Only for the bold!
Try these for something with more vibrant pizzazz...
Abelia grandiflora ‘Kaleidoscope’
Bright foliage ensures this evergreen shrub has huge impact. Gracefully arching branches are festooned with small, glossy, green leaves, broadly edged with butter yellow and flushed with bronze when young, and again in autumn. The small, pale pink flowers are fragrant and produced in late summer. It prefers a warm, bright site, perfect against a sunny wall. The colours match the new autumnal orange echinaceas or, if the soil isn’t too dry, vibrant crocosmias. Height: 1.2m (4ft).
Leucothoe ‘Rainbow’
Related to pieris and heathers, this low, spreading shrub combines well with rhododendrons and azaleas, contrasting with their stiff, mounded habit. Plant this for its leathery, deep green leaves, splashed with creamy yellow. When young, the leaves are a mixture of bronze, pink and cream, set against red stems. Like all its clan, it needs acid soil and a bright spot, out of drying hot sun. Old stems should be cut out at the base after a few years to keep it neat and tidy. Height: 75cm (2ft 6in).
Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’
With heart-shaped foliage in a confection of cream, yellow, pink and red, this hardy, herbaceous perennial is very popular. Planted out, it can be a joyful gem, but also a nuisance, spreading alarmingly in moist, rich soils. In some gardens it’s well behaved but be warned, don’t plant it beside small and delicate plants. Allow it to ramble around strong herbaceous plants like large hostas or daylilies, or put it under a silver birch where it will contrast strikingly. Height: 30cm (1ft).
Fuchsia ‘Tom West’
Most hardy fuchsias don’t set the pulse racing, but ‘Tom West’ is something special. It makes a low, spreading bush with slender red and purple flowers in summer and autumn. But it’s the foliage that sets it apart. Each leaf is variegated in white, which, set against redflushed leaves, creates a tapestry of pink, red and green. It looks lovely from the moment the leaves appear in spring, right through to autumn. Pep up grey-leaved shrubs with it. Height: 50cm (1ft 6in).