Two tone’s greatest hits
Variegation isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – but get it right and you can really rock the look
EVERY time I catch sight of a spotted laurel, I’m reminded of a heated discussion I once had with a group of mature horticultural students. As their guest tutor, I was helping them identify plants when we passed the large Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’.
I’ve long been a fan of this evergreen shrub with large, glossy leaves liberally splashed with yellow, so was able to wax lyrical about its attributes. Not all agreed with my opinion that its foliage was attractive, and I was soon embroiled in a debate over the pros and cons of variegation.
Trees, shrubs, climbers, perennials and other plants with leaves of more than one colour really do polarise gardeners. Some consider them the height of bad taste. Others think their striking looks work wonders.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not an admirer of everything variegated – the mottled leaves of Fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’ look as if they’ve been sprayed with weedkiller. Yet pick plants with care, and use them sparingly, and they’ll help to illuminate poorly lit spots, lead the eye through a scheme and add definition to a border.
Variegated foliage can be speckled, spotted or striped, have vibrant margins or a bold splash of colour in the centre. Some are marbled, boast colourful veins or are adorned with irregular patches, so no two leaves look the same. Trees and shrubs with evergreen, variegated foliage come into their own in winter. Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ’n’ Gold’, Hebe ‘Heartbreaker’ and Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’, with its yellow-edged leaves and scented blooms, are all compact plants that will provide structure at the front of mixed borders.
Hollies make excellent specimens for a lawn in sun or semi-shade. Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Golden King’ has oval green leaves with a wide golden margin, while I. aquifolium ‘Ferox Argentea’ has silver-edged leaves that are barbed on the surface, leading to its common name, hedgehog holly.
Some shrubs will help to brighten shady areas. Spotted laurels and Elaeagnus x ebbingei ‘Gilt Edge’ are almost indestructible plants that will thrive in full shade, while Viburnum tinus ‘Variegatum’ is a lovely specimen for semi-shade – reaching 8ft, it has yellow and green leaves, along with pink-tinged white flowers throughout winter and early spring. Several climbers and wall shrubs have glorious variegated foliage. Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris ‘Silver Lining’ is a climbing hydrangea with green and cream leaves. Closely related to kiwi fruit, Actinidia kolomikta has 6in-long green leaves splashed pink and white. Both are deciduous. For year-round colour, try Canary Island ivy (Hedera canariensis ‘Gloire de Marengo’) for its silvery green leaves with creamy yellow margins, or x fatshedera lizei ‘Variegata’, with hand-shaped leaves with white edges. Trachelospermum jasminoides ‘Variegatum’ boasts scented white flowers in summer.
THE dormant season is a great time to plant perennials. There are scores of two-tone hostas, heucheras and lungworts, which will thrive in partial shade. Variegated irises, Astrantia major ‘Sunningdale Variegated’ and Alstroemeria Rock ’n’ Roll are great choices for sunnier places.
For my money, the best variegated perennial of all is Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, which forms a 15in-tall clump of silvery leaves with green edges and veins. Perfect in damp shade, it produces tiny blue flowers from mid-spring to early summer.