May 12, 2006 © Janet Davis
Color trends in garden design are fickle
indeed. In the two decades I’ve been
keeping track, we’ve gone from embracing ethereal pastels (pinks, lavenders and
pale yellows) to 
craving crisp, all-white
schemes á la Sissinghurst to opting for
jalapeno-hot combinations of screaming reds, oranges and golds.
But lately – especially among a younger set that favors zen-like simplicity over busy designs -- I’m seeing a trend to rich earth tones. And by “earth”, I mean just that. For the newest kid on the color block is dirt-brown or, to put a prettier descriptive slant on terra firma, how about taupe, mocha, auburn, bronze, chestnut and chocolate?
In short, plant colors are starting to sound more like horses or hair dyes.
The brown palette is obviously more about foliage than flowers, since blossoms can’t provide the big visual punch that leaves can. The means looking for candidates among ornamental grasses, bamboos and tropical or sub-tropical plants with lush leaves. There are even some leafy vegetables – admittedly grown more for their dramatic foliage than their nutritious content -- that fill the brown bill!
Browns seem to look their
best when they’re paired with a wide range of greens, from brilliant chartreuse
(think ‘Margarita’ sweet potato vine or the frothy blossoms of lady’s mantle)
to glaucous-green (many of the hostas) to deepest olive. Burgundy foliage is also a good foil and
includes the red-leafed forms of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii),
smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) and ninebark (Physocarpus). But a touch of red or orange as a warm
contrast often lends a needed zing too (see the nasturtiums in the photo at
right).
Here are some wonderful brown-leafed plants to add a little “earthiness” to your planting schemes:
New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax; P. cookianum): It’s been at least a decade since savvy gardeners on the mild west coast started using spiky phormiums in their designs, with ‘Sundowner’ one of the first to be discovered. These days, phormiums are seen in summer gardens all across North America, even where their tender disposition means they must be brought indoors in winter. Why? Because they add a rugged, spiky accent and come in a delicious range of lustrous browns, bronzes and greens, often with brightly-contrasting edges or mid-stripes. Look for commonly-available ‘Bronze Baby’, ‘Bronze Surfer’, ‘Maori Queen’, ‘Pink Stripe’ and ‘Dusky Chief’.
Fountain Grass (Pennisetum
setaceum ‘Rubrum’): The red-flowered form of this annual
grass has a decidedly brown cast, both in the feathery inflorescences and the
leaves. Easily-grown from nursery
seedlings, it’s too often cast as a regimental soldier in Victorian bedding-out
designs in parks and too seldom used for its terrific textural quality,
especially contrasted with other foliage plants such as phormiums. Give it full sun and adequate moisture.
Leatherleaf Sedge (Carex buchananii): A rather tender sedge, this little New Zealand native grass is perennial in Zones 7 and warmer but can be protected with a winter mulch in slightly colder areas. With its unusual mocha-brown leaf blades twisting and turning in the slightest breeze, it adds a lovely sense of movement to the border. Grows to 18-24 inches (45-60 cm) and prefers full sun and reasonable moisture. There are also excellent Carex comans cultivars such as ‘Bronze Curls’ and a very sweet Carex flagellifera (weeping brown sedge) called ‘Toffee Twist’.
Cabbage Palm (Cordyline
australis): With the popularity
of phormiums taking off, it’s only a matter of time before the tender
cordylines follow suit. Though most of
the available cultivars have a reddish tint, they can also look brown in
certain light.
Coleus (Solenostemon scutellaroides): There are now thousands of coleus cultivars with every possible variegation and splash thrown into the mix. (Is it churlish to say: “Enough already!!”?) And smart breeders have come up with a good range of sun-tolerant cultivars to extend the growing possibilities for this fabulous foliage annual. Though clear browns are not yet seen, ‘Cinder Kinder’ has a mottled purple-green leaf that produces a brown effect while ‘Dark Star’ is a deep, purplish-black that seems brown in certain lights.
Canna (Canna x generalis): Many of the cannas have dark, purplish-brown leaves that make bold foliage accents, especially in hot-colored schemes where their brilliant flowers will also fit in. Among the best are ‘Black Knight’ with rich-red flowers and dark leaves; ‘Intrigue’ with very upright, pointed, brownish-red leaves and small orange-red flowers that are almost an afterthought; ‘Emblème’ with orange-red flowers and bronze leaves; Liberté with orange flowers and brown leaves; tall ‘Durban’ with striped bronze-yellow-peach leaves and orange-red flowers; and ‘Pink Sunburst’ with the same striped leaf coloration but bright-pink blossoms. Cannas need moist rich soil and full sun.
Mexican Grain Amaranth ‘Hot Biscuits’ (Amaranthus cruentus): This is one of the most exciting additions to the “food plants-as-ornamentals” category! With its big, feathery, gingerbread-colored flowers on tall (4-6 foot) stems, ‘Hot Biscuits’ looks like an astilbe on steroids. A hot-season annual, it needs a sunny spot and humus-rich soil that doesn’t dry out.
Purple Crest Aeonium
‘Schwartzkopf’ (Aeonium arboreum var. atropurpureum): With its symmetrical rosettes of leaves in a
spectacular oxblood-red color, this succulent adds an unusual accent to a
container or the front of a border and would look amazing with some of the
grasses here.
Rex Begonia (Begona x rex-cultorum): I predict that these fabulous tropicals – also known as painted-leaf begonias -- with their lush, colorful foliage are going to be the “next big thing” for shady summer containers. Naturally, they have to be brought indoors in autumn, but they’re happy to spend the snowy season on a windowsill. Among the best are ‘Cleopatra’, brownish-olive with a starry green center; ‘Midnight Magic’, with purplish-brown leaves; ‘Escargot’ with amazing green spiral centers and rich brown edges; and ‘Boston Cherries ‘n Chocolate’ with cherry-shaped red spots on wine-brown leaves. Though not a Rex, the hybrid ‘Caravan’ has beautiful, heart-shaped bronze leaves with lime-green veins.
Sweet Potato Vine ‘Blackie’ (Ipomoea batatas): It’s true of many plants that their coloration seems to depend on the plants they’re near. That’s probably just our visual perception but ‘Blackie’ is a good example because in the right company, it looks very brown, rather than purplish-black and makes a great trailing container plant or a dusky front-of-border annual. ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’, on the other hand, has leaves in an unusual sepia-brown color not previously seen in foliage annuals.