Award-winning gardener, author and broadcaster Liz Zorab offers some pink, or reddish colour, planting inspiration
Ido like plants with eye-catching foliage, whether it’s a great shape or an interesting colour. They can accentuate their neighbouring plants or stand out as the stars of a planting scheme. Looking around my garden I can see that, without making a conscious decision, I’ve been collecting plants with pink or reddish tones to their leaves for some time. Some of the plants offer a hint of pink for just a few weeks, for example, when new growth appears, while others provide a splash of colour right through the year.
Some of my favourite plants with pinker foliage include:
Loropetulum chinensense var. rubrum ‘Pipa’s Red’
What a colourful statement the Chinesee witch hazel makes! The dark pinky-purple leaves become green later in the growing season, but as an evergreen shrub this plant has a lot to offer. The ribbon-like flower petals are vivid magenta and enhance the pinkness of this plant. It grows to 150-200cms (5-6ft). Plant Loropetulum chinense var. rubrum ‘Pipa’s Red’ towards the back of the border in mild areas or in a large pot in cooler climates so it can be moved under cover during the coldest months of the year.
Fuchsia ‘Tom West’
This is a hardy fuchsia with flowers that have attractive red-pink sepals and stamens and a purple corolla. The foliage is variegated cream and green with pink veins, leaf edges and stems.
Ultimate height and spread are 50-60cms (19-23ins). The young foliage can be very bright pink; this plant almost looks like a man-made product hiding among the rose and lavender plants in our rose arch beds. It is a relatively unfussy plant that can be propagated from cuttings. I find it responds best to semi-ripe cuttings taken in early autumn.
Coleus scutellarioides Henna (‘Balcenna’ PBR) AGM
I spotted this plant at RHS Malvern Spring Festival and like the serrated, wavy-edged leaves that are hot copper in colour and display the pink underside of each leaf. Ideal for planters or front of the border where you’ll be able to get close-up and enjoy the frivolity of the leaves, it grows to 45cm (18in) height and spread and has been awarded an RHS Award of Garden Merit. It can be grown outside during the summer, but needs to be taken into a heated growing space before the temperatures fall if you want to overwinter the plant. It is often treated as an annual.
Cordyline ‘Red Star’
Ideal for adding a tropical look to the garden, cordylines are half-hardy so will need protection in colder areas. They prefer full sun or partial shade and they do not like to sit in waterlogged soil (I learnt th
