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Coleus: Compare and Contrast

© Emily Levitt

"A Solenostemon scutillarioides by any other name is a Coleus"
...so say the euphemistic enthusiasts at Glasshouse Works.

That's where I borrowed a photo for my welcome page (once again, it's not My garden). Even the folks at Glasshouse Works share that this picture is not theirs, either! so, I feel a little less guilty. I'll take the inspiration, and go with it.

One of the many things I like about writing on-line is the opportunity to uncover gardening pictures, like this one:

which has pink blooming deep purple-leaved begonias in combination with the foliage plants. Pink petunias drape the stones at the front of this casuaully elegant border. Pink tones unify all the elements presented here, through contrast or repeat.

Doesn't this make you want to run out and start digging?

Purple 'trandsecantia' (aka: Wandering Jew) might be another choice to use with the brilliant colors of coleus. It blooms nicely, showing clusters of tiny pink blossoms against the dark foliage. I put it out in the garden with Lamb's Ear (stachys) last year, and thanks to the mild temeprtaures, it overwintered.

Take your color craze a step further by repeating the exterioir colors of your home in your garden, in a BIG way. The Victorian home shown here is trimmed in yellow and red, which matches the extensive coleus border leading to it's front door. The c.1890 Eastlake-style trim elements are also repeated in the border's shape. Gutsy, but effective and appropriate for the period home. The closest
I can come to this treatment in my garden is a "Bloodgood" japanese maple which matches the deep maroon of our front door. Not quite as splashy as this!

However, this does give me ideas on ways to incorporate shapes into the landscape in both exotic and traditional ways.

In my Georgian home, I could use chartreuse potato vine on a formal topiary form, with a new sun loving coleus at its' base, next to the above mentioned burgundy front door. The formality of form could be accentuated through the use of unusual material.

Contemporary settings can go even farther, through the use of interesting containers and some of the new giant leaved coleus species. Grouping shapes can be as wild as you want, but remember the harmony created by repeats and contrasts of color and texture. For instance, a glossy blue container would suit a ruffly yellow coleus perfectly.

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