Variegation

variegated mint in a pot

Every now and then I read a garden article snubbing variegated foliage. It seems that variegated plants are extremely divisive in the gardening world.

Gardening Prime?

I have a theory that variegation sneaks up on a gardener, usually when we are in our gardening prime. It commonly starts with the subtlety of gentle cream and sage green foliage. Having believed for years that gold and green is better displayed on a rugby jersey than on a leaf, we experience a sudden devastating illumination of faith.

Out of the gardening closet we leap, embracing the joy and dizziness of stripes, swirls and the fractal like patterns of vulgar variegation. Only the brave will celebrate the joyfulness of such colour sharing.

Variegated hosta

Subtle?

I have had my subtle moments. I have bought variegated liriope (which I have lost in planting, somewhere). I have ordered in a cream variegated Brunnera, impressed with the catalogue-speak which emphasised class and subtlety. It is a lovely plant, too, hidden among the grape hyacinths, but a little more voluntary spreading would be nice. I might have bought in quality, but I still expect bulk.

I've been spoilt by the beautiful sage and cream Scrophularia, easily propagated, which now has a place in many of my borders.

Some hostas have quite unsubtle variegation. The delicate brushstrokes around their edges remind me of hand painted crockery, and their shades of green seem to be chosen from an upmarket paint chart.

variegated astrantia and hosta enjoying a quiet spring moment

They almost need a few random snail bites, or an unseasonal hailstorm, to ruin their uniformity and restore the natural look. It's a puzzle to me that even the species hosta can look quite artificial (not that I would wish hail or snails on any keen hosta gardener).

Gold and Green

Like large red dahlias, gold and green variegated leaves en masse look good in a large country setting, where sweeping expanses of lawn and sky are accepting of nearly any planting. I know that such plants can be overbold - but why shouldn't they be enjoyed for their strong colour patterns? Who made the rule that plants have to be subtle?

One of my favourite New Zealand natives is a cheerful Corokia covered with small fingers of yellow and green. Put this in a pot in a minimalist gardening space and even anti-variegated stylists would accept it. I grow mine in twos or threes where ever I want a border to be cheered up.

Spotted ligularia by the wood shed

Spots and Stripes

Does variegation include spots as well as stripes? I wouldn't be without that spotty Ligularia which many call the Leopard plant. It's a plant with heaps of good humoured fun, and has the strongest green and yellow combination of all my variegated plants. I enjoy my vertical striped Cannas, and the horizontal yellows on Miscanthus Zebrinus, but those large yellow spots always make me laugh.

Variegation is definitely the spice of my gardening life.