There is a long 6'H fence between us and a neighbor, so although that is the south-facing, sunny side, the plants right along the fence get a surprising amount of shade. It's a dark wood, too, so I've found variegated plants -- which like you, I'm very fond of -- work beautifully to brighten up a gloomy day as well as contrast nicely with the fence as a background.

I have so many I can hardly list them all! Off the top of my head, I have:

-variegated 'Gold Dust' aucuba
-two variegated Japanese hollies, one white and one gold
-two of the Abutilon pictum 'Thompsonii'
-variegated rhamnus (buckthorn)
-variegated boxwood
-variegated vinca minor
-variegated vinca major
-variegated alpine strawberry
-variegated liriope
-fancy leaf pelargoniums -- do these count too?? -- among them the beautiful 'Vancouver Centennial' and 'Skies of Italy'
-'Tropicana' canna lilies with their gorgeous colorful veined leaves
-golden sage
-purple sage
-variegated helichrysum petiolare
-variegated lamium

This sounds like a lot, but I generally only have 1-3 of each plant, spread out amongst many smaller planting beds which encircle the house. I'm a real foliage fan as we're lucky in California to be able to grow so many plants year-round with no real frost. The gardens have to look good 12 months out of the year around here!

Wayside has a new (?) liriope muscari 'Okina' (Frosted Monkey Grass) which is supposed to be almost completely white but greens from the tips down during the season; I'm not a fan of ornamental grasses but this one seems intriguing. I was able to procure one of their Leucothoe 'Vanilla Swirl' earlier this season and I'm rather surprised at the wild difference between the look of the new growth and the older growth. It quite nearly looks like several different plants have been grafted together. I've got an adorable variegated St. John's Wort that is so well behaved with it's tiny stripes of yellow and red along the edges of it's white with a bit of green leaves. I just wish it's foliage weren't so small. Of course there's old reliable variegated Sweet Flag for the pond.

My Favorite is this Fallopia (according to Paul James on HGTV it's a reclassified Persicaria.) My picture doesn't show the beautiful red stems.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:774509}}

I don't have that many but I am absolutely nuts about variegated. Only more $$$ and room both which I am very much short of. ;-]

Supannee
Ankrara's Hobby Corner

Me Too! I'm crazy for Variegated. Does anyone have trade list with variegated foliage? I have a good collection, not all on my list because I save the very rare ones for extra special trades. Check out my list ...do you have something that might interest me?

I am definitely a fan of variegated foliage but particularly I love it in houseplants, growing mainly ones with fancy foliage; flowering plants are not often decorative year-round in the house ( I know there are exceptions) and I want plants I can enjoy all the time - the ones with colour in the leaves are cheery in the most gloomy depths of an Irish winter.
The variegated plants I have in at the moment are variegated Aspidistra, variegated Fatsia japonica, various Sansevierias, Marantas, Stromanthe sanguinea tricolor, Dracaenas, variegated and red Saxifraga sarmentosa, Bonnie spider-plants (which I prefer because they take up less space in my little house), and variegated Ficus elastica of two types. All of these are fun every day, and from the garden in winter come Calathea and more Stromanthe, Dracaenas and Ficus benjaminas. I have many Echeverias in the garden which will move into the greenhouse in winter - I think these are the most amazing of foliage plants - purple, pink, red, blue, green, almost white, brown/black, translucent leaves -
and they will also grow happily in the home during the winter - there are so many plants to brighten the house during the winter because of their foliage, it's a question of which to choose!

I love variegated plants... striped, dots, patches, yellow, white... it doesn't matter. I've even brought variegated weeds home from the woods.
Randy

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Plant Collection

Please count me in too. I have few variegated ones, like Canna Pretoria, Coleus (4 patterns), Caladium (7 patterns), Hibiscus Snow Queen, Heuchera 'Metallica', Hedera Helix vine (2 patterns), Jasminum Trachelospermum, Giant Pothos, and some more whose names I dont know.

Purple / white ones include Purple Smoke Tree, Chrysothemis Pulchella, Ficus, Ice Plant, Butterfly Plant, Ajuga reptans, etc.

I just adore variegated foliage.

Amer

Loniesmom,

I grow Fallopia japonica 'Variegata' (Variegated Japanese Knotweed) but I am frightened of it as its non-verigated kin are well known invasive weeds. (Some people raise pit bulls. My delight in this plant is less threatening.) I grow mine in sunken pots to ensure that it cannot escape.

How do you grow yours? Have you found any invasive tendencies?

Loniesmom,I love the look of Fallopia,but don't appreciate it popping up 6 feet away in my dayliliy
seedling bed. My original plant is
7feet tall.The new shoots are very colorful when they come up in the spring.These young shoots are popular at our plant swaps.Iris

One of the local nurseries just got in the most GORGEOUS variegated plant! I thought it was a coleus -- looks just like one -- but it isn't.

It's called Magilla pernilla -- I keep thinking of the carton character Magilla Gorilla! Someone in SoCal posted a link to a picture of it, I hope she doesn't mind that I 'borrowed' the link.

