Golden Leaves to Lighten Dark Places
The mythic King Midas had the ability to turn everything he touched to gold. He came to regret that unique ability, but shade gardeners can understand the value of gold in borders and containers. Gold-leafed plants lighten dark corners, creating life and interest, and lifting spirits. Fortunately, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and grasses with gold or golden green leaves are readily available. Some come by their golden good lucks naturally, others are specially bred forms of garden stalwarts. Either way, golden garden plants are a good investment.
Bleeding Hearts of Gold
Perennials, with their ability to return year after year are great assets in the garden. Golden leaves abound.
Start things off right in spring with ‘Golden Heart’ bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart aka Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Golden Heart’), a golden-leafed version of traditional bleeding heart. The pink and white hearts on arching stems are familiar, but the leaf color is a revelation. The closely related ‘White Gold’ bleeding heart features similar leaves but bears pristine white “hearts”.
Bleeding heart plants are ephemeral, and the leaves and stems die back in summer, but they shine as the world breaks into bloom in March and April.
Golden Coral Bells
Coral bells (Heuchera) are grown primarily for foliage, though they also bear tall wands of dainty late spring flowers. ‘Lemon Supreme’ looks like a sunburst, with ruffled, lobed leaves in sunny yellow. For something with a little drama and a lot of brightness, try ‘Red Lightening’, with chartreuse leaves and red veins. Both make compact clumps and like supplemental moisture, especially during hot summers.
Sunny Spiderworts
Tradescantia or spiderwort is a longtime garden stalwart descended from the native Tradescantia virginiana. Compact and perfect for containers, ‘Sunshine Charm’ was bred at the famed Terra Nova Nurseries. The long, strap-like leaves are golden green, accenting three-petaled lavender-pink flowers that appear in the spring. Its relative, Tradescantia ‘Sweet Kate’, grows about 20 inches tall, and offers chartreuse leaves paired with darker blue flowers. Both will develop into healthy clumps with only minimal care.
Golden Ground
Creeping Jenny or gold moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia) is another longtime favorite that holds its own as a groundcover in part shade. True to its name, the ‘Aurea’ variety covers the earth with golden leaves and produces equally lovely golden flowers. Growing only about two inches tall, the tough little plants form a carpet, blooming in July. Creeping jenny is great choice for hard-to-reach places, because once established it spreads and takes care of itself. Provide the plants with consistent moisture, especially when they are getting established, and creeping jenny will furnish you with brightness and toughness all in one small package. Being petite and amenable, the plants also work in containers, if they are watered regularly.
Lotsa Hostas
Hostas or plantain lilies are also great as either shade-loving specimen plants or grouped to flank walkways. They make excellent ground covers as well. The garden centers are chock full of hosta varieties in all shapes, sizes and leaf configurations, but among the best gold and chartreuse-leafed varieties, ‘Fire Island’, with golden leaves that age to chartreuse over the course of the growing season and red-speckled stems is one of the best. Relatively small at 10 to 14 inches tall, ‘Fire Island’ would also light up container arrays. ‘Maui Buttercups’ is another small cultivar with golden leaves and light purple flowers. For a little something flashy, try ‘Siberian Tiger’, which is striped in bold yellow and green. It is a hosta that will not only lighten dark spaces but stop garden visitors in their tracks.
Splendor in the Grass
Grass fanciers with shady space can take heart and plant with confidence if they invest in grasses like Carex ‘Bowles Golden’. This evergreen sedge grows about 36 inches tall and wide, forming a rounded clump adorned with long golden leaves. In moisture-retentive soil, happy clumps will slowly increase in size over the years.
Hakonechloa or Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra) has become very popular in the last decade or so for its sturdiness and well-mannered good looks. ‘All Gold’ is a gilded version of this grass that looks like miniature bamboo with yellow leaves and a clumping habit. Like ‘Bowles Golden’, it is happiest in moisture-retentive soil. Mature plants top out at 18 inches tall and wide and will be ignored by deer and other garden pests.
Golden Shrubs
Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a native shrub that has long proven itself to be a reliable garden performer. ‘Little Honey’ boasts the typical oak-type lobed leaves in golden green, which set off the white, conical flowers in the last spring and early summer. Growing about three feet tall and wide, ‘Little Honey’ works well in containers and small gardens. The flowers fade to dusty pink and then beige, while the leaves turn a brilliant red in autumn, adding another season of interest.
Evergreens contribute great structure to any landscape, and one of the best golden-needled evergreens is Taxus cuspidata ‘Nana Aurescens’ or golden Japanese yew. New growth stands out in brilliant yellow, while the older growth beneath it turns green, creating a striking contrast. Growing only about three feet tall, ‘Nana Aurescens’ likes consistently moist soil.
In the broad leaf evergreen category, golden euonymus (Euonymus japonica ‘Aureo Marginatus’ shines with light green leaves generously edged in gold. The color is most radiant in the spring. The tough, resilient plants grow about five to eight feet tall and four to eight feet wide at maturity, thriving in part shade.
Gilded Annuals
Add in extra golden color with annual foliage plants like coleus. New varieties come on the market every year, many with either chartreuse leaves or multi-colored foliage that includes shades of yellow and yellow green. Among the best gold-leafed varieties is Color Blaze® Mini Me™ ‘Chartreuse’, with finely dissected foliage and great golden-green color. Coleus ‘Main Street Chartres Street’ has similar coloration.
Caladiums are another great choice for instant summer color. Many of the plants bear leaves that sing out in mixtures of green, cream, red, pink, and white, but a few also feature golden-green foliage. One of them, ‘Limelite’ sports lime green leaves lightly speckled in red. It tops out at 12 to 18 inches tall and works well in pots or beds. ‘Mint Julep’ is primarily light green, with a pink central blush and darker pink veins. Caladiums love shade and hot weather and should be watered when the soil around them feels dry.
Golden Rules
Mulch is essential for moisture loving gold-leafed varieties, and most benefit from organic soil amendments, like Fafard® Premium Natural and Organic Compost at planting time. Too much sun may burn these beauties, so make sure to site them at least light shade. Treat your gold-leafed plants right and your garden will look as if you have the Midas touch.
About Elisabeth Ginsburg