I love dark, dramatic plants. Of course they are best when paired with plants with light or bright foliage and blossoms.
![ipomoea sweet potato vine](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRwquyPUVIIJzGolrqvUpU6EEoNryM_hUkmtvtCyn2oFacEQXWfqfzTfgrwTnfQsT8IahL-O0biANvrXe06jgGBsT-x-3FsPcOaKGIZc9sJBlh7jdV-JnM6QwfNiNfmkbHh3kedikapY/s400/PFS11-405ipomoea05.jpg)
I'm sure some of you will recognize the first one. It is often used in planters. This is the sweet potato vine, Ipomoea batatas. Two popular colors are this one, and a bright, yellow-green one.
![dark coleus](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVemPBLxpdZgejJ-GtJHYuVBEoNo4WDajZfbi5SBwOUpcBv9tbkH409JsxBji-skBs0Ez4NcODn-jbRNxwPleIUfTh28NeRX-eEU228f2vtqiTsvWKwTmejpI3dkWI4uBf3JWVABngVPw/s400/PFS11-162coleus02.jpg)
This one might be a surprise. It's a Coleus, yes, related to those easy-to-grow planter favorites with the bright-colored leaves. This one is solenostemon scutellarioides 'Defiance'. I tried really hard to do a better job of getting the names of the plants that interested me this year.
![Calthea Dottie](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1NQ76mwSL90cTNbMt1DoDerc655n1gRSK-9QxbNms8zZrE7vgC9yRvDuTO9GMvuQG4edAetYQFmvpnow9An0SoaJkdRfDeQojuNfcdCK0FCTP9a-lEBV5j-K1CCXrmXbusC0LgaAguo/s400/PFS11-132caltheadottie.jpg)
This is a Calthea, variety 'Dottie.' It's a tropical plant, usually grown just for the foliage, the same as the two previous plants. It comes in a huge variety of colors, and is sometimes called Prayer Plant.
I have several more dark plants for another day, and one very special one that even won a blue ribbon. I've already collected a few really cool pictures from here at home, too. Well, I sure won't run out of things to blog about any time soon!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7hZtI66qrx7XCBg3DHikqzFEgZlR9ZIzpxWYifdMGXckqZzmX-HdY2Yofwm4R46HE5gv411VvnaT99eAZZ2U2ZPFyyoBi6WavwYmm4ehVamnkdGdDp599qqBqC1R4hWcbUsUuVkZKD4/s100/sharksig.gif)
7 comments:
I've had Coleus before and mine were like you said, t he bright colored leaves.
I like that last one. I love the leaves on it.
Very beautiful, looks quite good...
Never seen these here in India!
Have a good day:)
I'm not familiar with any of these, but they all look pretty gorgeous. That's the beauty of these kind of shows. You nearly always see everything at its best.
I have grown all sorts of plants during my life but never had much luck with coleus - always loved the leaves and I love the contrast among plants.
Enjoying the show and looking forward to the next installment.
I like the dark leaved Coleus. It is amazing at the new "plants" we have each year.
Ann- A good friend of mine decorates her deck with planters of awesome coleus each year... she hunts far and wide for special ones.
Arti- Well, for all I know, some of the tropicals that were at the show might even come from India. Shows like that can use flowers from all over the world.
Jean- no kidding! They often put things together that would never grow/bloom together in real life. It's a fantasy, but a wonderful one!
Carol- I wonder if it likes our climate better. It's a really easy one to grow here. Once it gets roots, you just have to keep pinching it back so it doesn't bloom.
Vanilla- That's good, 'cause there is a LOT more.
Jean- It's so much fun, to see so many options, even if you know they won't work in your garden.
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