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Blue and silver plants

TheGardenerFromMarsTheGardenerFromMars Posts: 65
in Plants
I'm helping someone to plant up two terraced flower beds - one above the other. They want plants with bluey and silver foliage, including some grasses but not just grasses. Grateful for any suggestions.

The location of the beds gets part sun. The beds already have a small red acer, a rosemary plant and a couple of Beauty Berry plants, but the beds are mostly empty at the moment.

The size of the beds means that plants that grow to about 60cm high wide will probably work best - but there might be room for a few that grow a bit bigger in the top bed.
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  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    I suppose you’ve already considered lavenders or angel wings ? 
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    How big are the beds? Most grasses really want a lot of sun. How much does the bed actually get?

  • TheGardenerFromMarsTheGardenerFromMars Posts: 65
    About 60cm deep and 4m wide. The beds mostly get afternoon sun, but trees block some of the light from some directions, so none of the plants would get non-stop direct sun all afternoon.
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,089
    Eryngiums will give you blue and silver on the same plant.
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-eryngiums/
    Sunny Dundee
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I planned a bule, silver, white and a bit of pink for one border a few years ago.
    It includes- 
    ceratostigma 
    blue penstemons
    agastache
    campanula
    Caryopteris
    hardy geraniums
    perovskia
    phlox
    pulmonaria
    salvias
    veronica
    artemisia
    forget-me-nots
    Eryngium Jos Eijking
    elaeagnus quicksilver

    and probably a few others :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    Astelia chathamica "Silver Spear", great metallic silver foliage. Does best in shade, but can cope with sun.
  • TheGardenerFromMarsTheGardenerFromMars Posts: 65
    Thank you all for the suggestions!

    If anyone has any others, keep them coming - I will look through them all at the same time and choose some for the beds that I'll be planting :)
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Coincidentally I spotted this combo yesterday - Yucca rostrata and Salvia patens. Might work in the sunniest part of the site, you could switch the Yucca for Astelia as suggested by @KeenonGreen.



    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited September 2022
    Couple of silvery grasses you could try, Carex 'Blue Zinger', and Sesleria nitida. (The Sesleria has lovely white spring flowers!)
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    edited September 2022
    "plants with bluey and silver foliage" Folliage only or do you also want plants with blue(y) flowers? Evergreen foliage or semi-evergreen or deciduous?

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