You may recall the report of King Midas , who turn whatever he touched into amber . Well , you may do the same in your peak garden , planting an entire garden or perhaps just a bottom or niche in it in Au - riff and Au - flower plant . It just claim a little planning . Here are my suggestions for plant with gilded foliation or heyday that you may want to try .
First the annuals . One of the first ones that comes to mind is the licorice plant ( Helichrysum ) . Although some forms have silver grey or motley leaf , one has gold leaf . A undivided plant can spread to a brace of metrical unit , which makes a nice groundcover or found for around and under magniloquent works .
Many nurseryman are familiar with the low groundcover with small whitened flowers call Bacopa or Snowflake . Now there is a form with amber and green leaves , and another with just gold leaves .
Or embed English ivy , which are really tender perennial in the North that generally are develop as annuals . They come in many folio colors and shapes , including variegate favourable .
Do n’t overlook the more common yearbook with prosperous flush , such as zinnias , marigolds , gazanias , tithonia , cosmos , and the blue creepingzinnia(Sanvitalia ) . Both zinnias and marigolds occur in various heights .
For perennial , consider these for your golden garden . Several golden - riff Funka are available including Wogon Gold . These do well in shadowiness , part Lord’s Day , or even northerly sunlight if sufficient wet . The down Buttercup ( Ranunculus ) is useable in a duet of golden variegate cultivars , including ‘ Buttered Popcorn . ’
A low - originate loosestrife ( Lysimachia nummularia ‘ Aurea ’ ) , although marginally hardy in many area , also has attractive prosperous leaf . Or let in some low meadowsweets ( Filipendula ) . One has prosperous variegate foliage ( tends to revert to all dark-green , however ) , another has all golden leaves ( marginally hardy ) .
One groundcover I especially care , and visitor to my garden always gloss on , is the Beedham ’s White Lamium ( or deadnettle – how ’s that for a common name ! ) . With its golden leaves all time of year , and white blossom in midsummer , it clear up shady areas , and goes keen with blue - leaved Funka .
I also care an attractive newfangled vinca with golden vary leaves called ‘ miniature . ’ It ’s a particularly unfearing perennial worthy for northerly New England garden .
A new innovation from England this twelvemonth is a garden phlox with fortunate variegated leafage called ‘ Becky Towe . ’ It ’s named after the hot dog of the plantswoman who found it in Shropshire .
Another U.K. native that ’s new to this country from the Blooms of Bressingham course of study is a golden - leaf corn flower ( Centaurea ) with strike contrasted spicy flowers called ‘ Gold Bullion . ’ Check with your local greenhouse to see if it has these plants in line , or go on - parentage to find a supplier .
Of naturally , you may already have some perennials with golden blossom in your garden . Daylilies , tickweed ( Coreopsis ) , lady ’s mantle ( Alchemilla ) , sundrops ( genus Oenothera ) , cushion spurge ( Euphorbia polychroma ) , and perennial helianthus ( Heliopsis ) are all democratic with New England flower gardener , as are some cultivars of Helen ’s flower , which bloom in former summer and other fall ( Helenium ) .
And do n’t blank out about ornamental grasses with “ self-colored amber ” or gilt motley foliage . Several of the sedge ( Carex ) , include ‘ Bowles Golden , ’ ‘ Goldband , ’ or ‘ Goldstrike ’ are hardy to USDA zona 5 . Perhaps the most democratic halcyon Mary Jane is Hakonechloa ‘ Aureola , ’ but alas , this is only hardy to about zone 7 , so wo n’t do well in northern New England .
But you might require to try one of the many choice of Miscanthus , which has either vertical or horizontal amber bands on the leaves . These plants are fearless to geographical zone 5 and often into zona 4 .
Do n’t forget the shrub , including some of the golden - leaved cultivars of spiraea , or the golden variegate bush dogwood tree . A favorable honeylocust tree provides light shade and bully golden color overhead . Finally , plant daffodils in the fall , golden tulip , and gilded crocus to come out your golden garden off in the spring .
THE MIDAS tactile sensation
By Dr. Leonard PerryExtension Nursery and Greenhouse Crops SpecialistUniversity of Vermont
