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Colour catches the eye, green holds it (Filed: 18/08/2001)

Yvonne Thomas on a calming addition to the garden

SINCE the colour green forms the backdrop to every garden, it is hardly surprising that green flowers do not have a very high profile. What are they for? Isn't there enough green already? Won't they just disappear?

Euphorbia: ideal for cutting

Red and yellow flowers call attention to themselves. Green flowers contribute coolness and stillness to a garden without ruffling the calmness of the scene by demanding to be noticed. Yet they are neither boring nor invisible.

You could not possibly pass a corner planted with green hydrangeas without being arrested by their shape and colour. Nor would you pass the green zinnia 'Envy', or Solomon's seal, or a lime-green tobacco plant. And the fact that many green plants like a shady or semi-shady site is a bonus.

Another bonus is that green flowers are good for cutting. Indoors, they come into their own. Modern florists who create bunches designed to go straight into the vase would be lost without them, as their lavish use of bells of Ireland, green love-lies-bleeding and lime-green spider chrysanthemums, such as 'Shamrock' and 'Revert', shows.

The best of the bunch

Some green varieties are "florists' flowers" that can only be grown under licence, which is why you do not see the bright green button chrysanthemums 'Kermit', 'Green Peas' and 'Yoko Ono' in gardens. But there are plenty of others that any gardener can plant.

Moluccella laevis (bells of Ireland): a cluster of bell-shaped flowers on each stem, like green foxgloves. Good for drying. Prefers well-drained soil.

Nicotiana alata (tobacco plant): lime green, sweet scented, about 12in high, likes a sunny site.

Rudbeckia occidentalis 'Green Wizard': daisy-shaped hardy perennial; the "petals" are really sepals around a big, dark-purple central cone. Full sun, easy to grow, 4-5ft.

Gladiolus 'Jade': tall spikes with big flowers.

Amaranthus caudatus 'Viridis' (love-lies-bleeding): a favourite with florists, easy to grow, sunny site, long green tails.

Zinnia 'Envy': red and orange zinnias are brilliantly eye-catching - this has green petals and a green centre.

Smyrnium perfoliatum: biennial, spreads easily, height to 3ft, umbels (multi-flowered heads) of lime-green flowers, good for shady areas.

Bupleurum fruticosum: greenish-white umbels, can grow to 6ft, flowers midsummer.

Carnation 'Prado Green': minty green standard carnation.

Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Green Goddess' (arum lily): stiff pure white or emerald-green flowers, likes rich soil and full sun, grows to 2ft.

Polygonatum odoratum (Solomon's seal): green-edged, small bell-shaped flowers on an arched stem.

Euphorbia: lime-green foliage and tiny flowers, showy in a border.

Rosa viridiflora: pretty rose about 5ft tall, green-cream flowers.

Petunia surfinia 'Lime': a trailing, multi-flowering petunia. This one is the British Bedding Plant Association plant of the year for 2001.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

Answers

More and more I like the textures of just green. Euphorbia polychroma starts off as a nice gold and fades to green. Lots of sedums. The green parts may officially be flowers, but I don't think that is really the point. I recall having no success growing Bupleurum from seed, and aphids destroyed the Bells of Ireland. I don't tend to press the issue, I switch to something else the next season.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

I've grown the zinnia "Envy" both here and in New Orleans--it did well both times. I also have a rose named "St. Patrick," which is a yellowish-green. Rudbeckia "Green Wizard" was very disappointing--the flowers are very small and look more like what's left after dead petals have fallen off. I haven't grown the particular nicotiana mentioned but find that the species is, in general, very easy to grow and will volunteer nicely.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001