What do you picture in your mind's eye when you hear the word "silver"? In truth, silver is not just one colour or shade, but myriad variations as the montage above depicts.

Silver can serve many purposes in a garden setting, from the effect it creates by itself or in combination with certain other colours. Silver foliage is often described as neutral, soft, calm, soothing, refreshing, relaxing, even subtle. So use it to good advantage with any of the partnership ideas below.

* Watch for the animated hummingbird and butterfly with the plants that attract them. *
The deer icon indicates plants that deer are not usually attracted to.

The best time and method to propagate plants can be found on our image-intensive PROPAGATION page.

To help your plants grow their best, check out our FERTILIZATION page.

To create your own plant partnerships based on tried and true color theory, check out our GARDEN COLOR page.

To see if a particular plant is on this page press Ctrl+F, type in the name, then click the Find button.

ACHILLEA

The foliage of many Yarrows is some shade of green. But there are forms whose foliage is clearly greyish or silvery. For repeat bloom in autumn cut flower stalks down to the basal leaves after flowering. Yarrow will attract beneficial insects. To use them dried in arrangements, either dry them upside down in bunches in a warm, dry place or dry them upright in 2-3" of water. Once the water is gone, do not replace it.

Achillea 'Moonshine':  Moonshine Yarrow, grey-green foliage, sulphur yellow flowers

with:  cream and blue Iris, pale pink Paeonia, blue Linum perenne, Veronica, Dictamnus albus
with:  Nepeta 'Blue Wonder', Coreopsis 'Moonbeam', Arrhenatherum elatius bulbosum & Stachys 'Silver Carpet'

what:  silvery grey-green foliage, to 2", is fuzzy and dissected, forming a ground-hugging mat
uses:  ground cover in full sun, rock gardens
asset:  a nectar source for the Checkerspot Butterfly species

seen above with pink Armeria maritima, another short edging plant for spring
like:  a miniature Achillea 'Gold Plate'
assets:  medicinal herb, attracts bees, butterflies and birds
uses:  rock gardens with perfect drainage, flowers for cutting

with:  any of the companions suggested above for the species

Follow the links below to other colours and forms of Yarrow and information that will help you grow them well.

AJUGA

Bugleweed is beautiful when its showy flower spikes are in bloom in late spring. These are usually a shade of blue or purple, further enhanced when they bloom above foliage with a silvery sheen that stays lovely throughout the gardening season. All Bugleweeds, not just the silver-foliaged ones, do well around shrubs and under trees, as they can tolerate somewhat dry shade. Use particularly striking forms as edgers or accents in a garden.

Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow':  silvery-green foliage with deep wine-red tones

for partnership ideas, follow the link to Shade Perennials & Their Companions

for partnership ideas, follow the link to Shade Perennials & Their Companions

ANAPHALIS

Pearly Everlasting, in full sun to light shade, provides an air of coolness to otherwise bright and hot mid-summer borders. This bushy perennial has lance-shaped silvery-grey leaves with white margins. Flowers grow on erect stems and can be used freshly cut or dried. Its own white flowers are the perfect companion for its silvery leaves. Be advised that it may spread quickly in the moist sites it prefers.

Anaphalis margaritaceae:  Pearly Everlasting, to 36"x12-15", late summer white papery flowers

synonym:  Anaphalis yedoensis
for partnership ideas follow the link to Butterfly Magnets & Their Companions - 1

ARTEMISIA

Artemisias, sometimes called Wormwood, are sub-shrubs or shrub-like perennials, grown mainly for their foliage. Most prefer average, well-drained soil. Generally finely cut, aromatic and grey-green, the foliage of some forms has the effect of a lovely silver described as pure silver, near white, silvery-green or soft grey, depending on type, such as the ones given below.

Artemisia:  Sagebrush, Mugwort

in front of:  salmon Oriental poppies
use to:  unify discordant colour combinations, deepen adjacent colours
paired with:  complementary partners
near:  foliage of Coreopsis verticillata
with:  pink or magenta-flowered hardy Geranium
with:  Geranium cinereum spp. subcaulescens 'Ballerina'

