Plants With Colored Leaves for Damp Places

Trees

• "Red Sunset" red maple (Acer rubrum "Franksred" Red Sunset) turns brilliant orange to red in fall. Growing 40 to 50 feet high with a 30- to 40-feet spread, "Red Sunset" is suitable for shade, rain gardens and as a street tree. It grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9. For color all year long, consider "Mattie Mae Smith" sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana var. "Matti Mae Smith", sometimes called "Mardi Gras"). Growing in USDA zones 5 through 9, this evergreen small tree usually reaches 15 to 20 feet high and as wide. Leaves have creamy yellow markings against dark green. Large, fragrant, white flowers grace the branches in late spring.

Shrubs

• Variegated red twig dogwood (Cornus alba "Elegantissima") prefers wet areas, growing 6 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide. This plant gives sparkle with white-margined green leaves, showy bare red twigs in winter and white flowers in spring to summer followed by white berries in the fall. Site this plant in full sun in USDA zones 2 through 8. For bright yellow fall color, spice bush (Lindera benzoin) sparks up the shade. It tolerates clay soils and dense shade, and is suitable for hedges and rain gardens. Native to the Eastern U.S., this 6- to 12-feet-tall shrub grows in USDA zones 4 through 9.

Grasses and Sedges

• Finely textured grass leaves provide counterpoint to woody plants. Feather reed grass "Overdam" (Calamagrostis x acutiflora "Overdam") has vertical columns of green and white variegated leaves that grow to 3 feet long. Pinkish feathery flower plumes rise to 5 feet tall in the summer and turn golden as they mature. It grows in USDA zones 4 through 9. Native to New Zealand, bronze creeping sedge (Carex berggrenii) forms a clump of bronze leaves 6 to 8 inches tall and 2 to 4 inches wide. The color is best in full sun. Plants prefer stream-side habitats or pond margins in USDA zones 6 through 9.

Perennials

• For a bold, tropical element, plant colorful-leaved cannas (Canna x generalis). Hardy in USDA zones 8 through 11, in colder zones cannas can be lifted and the roots stored for the winter. Cultivars come with leaves colored purple, reddish, burgundy or bronze, as well as variegations in red, cream, and orange patterns. Plants can reach from 30 inches tall to over 8 feet high depending on the cultivar. Showy flowers are red, yellow, orange, red, and pink. For more delicate foliage, consider Japanese painted fern ( Athyrium nipponicum var. "Pictum"). Leaves have gray-green coloration that appears silvery, with purplish coloration on the stems. It gleams in the shade against darker backdrops. Preferring rich, moist, well-drained soils, painted fern is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8 and grows 6 to 12 inches tall. The variety "Burgundy Lace" has silvery purple-bronze fronds.