Let’s talk about colour bias in the garden. Go for a walk, take a good look around and what soon becomes obvious is that most of us like our flowers to be colourful and our foliage to be green. Which begs the question: are we missing out? What follows is a short hit list of the best plants with colourful foliage. Honestly, they are gorgeous and we’d be small minded idiots not to think about introducing them to our gardens…

1. Festival™ cordylines (known as Fountain™ cordylines in the southern hemisphere): these clump-forming cordylines are remarkable on several fronts. Apart from never forming a trunk and being easy to grow, they’re available in three gorgeous colours (which includes a vibrant lime green). The raspberry version (above) is the most radical choice and is absolutely gorgeous, and the burgundy option (below) is equally lovely in a more sophisticated way.

2. Tuxedo® Hydrangeas:  the thing that stands out about these great hydrangeas is not just their impressive flowering heads but the colour of their leaves. Instead of the usual green, Tuxedo® hydrangea is named for the deep purple to black flush of the foliage. Lovely even when not in bloom, these hydrangeas are equally well loved for their boldly coloured mop head or lace cap flowers. How much fun is it to have a hydrangea foliage colour option apart from green?

3. Pacific™ Coprosmas. Here’s a brilliant moment to shake up the usual green vibe in the garden. Box hedging is brilliant but commonplace. Imagine planting a hedge that was just as dense, clipped and well behaved, but instead of green, it was alive with glowing hot pink or vivid red foliage highlights? If you’re keen, look out for the Pacific™ Coprosmas – Sunrise and Sunset – and plant yourself something very special and super low maintenance.

4. Cordyline Burgundy Spire™. One way to introduce some foliage colour and textural impact to the garden is to whip out the non-descript green shrubs at the back of the garden bed and replace them with a stand of the oh-so-glorious Burgundy Spire™ cordylines. They’ll reach ten to twelve feet high and carry chocolate burgundy blade-like strappy leaves from tip to toe.

5. Tropicanna® cannas. Perhaps the ultimate foliage colour plant there is, Tropicanna® canna is a marvel. The original is carnival striped in pinks, orange, gold, red and green. Its sister Tropicanna Gold canna is striped in green and gold, and their cousin Tropicanna Black canna is purple black with subtle stripes hinting at red. For those keen to embrace colourfully leafed plants, canna Tropicanna is absolutely the plant to bring your garden to life.