I have 2 in my garden now, and since I'm helping a family member with their front yard, bought two for them as well. I really hope this can grow well and survive our rainy cool CA winters, because it's just the most colorful plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Magilla pernilla foliage

Variegation is the Best-- Here are a few need additions I bought this year. Can't imagine how I lived w/out them!! Hardy to Z5--

Heliopsis-Loraine Sunshine White leaves w/ green veins yellow daisy like flowers

Persicaria Red Dragon- bushy-- Red leaves dark purple chevron in the middle dusted w/ silver!! Beautiful

Persicaria Lance Corporal- Lime green leaves w/ a rust colored chevron

White Sage Artemisia Valeri Finnis

Silvery broad leaves w/ red, blue, and pink flowers-- eye opener!

Brunnera Variegata White heart-shaped leaves w/ green centers and sprays of blue flowers have yet to see the blue flowers

Variegated Jacobs Ladder

Artemesia yellow & green leaves

Phillip and Iris;
regarding the variegated fallopia japonica - since mine freezes to the ground every winter AND is in non-amended soil (read - inhospitable clay) AND gets nearly no sun I haven't had any issues with running, so far anyway. This is the third year in the ground for mine and so far so good. The more I read the more I realize that some of my 'favorite' variegated plants have given others nightmares - this fallopia for one and the chameleon plant as my close second. I'm thinking too much of the chameleon plant would indeed begin to look significantly less than soothing if it were coming up in the middle of everything else, but so far so good.

Another big 'yes' from me! My faves are mostly tender plants.
Breynia disticha
Alternanthera
Coleus
Begonias
Lantana
Tradescantia
Syngoniums
Dieffenbachia
Pothos
Drecenae
Caladiums, and I'm probably forgetting several.

I do have a some varieg. perennials and would like more:
hostas (of course)
Trifolium repens "Purpurescens Quadriphyllum"
Sedums - ooooh the Sedums! I have 8 varieties, I think, 6 are varieg.
5 diff. vincas

Was chuckling at the above post about the weeds. I have 2 variegated red clovers volunteers. No way you could convince me they aren't pretty! I would warn anyone against aegopodium, though.

There is a nursery here in CT that specializes in variegated plants- I think the website is http://www.variegatedfoliage.com/

Count me in too! I live in CT and I'm lucky enough to frequent the Variegated Foliage Nursery. I seem to be able to find lots of variegated plants at other local nurseries also. I've got variegated trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials.

Variegated trees:
Cornus kousa 'Wolfs Eye'
Acer palmatum 'Butterfly'

Variegated shrubs:
Cornus 'Silver and Gold'
Cornus alba 'Elegantissima'
Weigela 'Variegata Nana'
Daphne 'Carol Mackie'
Daphne 'Briggs Moonlight'
Daphne caucasica 'Summer Ice'
Leucothoe 'Rainbow' and 'Silver run'
Pieris 'Variegata'
Ilex meserveae 'Honey Maid'
Osmanthus 'Goshiki'
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Lemon Wave'
Hypericum 'Glacer'
Philadelphus 'Innocense'
Clethra 'Creels Calico'

Var Perennials and grasses:
too numerous to list

Nobody has yet mentioned Variegated Rhapis ! Usually grown as a house plant. Available at The Prime Palm - California www.palmcollector.com

Here is a link that might be useful: National Rhapis Collection - UK

How unique! I never knew there was a variegated palm, it's lovely!

anyone grow variegated tomato and variegated sunflower?

Yep, along with variegated peppers, sugarcane, 'naners,etc.
If its variegated I want it.
Randy

Does anyone grow this? Are the leaves as pretty as this photo posted on Park's website?

Here is a link that might be useful: Heuchera 'Snowfire'

They tend to enhance the colors on their site and catalog. I bet it is still nice. I love Heucheras.

I am completely obsessed,too!Some of my favorites in my collection include Persicaria''Red Dragon'',Aeonium ''Sunbeam'',Variegated Porcelian Berry,''Glacier'' Ivy,a topiary of a variegated ginger Scented Geranium,Sedum ''Tricolor'',Abelia''Sunrise'',Carex''Sparkler'',and Pelargonium ''Occold Shield''.At the moment I'm also growing an annual called Amaranthus ''Early Splendor''with deep reddish and black leaves,and a cool Jade plant with gold and reddish leaves.
People should grow more of these types of plants because flowers come and go,but the awesome colored leaves are permanent!

He got some pretty interesting plant with a experiment..
probably a contamination on my Juglan, syringa....
He had some seed of ginkgo, nut, rosa, malus, syringa, phytolacca, etc...

I have a variegated hydrangea (got 2 off the "rescue rack" at Lowes) that I just planted next to my evergold sedge. I think they look great together and plan to get another sedge for the other side of the plant next spring.

I recently picked up on markdowns a variegated Japanese iris and a variegated butterfly bush. They are also close to each other, but I am thinking the Iris might like a slightly shadier spot...

Still kicking myself for not getting the Silver Dragon (I think, it was green and white, not yellow) lirope I saw at a nursery down in Atlanta a few weeks ago. "No use buying this here, they are sure to have it in SC..." Yeah right... ARGHHHH don't think it is worth the drive down to Atlanta just for a few liropes.