uses:  as a filigreed background for other plants

with drought-tolerant perennials:  Achillea
with:  Ornamental Grasses

use as:  foil for cool or bright colours, a bright splash in dark borders
lovely with:  Geranium himalayense 'Graveteye'
with flowers with more intense colours:  Viola 'Arkwright Ruby'
backdrop for:  spring bulbs
accent near:  taller shrubs
foil for:  Penstemon, Dianthus, Scabiosa
with:  Hemerocallis (lemon yellow)
with various Aster forms:  Aster (Michaelmas Daisy), Aster x frikartii 'Monch' (the finest perennial Aster),
Aster novae-angliae 'Hella Lacy' (royal-purple), Aster novi-belgii 'Benary's Composition Mix'
combined with:  Elymus canadensis (blue lyme grass) & Crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie' (orange)
with:  Chrysanthemum parthenium, Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Clara Curtis'
contrast with:  Heuchera 'Palace Purple'
behind:  Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
with yellows:   Kniphofia (primrose-yellow), Lilium (lemon-yellow)
behind yellows:  Achillea x 'Moonshine', Coreopsis 'Moonbeam'
with blues:  Delphinium 'Belladonna' (sky-blue), Eryngium, Echinops ritro
behind blues:  Nepeta 'Blue Wonder'
behind edgers:  Arrhenatherum elatius var. bulbosum 'Variegatum', Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet'
beside:  tall Allium sphaerocephalum 'Drumsticks' or Allium caeruleum

with:  Achillea 'Summer Pastels' (lilac)
with:  Papaver orientale (salmon-pink forms)
with:  Aster ericoides 'Blue Star' (pale blue)
leaning over:  Allium 'Beau Regard' (an expensive bulb with large lavender heads)

with:  crimson Rosa, Phlox paniculata (esp. pink forms)

combined with:  Chrysanthemum x rubellum 'Clara Curtis' & Aster x frikartii
combined with:  Phlox paniculata 'Franz Schubert' & Hemerocallis 'Joan Senior'
combined with:  Eupatorium fistulosum & Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
with:  crimson roses, pink Phlox paniculata

first behind:  Aster alpinus (early) and then, later behind:  Aster x frikartii (later bloomer)
with:  Iris x germanica

with:  green-leaved plants
with:  Salvia 'East Friesland', rosy Lupinus, brassy yellow Allium moly
as ground cover at base of:  purplish Rosa rugosa

with:  bluish foliage of pink Dianthus forms, purple Allium senescens, blue Festuca, Lychnis coronaria
a silver on silver effect with:  the huge silvery-blue leaves of Salvia argentea
for more partnership ideas, follow the link to Edgers & Their Companions - 1

with:  blues, purples and pinks of Consolida ajacis, Delphinium, Salvia, Dianthus

care:  shear plants back to close to the ground when small yellow flowers appear
for partnership ideas, follow the link to Edgers & Their Companions - 1

with:  Malva alcea
behind:  Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple'
echo with:  Helictotrichon sempervirens (Blue Oat Grass)
with:  Ornamental Grasses

ATHYRIUM

The Lady Ferns are always delicate and lacy, with triangular fronds divided into numerous smaller leaflets. Add a hint of silver and their beauty can only be enhanced even more.

Athyrium filix-femina:  Lady Fern

the plant in the image above is only in its second year of growth

Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum'

with:  Asarum europaeum, Eranthis hyemalis
with:  Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila'
with:  Dicentra eximia 'Alba'
with:  Phlox x chattahooche, Lamium 'Pink Pewter' & Pulmonaria longifolia 'Bertram Anderson'
with:  dark Heuchera & Brunnera 'Jack Frost'
with:  Heuchera americana 'Eco-Magnififolia' & Hosta (dark green centre with lime-green edging)

BRUNNERA

There are so many Bugloss forms with degrees of silvering in their heart-shaped leaves that it is difficult to keep up with all the new cultivars. Unfortunately some of these revert to solid green so investigate beforehand and make purchases of new ones carefully to avoid this happening.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost':  Zone 3, 12-15"x12-15", dark green foliage has a silvery overlay with a crackle-like finish

bloom:  mid to late spring
care:  leave foliage in fall for winter protection, then cut back old foliage in spring to tidy, mulch for winter protection
where:  woodlands, with full shade and moist soil
woodlands with:  Astilbe, Epimedium, Bergenia cordifolia, Dicentra, Heuchera, Tiarella, Carex morrowii, Hosta,
Polemonium caeruleum, Lamium maculatum, Pulmonaria longifolia, Phlox divaricata 'Laphamii', Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum'
in shade with:  Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum' & dark Heuchera forms

with:  Helleborus, Ligularia, Cimicifuga racemosa
superb with:  purple-foliaged perennials

CARYOPTERIS

Bluebeard, sometimes called Blue Spirea, is actually a woody shrub that should be cut back in spring, as you would do with Butterfly Bush. Bloom, consisting of fragrant blue flowers in clusters, will occur in fall on new wood. If the foliage has a hint of silver in it, so much the better.

