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At a time when there are fewer flowers around, you notice the leaves more. Coloured or variegated leaves can give longer-lasting interest to the garden than the shorter lives of most flowers. The occasional plant with variegated leaves can be a particularly striking and effective way to liven up an area of plain green foliage.
In my own garden, I have the silver and green variegated leaves of a brunnera alongside the green of a fern and some hellebores. Further along the same border is a pulmonaria, whose slightly more subtle markings echo the brunnera’s colouring without competing for attention. In summer, a climbing hydrangea brings its lacy white flowers to the mix to further enliven this quiet green corner of our garden. (You can see the brunnera and pulmonaria in previous posts.)
The two sets of variegated leaves here (photographed at Fullers Mill Garden) are very different to each other: one smooth and slightly shiny, the other deeply indented with many sharp-looking prickles. The plant in the top photo is Arum italicum (Italian arum), with very attractive markings of the palest creamy yellow. Below, you can see the spiny leaves of a Galactites (milk thistle), whose purple or white flowers will be a magnet for pollinators in summer.
I could be tempted by either of these plants, although I find that the plain green Arum maculatum that is native in the UK can be a terrible nuisance. It gets everywhere if it gets the slightest chance! So perhaps this arum would get out of hand too. The milk thistle might be a safer bet. It’s an annual or biennial, and, although it will self-seed in good conditions, it is easier to pull out. The only problem might be that I would need some robust gloves to protect my hands from all those spines! Seeing these two plants has made me feel that I should see if there’s room for one or two more variegated plants in my own garden.
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
I like the milk thistle. Its leaves remind me of our very spiny Cirsium horridulum: a thistle which deserves to be called ‘horrid.’ On the other hand, when I looked it up, I was surprised by how closely its buds and flowers resemble our basket-flower. I also laughed at its scientific name: Galactites tomentosus. I found that the specific epithet refers to hairiness, but perhaps because of your comment about the need for gloves, I first read it as ‘tormentosus’ — a plant designed to torment the gardener.
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Hehe, your ‘tormentosus’ gave me a laugh and could be a very apt description of a few plants. One that comes to mind is bereberis. Our previous house had a low hedge of the very spiny red one and it was certainly a torment to try to weed around it! (Someone coming home drunk from the pub must have fallen into it – there was a dent in it one morning. That must have been a sudden and painful sobering up!) I like the looks of the milk thistle and that it’s good for bees, so maybe I’ll try growing it. 🙂
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The variegation on the milk thistle reminds me of fractals. Knowing essentially nothing about variegation, I went looking and found a good article about the phenomenon.
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I found your comments in my spam folder, so I reckon WP didn’t like the fact it had a link in it…I however, did like the link! I’m amused by the thought of my garden as a care home for misfits, hehe! The article is excellent – both very interesting and clearly explained, so thank you. 🙂
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