Plant a foliage rainbow!

Hebe ‘Heartbreaker’

Colourful leaves offer enduring seasonal and evergreen interest. Here’s our top 10

‘Orange Sunrise’

Thorny deciduous shrub producing bright salmon-red leaves in spring and small yellow flowers in April. As foliage matures it darkens and develops a fine yellow margin – especially pronounced in full sun. Its upright columnar shape makes this shrub perfect for a structural statement or hedging. Best in sun and moist, well-drained soil. H1.5m (5ft) S50cm (20in)

Blushing evergreen shrub with slender, cream-edged green leaves that flush pink in cool temperatures. Lavender summer flowers emerge June-September. Its compact, rounded habit makes it ideal for patio containers, or at the front of a border in sun or part shade and moist, well-drained fertile soil. Would make attractive punctuation plant that needs minimal pruning. May need frost protection in colder winters. H and S60cm (2ft)

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’

Magnificent deciduous shrub with rich purple foliage that turns vivid red in autumn. Delicate flowers, produced July-August, look like a haze of pink smoke, earning it the common name of smoke bush. Prune hard in March and mulch well for best foliage display. Grow in full sun and fertile, moist, well-drained soil. H and S5m (16ft)

Nandina domestica ‘Magical Lemon and Lime’

Aptly-named nandina whose pointy spring foliage emerges bright lemon yellow then turns a gentler lime green colour as the leaves mature.

In a sunny spot these charming, small evergreen shrubs remain quite bright, reverting to a cooler hue in part shade. Expect small white flowers in July. H and S60cm (2ft) ➤