Caryopteris x clandonensis, 2-3'x24-30"

for partnership ideas, follow the link to Butterfly Magnets & Their Companions - 1

for partnership ideas, follow the link to Butterfly Magnets & Their Companions - 1

for partnership ideas, follow the link to Butterfly Magnets & Their Companions - 1

for partnership ideas, follow the link to Butterfly Magnets & Their Companions - 1

CENTAUREA

Knapweed or Cornflower has many lovely forms including some with grey or silvery foliage. Such foliage will not only enhance other plantings nearby, it will do so with its own flower colours as well.

Centaurea montana:  Mountain Bluet, Perennial Cornflower, oval, pointed, gray-green foliage, blue flowers

in front of:  Allium aflatunense
behind:  Heuchera (red or pink)

uses:  a tall edger
in front of:  Tulipa (a pink cultivar) which is, in turn, in front of Sedum spectabile

CERASTIUM

Mouse-Ear Chickweed, also known as Snow-In-Summer for its white flowers that bloom in late spring to early summer, is a prime example of a perennial with silvery-grey foliage. Forming ground-hugging mats, this is a vigorous-growing plant that does just fine in a dry raised bed where it can drape over a rocky front edge.

Cerastium tomentosum:  Snow-in-Summer

for partnership ideas follow the link to Edgers & Their Companions - 1

with:  Campanula poscharskyana, Nepeta x faassenii, Paeonia, Centranthus ruber, Euphorbia polychroma,
Achillea millefolium

FOR MORE SILVER FOLIAGE PERENNIALS & ORNAMENTAL GRASSES, FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW.

• Cornus - Limonium
• Lunaria - Veronica

All of our own Gardens By The Bay pages can be accessed by clicking on the links below.

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COLOR THEORY

THE GARDENS

CORNER GARDEN CONSTRUCTION  |  CORNER GARDEN PLANTING  |  LONG GARDEN

EAST GARDEN  |  HOSTA GARDEN  |  NORTH GARDEN  |  WINTER GARDENS

PLANT PARTNERSHIPS

BLUE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Geranium  |  Iris - Vinca

BULBS    Allium - Hyacinthus  |  Narcissus only  |  Tulipa only  |  Minor Bulbs

BUTTERFLY MAGNETS    Anaphalis - Hemerocallis  |  Liatris - Veronicastrum
DAYLILIES      Spider & Unusual Form

EDGERS    Arabis - Iris  |  Nepeta - Veronica

FOLIAGE PERENNIALS     Alchemilla - Tanacetum

HOSTA    Hosta - all

HUMMINGBIRD-FRIENDLY PERENNIALS    Alcea - Salvia

ORANGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Tulipa

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES    Acorus - Imperata |  Miscanthus - Spodiopogon

PINK PERENNIALS    Achillea - Lilium  |  Lychnis - Veronica

PURPLE PERENNIALS    Aconitum - Liatris  |  Polemonium - Veronica

RED PERENNIALS    Achillea - Veronica

SHADE PERENNIALS    Aegopodium - Erythronium  |  Ferns - Polemonium  |  Polygonatum - Vinca

SILVER FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Cerastium    |    Cornus - Limonium    |    Lunaria - Veronica

SIMPLY SPECIAL PERENNIALS    Acanthus - Saxifraga

WHITE PERENNIALS    Achillea - Iris  |  Kalimeris - Yucca

YELLOW PERENNIALS    Achillea - Hypericum  |  Inula - Verbascum

VARIEGATED-FOLIAGE PERENNIALS    Acorus - Erythronium  |  Hakonechloa - Lysimachia  |  Miscanthus - Yucca

PLANT PROFILES

Dianthus 'Tiny Rubies'  |  Geranium  |  Geum coccineum  |  Kerria japonica  |  Knautia macedonica

Paeonia tenuifolia  |  Papaver somniferum  |  Rudbeckia  |  Salvia 'East Friesland'

Trollius  |  Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'

PROPAGATION

DIVISION - SPRING ONLY  |   DIVISION - FALL ONLY  |   DIVISION - SPRING OR FALL  |   DO NOT DIVIDE

FERTILIZATION

BULBS  |   ORNAMENTAL GRASSES  |   PERENNIALS  |   SHRUBS  |   VINES

LINKS

GARDENS  |   LOCAL GARDENS  |   BOTANICAL TERMINOLOGY

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