Heucheras - vibrant foliage colour for the border

When we think about adding colour to the garden, our minds go first to flowers. However, foliage can add so much to the border, not just in terms of texture but also colour - and they're low maintenance too. With names like 'Chocolate Ruffles', 'Champagne', 'Berry Marmalade' and 'Tiramisu', they certainly bring some flavour to the border.

If you have an area of dappled shade in your garden borders that could benefit from a little colour then Heucheras might be the plants for you to try. Native to the woodlands of North America, these low-growing plants are grown primarily for their foliage, although they also have small, pretty flowers in shades of white, pink or red.

With foliage colours ranging from silvery green, yellow, bright green, red and purple, they make great ground cover plants for the front of the border.

Here are a few varieties to look at and see the beautiful range of colours Heucheras  can bring to the garden.

Also known as 'Coral bells' for the pretty flowers borne on thin stems, these plants really earn their place in the garden. Just cut back any scrappy leaves as they fade, and dead head after flowering.

A couple of notes to consider - they don't like full sun, and might struggle in deep shade, and don't plant them anywhere too damp or too dry.

They are susceptible to vine weevil so keep an eye out for this, and treat the soil with nematodes to address this.

Heucheras are great for a low maintenance foliage garden, and bring some bright colours to the shady border with not much effort.

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