There is more to a colourful garden than flowers. Just pause and look around and you will soon spot greens of every hue, variegation and stripes, mauves, yellows, reds and pinks. Shape and form too from spiky or heart-shaped, palm-like or rosettes, glossy or matt, spiny or furry, all adding interest alongside the prima donnas of the flower world, enhancing these fleeting beauties with a more permanent presence. Foliage is the new colour and backbone to gardens, guaranteed year in, year out unlike floral shrubs or perennials which can occasionally sulk. From deep red Spring shoots to Summer's lush green leaves, colourful foliage abounds in every season, not just in the autumn fanfare of fiery hues but continuing into Winter with evergreen shrubs such as ivy and laurels adding a quiet but stately presence to an otherwise empty garden. Expert horticulturalist and garden writer David Joyce shares his many years of experience to explain, demonstrate and inspire gardeners with the endless source of ideas to be found with foliage: how to group them, grow them, place them, all clearly discussed and accompanied by superb colour photographs. Ending with a directory of selected foliage plants (which would have been enhanced with the inclusion of individual photographs) this is a fascinating and informative look at what is seen as a new trend in gardening but which in reality has always been taken into account by professional growers throughout the centuries. - Lucy Watson
