Tower and Town, November 2025 (view the full edition)Magical Light And Mystical darkMystical dark, nearly black, foliage has been an obsession with plant collectors for many years. I've just bought a Zantedeschia Memories lily and it's the closest to actual black that I have ever seen. This is particularly special because although dark foliage is getting more usual in garden centres, actual black flowers are still rare. Dark foliage is invaluable at adding drama and enhancing particular areas of interest in the garden because your eye is naturally drawn to it, especially as purple foliage compliments every shade of green and I use them as feature plants in the border to draw attention to what is around them.
Full sun or part shade is best, unfortunately their colour fades in shady conditions, but they will grow in all soil conditions with no special needs. Magical light foliage and the love affair with Hostas begins! The sheer range of colours, textures, sizes and shapes is mind blowing. I went to the Spring Show at Malvern and the biggest buzz was around the Hosta stands. They are probably one of the most collectable groups of plants and that's interesting because we spend a fortune on them and they are total slug magnets! My favourite supplier is Sienna Hosta, they are Chelsea Gold medal winners and grow over 1400 different varieties. They also supplied the plants for King Charles for his stumpery at Highgrove. Next spring I will get their new Hosta Silly String, I've got to wait that long because there's a huge waiting list of other obsessed collectors! Always grow them in pots in multi-purpose compost with a very generous layer of horticultural grit on top to deter molluscs. The bigger leaved varieties won't grow as big as if they were in the ground, but your leaves won't look like lace! Hostas don't like too much sun although the yellow leaved varieties are more tolerant and they all need to be kept moist, feeding isn't really necessary. The added bonus are the beautiful lilac flowers that appear in the autumn arising from the foliage. They get bigger every year so in the autumn take it out of its pot, cut it in half with a sharp knife and re-pot with new compost. Foliage will die back in the late autumn so just wait for another miracle next spring when their fat buds appear again. Dark or light, you will not be able to stop at one plant! Wendy Jackson |
Mostly deciduous and fully hardy, the foliage comes in the most stunning range of textures from fernlike Sambucus, strappy leaves like Eucomis, cut leaves like Acers and broad leaves like Colocasia. Evergreen purple shrubs like Pittosporum Tom Thumb are borderline hardy so I move them right up to the house wall in the winter.