Plants are green. Everyone knows that. But green isn’t a single colour; there are a million shades of green. Throw in texture and an all-green planting is anything but monotone.
But many plants have leaves in colours besides or other than green. Combinations of white and green, for example. Or colours such as orange, red, purple, or even blue. Blue leaves–imagine that!
Here are some plants from my garden with colour variations.
white grass
The last one is my favourite. Cerinthe “Pride of Gibraltar” starts out with leaves of pale green, but as the flower buds develop, the leaves close to them turn a bronzy purple, and then a pure blue. Some are almost navy blue. The flowers are those little purple tubes sticking out at the ends.
Audrey Driscoll's Blog 
That’s a beautiful montage Audrey.
Nature never fails to present all manner of shades and Life just will not be stopped.
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Gorgeous photos! Your observation that green is not just green reminds me that white clouds are not just white.
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Thanks, Priscilla. Shades of grey in those clouds,, that’s true.
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Observing the variations of leaf color is one of life’s little pleasures!
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That’s true, especially new green leaves backlit by the sun.
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Ahhh . . .
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Nature works very hard to lift our hearts, something I appreciate every time I take a walk outside…
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Yes, it’s good for us writers to get outside and see Nature’s creations.
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Marvelous and informative. Double hitter, Audrey.
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Thanks, Pat!
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Beautiful variety, Audrey. Enjoy your garden. 🙂
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Thank you, Diana. You must be getting rain today too. Summer rain is good.
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A week of rain. We needed it though.
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I probably have never seen the Pride Of Gibraltar before. A most unexpected coloration.
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When I saw them years ago, I had to try growing them. There was something about the combination of purple, bronze, blue, and blue-green that is unique. And unlike some beautiful plants, these are easy to grow.
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Chlorophyll: “We hates the green, hates it we do.”
Bilbo: “But, you’re nothing but green.”
Chlorophyll: “Whats did you say?”
Bilbo: “Look at yourself in the mirror, you’re green as a frog.”
Chlorophyll: “But we hates it, we do.”
Bilbo: “Oh, I see, you like red and blue and yellow, but you despise green.”
Chlorophyll: “We hates it.”
Bilbo: “Well, I rather like it.”
Chlorophyll: “Curses to hobbits. Curse you all.”
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You’re onto something here: chlorophyll is “a poor absorber of green and near-green portions of the spectrum.” Hates it, indeed. (According to Wikipedia, anyway.)
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Strange huh? The one thing you’d think would some how like green light, actually rejects it, ergo, we see most plants as being green.
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In my next book, I feature a garden planted completely with red-hued plants and trees.
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That sounds interesting, Mollie! There are quite a few plants with red leaves or at least with a reddish quality.
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So lovely, Audrey! Makes me wonder if “my” Japanese painted fern from years ago still lives…
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Thanks, Becky! I’ve found the painted ferns are tougher than they look, so it may very well have survived, especially if there is a gardener looking out for it.
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I hope there is…
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The color spectrum is mind boggling! Thanks for sharing your lovely garden!😍
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You’re welcome, Tiffany. You’re an expert on colours, I’m sure.
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I love all the shades of green.
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So do I! Thanks, Debra!
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