Sorry for the alliteration. Couldn’t help it. Like many other gardeners, I’ve discovered the amazing energy created when you pair a purple/burgundy foliage plant with one that sports that bright greenish yellow color we either love or hate: chartreuse. Never one to go half measures, I decided to apply this color scheme to my ENTIRE garden.

Now, this could go horribly wrong.

Some restraint must be shown.

Not to mention my difficult gardening conditions of heavy clay soil cluttered with rocks and dry shade provided by mature, shallow-rooted, water-thirsty trees hogging the sunlight.

Some notes about this color combo:

• Purple leaved plants may not reveal their true color in shade; instead, they may tend toward a muddy green.
• Chartreuse plants may be more green than yellow in shade.
• Chartreuse is a tertiary color between green and yellow. It can range closer to the yellow or to the green side.
• Some purple foliage may look more brown or burgundy in shade.