Best Performing Plants with Cool Tones

November 14, 2024

Are you in search of plants with serene blues, silvers, purples, and greens that not only enhance your garden aesthetically but also deliver top-tier performance? High-performing cultivated varieties (cultivars) offer improved reliability, environmental resilience, and practical functions compared to common forms of the same species. From ground cover to attracting beneficial insects, these cool-toned champions can elevate any landscape.

Blue Horizon

Eremophila glabra prostrate‘EREM1’ PBR Trade NameBlue Horizon™. https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/native-shrubs-groundcovers/blue-horizon-eremophila/

What Makes a Plant High Performing?

High-performing plants are more than just beautiful. They are bred for robust environmental tolerances, thriving in diverse climates and conditions. These plants are often low maintenance, drought-resistant, and less susceptible to diseases, among other tolerances. High performers offer practical benefits too, including denser ground coverage to better suppress weeds, clean, vibrant foliage that lasts, and more abundant blooms that attract hoverflies, parasitoid wasps, predatory beetles, and other pollinators, promoting natural pest control and biodiversity.

Benefits of Cool-Toned Plants

Environmental Reliability

Cool-toned plants like Kingsdale™ Poa or Cassa Blue® Dianella thrive in challenging conditions, such as extreme heat, salty soils, and windy locations. These sturdy plants can weather conditions that might destroy other species, allowing your garden to look its best year-round. Meanwhile, Shara Blue™ Lomandra can tolerate both flooding and drought.

Functional Beauty

These plants don’t just look stunning—they work hard, too. Dense, sprawling varieties like Blue Horizon™ Eremophila make excellent ground cover, while cool-toned flowering options like Purple Fusion™ Scaevola bring pollinators to your garden, boosting its pest resilience naturally. Cleaner foliage and abundant blooms ensure your garden looks polished and professional with minimal upkeep.

Bingo Blue™ Agapanthus hybrid‘ANDbin’ PBR. https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/hardy-exotic-range/bingo-blue-agapanthus/

Top Cool-Toned Performers

emerald

Emerald Arch® Dianella tasmanica‘DT23’ PBR. https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/strappy-leaf-plants/emerald-arch-dianella/

Placement Tips for Cool-Toned Plants

Ground Cover

Use dense, low-growing varieties like Kingsdale™ Poa or Purple Fusion™ Scaevola to create a neat, weed-suppressing carpet. These plants are ideal for filling gaps in beds or softening hardscape edges.

Highlights and Features

Plants with vibrant flowers, such as Bingo Blue™ Agapanthus or Amethyst™ Liriope, work beautifully as focal points in feature beds. Plant them in groups to maximise impact.

Functionality

Position hardy performers like Better John™ Callistemon as hedging or border plants. Their clean, attractive foliage provides structure while adding functional value like reducing soil erosion.

Strategic Landscaping with Cool Tones

When designing with cool tones, balance is key. Combine silvery foliage with splashes of blue or purple blooms, and incorporate warmer colours sparingly for contrast. A number of the blue and silver-toned foliage plants mentioned in the list above feature red or yellow flowers to provide the contrast of cool and warm within a single plant.

Layer different heights and textures for a cohesive look, letting upright leaves, lush mounds, and trailing varieties work together harmoniously.

Use cool tones to create tranquil zones around water features, soften pathways, or frame garden structures. Consider seasonal changes to ensure year-round interest. For instance, group spring-blooming Dianella with summer flowers like Agapanthus to maintain colour continuity.

Why Choose High-Performing Plants?

By selecting hardy, high-performance plants, you save time and effort. They thrive in a range of environmental conditions, reward you with cleaner foliage, and ensure your garden is always in peak condition. Even though they may be ever-so-slightly more expensive per pot, the investment is worth it because you’re less likely to have premature deaths and you won’t have to babysit them as much as weaker plants.

Whether you want to attract beneficial insects, reduce weeding, or enhance your garden’s natural beauty, these plants deliver lasting results with minimal maintenance.

Purple Fusion™ Scaevola humilis‘PFS100’ PBR. https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/native-shrubs-groundcovers/purple-fusion-scaevola-is-a-groundcover-plant-with-an-abundance-of-purple-flowers-native-shrubs-ground-covers/

Conclusion

Cool-toned, high-performing plants are the perfect union of beauty and utility. By choosing reliable varieties like Kingsdale™ Poa, Purple Fusion™ Scaevola, or Bingo Blue™ Agapanthus, your garden will flourish in form and function. Use them to introduce calming blues, purples, or silvers into your planting scheme, and enjoy a garden that’s as serene as it is stunning. Start planting today and experience the difference high-performing plants can make.

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