The use of purple foliage in the garden is one of the more difficult things to get right. But it can be a breath of fresh air from the straight green gardens and the key to using purple is to plant more of it. If you only plant one Berberis or Purple Japanese maple in the garden it won’t fit in with the rest of the garden. However, in the garden of Cloudehill in Victoria’s Dandenongs, purple foliage plants are a triumph creating an interesting change to the usual green formal gardens. A Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica var. purpurea) is clipped as a hedge along the edge of the garden to a height of about 1.5m (5′) tall. Scattered throughout the garden are Purple Japanese maples (Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum Atropurpureum’) and Berberis thunbergii ‘Goldring’. Even the use of the new narrow growing Ballerina crabapples add to the purple theme with their purple new growth. The purple foliage is complemented by purple flowers scattered around the garden including, purple daisies, deep purple Flag irises (Iris germanica var.) and lavender (Lavandula ‘Pukehoe’).
Further information
Cloudehill garden and nursery, 89 Olinda/Monbulk Road, Olinda, VIC, 3788. Phone: (03) 9751 1009. Open 7 days, 10am-5pm. Admission fee to the garden: $4 for adults or $3 for concessions or groups.
