Top Five Foliage Annuals for Your Garden

Many gardeners grow annual plants for a bright splash of color in their summer garden. Annuals grow and bloom for only one year, making them a perfect addition for quick color. But not all annuals are grown for their flowers. Many of these easy care plants are all about attractive foliage.

Foliage Annual – Amaranthus

This tall annual can grow to around four feet tall in a sunny location. Most amaranthus varieties have long flowers, but the foliage is the real show-stopper. Some have leaves of bright green while others encompass shades from rust brown to a glossy red color.

Foliage Annual Ornamental Cabbage

Ornamental cabbage and kale are popular foliage annuals planted around businesses and home every fall. The plants form bushy or flat cabbage shapes with bright colors of green, white, pink, and red. They are usually planted in rows or tight clumps for maximum impact.

Foliage Annual – Coleus

One of the most popular foliage annuals, and a great plant for shady locations, coleus has widely varied leaf styles and colors. Some have heart-shaped leaves with green, white, and pink layers. Others are chartreuse with deeply lobed leaves. There are velvety red types, bright yellow, and almost any combination of these colors. This is a top pick of foliage annuals.

Foliage Annual – Euphorbia

This hardy annual grows in a bush shape that reaches heights of three feet. The foliage is emerald green in some varieties, but the variagated style is even more impressive. Each pale green leaf is edged in dazzling white.

Foliage Annual – Castor Oil Plant

Castor oil plants are some of the largest ornamental foliage plants as it can grown up to five feet tall. Although it comes back year after year in warmer climates and is considered a shrub, in cooler climates it will grow as an annual. The leaves are giant umbrellas of green and red.

While flowers remain the most popular plants for a garden, these foliage annuals will provide both a lot of interest and an ornamental backdrop for the flowers that is second to none. Varying colors and textures will add more interest to every garden.