I love plants with variegated foliage, as am sure many others do . They have become very popular. Look in the mags and every year you will see some new variegated plant. I thought it would be fun to start a thread about it.

First of all, how do you use variegation in the garden? I often try not to put too many together (though an entire bed of variegated plants would be kind of cool...). I like to use plants with variegated/interesting foliage as focal points in a grouping of plants. It makes the area pop.

How many vareigated plants do you grow? Let's hear what you have! Here are mine:

Ajuga 'Burgundy Glow' and 'Frosted Jade'. The Burgundy Glow has sage-colored folaige with cream variegation at the edge and wonderful neon purple tints. Doesn't seem to spread as fast as the regular Bugle-weed. The 'Frosted Jade' is tender, but somehow overwinters. It has never bloomed though, and looks kind of nasty after awhile. But the toothy green and white foliage is still awesome.

Aquilegia vulgaris 'Leprechaun Gold'. Wonderful Columbine. The foliage is gold-ish with green flecks. Seedlings have strong variegation too.

Artemisia lactiflora 'Oriental Lime Light'. Thuggish, but I have it in my 'Rampant Bed'. Next to a large patch of variegated Ribbon Grass. Both of these seem to keep under control if planted in hard-packed soil.

Astrantia 'Sunningdale Variegated'. Lovely! Comes up in spring with amazing foliage. The variegation, yellow/white, is irregular at the edge. Only thing is that it 'greens out' come summer, and the seedlings to not come up variegated. :-( But overall a wonderful plant.

Ballota nigra 'Archer's Variety'. Light cream foliage with green markings. Purple flowers. I find the foliage can burn easily in full sun. Intersting plant, but isn't a robust grower. About one out of four seeds comes up variegated. Thank goodness I like the green ones!

Brunnera. I grow several kinds of variegated Brunnera. There is the good ol' 'Jack Frost' with the silvery foliage and green veins. Wonderful plant.

'Hadspen Cream' with soft cream edging. This cultivar is a little fussy. It can 'green out' come summer, is a weak grower if not planted in the best of locations.

'Dawson's White' (aka 'Variegata') is very nice. Large white edging on the foliage. Doesn't green out and is a fairly strong grower. Needs to be planted in deep shade though, as the edges often brown.

Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Overdam'- Feather Reed grass. I have really come to love this grass. White variegated foliage and beautiful plumes.

Eryngium planum 'Jade Frost'. Green foliage that is edged cream- pink tints in spring. Pretty plant, but not very strong. Stems lean a good deal

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Variegatum'. Creamy yellow edging. Very weak grower. :-(

Hakonechloa 'Aureola'- Hakone/Forest grass. Wonderful shady grass. Slow to bulk up, but well worth the wait. Love the look of some of the other cultivars.

Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine'. Very poor grower. Have had little luck with it. Kind of getting annoyed with it at this point, lol!

Various variegated hostas.

Iris pallida 'Variegata' has white striped foliage and medium purple flowers. Wonderful plant.

Iris pseudacorus 'Variegata'. Yellow Flag Iris, an invasive plant. Mine has not been invasive, likely because of the hard soil. Not strong variegation, but maybe that is because it is in some shade. Love the flowers though.

Juncus effusus 'Gold Strike'- rush. Gold stripes running the length of the foliage. Does well in just moist soil. Doesn't really pop though, and looks kind of weedy. Might look nice next to a pond though.

Various Lamium- Dead Nettle.

Lonicera japonica 'Aureoreticulata'. Honeysuckle with variegated foliage. Rarely blooms for me. Greens out in shade, which is a shame since that is where I have it, lol!

Lysimachia punctata 'Golen Alexander'. Stunning plant. Golden yellow edged foliage. Yellow flowers blend in with it, but not too bad. I moved this to a better location awhile back.

Phlox 'Nora Leigh' and 'Becky Towe'. I love the foliage of NL, sage green edged in white. The flowers are kind of booring though, and don't really pop against the foliage. Becky Towe has been a very slow grower. The new side-shoots turned green. Gold and white variegated foliage and HOT pink flowers (not fond of the color myself...)

Polemonium 'Brise d' Anjou' LOVE it! Cream edged green foliage. Many people have said that this plant dies on them, but it has done great for me! Well worth trying.

Physostegia 'Veriegata'. Hasn't spread. Really love the look of it. But I am not going to chance putting it in a 'good' area. Lol!

Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegata' Solomon's Seal. Broad foliage with thin cream edge. Great plant.

Polygonatum x hybridum 'Striatum'. First year growing it. A little different than the one above. Foliage is a bit smaller, and slightly puckered. The foliage has a slight blue cast to it, and the cream variegation is streaked and irregular. Will see how it does, but I am really liking it.

Pulmonaria rubra 'David Ward'. What a stinker. Sage colored foliage with white edge which burns soon after flowering (wonderful flowers though). Has to be put in DEEP shade, but even then the leaves will brown and curl (sounds like a hair style...) Nasty looking. The hostas come up just in time to cover it after it blooms.

Saxifraga urbium 'Aureopunctata'. Yellow mottled foliage. Nice plant. Doesn't spread fast at all (maybe because of my low zone). The variegation isn't too strong after spring. I think in deeper shade it would be more noticable.

Scrophularia auriculata 'Variegata'- Water Figwort. One of my favorite plants. Large coleus-like leaves edged in white. The basal foliage can be semi-evergreen. Delicate flowers. Love this plant!!

Sedum 'Frost Morn' white edged foliage. Very weak grower for me so far. Floppy too.

Silene diolca 'Clifford Moor' yellow variegated leaves. Fantastic plant. Might be the longest bloomer in my garden too.

That is about it I think. Gosh, am I long-winded! Lol! Next variegated plant on my To Get list is Convallaria 'Albostriata'. Love the look of this lily of the valley!

Your turn! Let's hear about your variegated plants you grow, and what you think of them.

CMK