Leaves Alone: Stunning Foliage-Only Container Designs

You don't need flowers to form a lush, colorful planting. These pots contain only foliage plants, the palette of which has grown in recent years. Designing such plantings couldn't be easier: start with one showy plant as a focal point, then pair with two or three others that have complementary or contrasting foliage colors and textures.

Tropical Blend

Lime green and burgundy leaves make a cool cocktail in a glazed, rimmed, 13-inch-wide pot. Heart-shaped leaves of imperial taro (Colocasia esculenta 'Illustris') arch over 'Gay's Delight' coleus (far left) and two sweet potato vines: Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie' (bottom left) and I. b. 'Marguerite' (bottom right). Thrive in partial shade; feed regularly, keep soil moist.

DESIGN: Bud Stuckey, Sunset test garden coordinator

Midas Touch

Brandishing 1½-foot-long leaves, Yucca flaccida 'Golden Sword' pairs with variegated Euonymus fortunei (front left) and heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica; rear) in a rectangular terra-cotta pot. Full sun; let soil dry slightly between waterings.

DESIGN: Steven R. Lorton, Sunset Northwest bureau chief

Spots and Splashes

Two crotons (Codiaeum variegatum), one with broad gold-veined leaves (top), another with narrow gold-spotted leaves (bottom), make a splashy foil for yellow-striped Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola') in a 16-inch-wide Asian-style pot. Full sun on coast, partial shade inland; feed regularly, keep soil moist.

DESIGN: Bud Stuckey