
Eryngium giganteum is a sea holly with steely silver bracts and flowers – the cultivar ‘Silver Ghost’ is really intense in colour.
The common name for this plant is Miss Willmott’s Ghost, referring to a gardener who loved this plant so much she would surreptitiously scatter the seeds of it in any garden she happened to visit!
Generally, silver-leaved plants have a much better chance of survival in poor soil conditions and in times of drought. Their surfaces are most often covered in fine hairs that enable them to withstand extreme heat by slowing down moisture loss, while the silver deflects the sun’s