23 Plants with Silver Foliage to Help Your Garden Shine
Plants with silvery foliage are among the most valuable for your landscape because they look good with anything. Silver tones down bold reds, yellows, and oranges while harmonizing with soft blues, pinks, and whites. Here are some of the most reliable annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs to consider.
Agave
Several varieties of agave (Agave spp.), such as 'Blue Glow' shown here, have a silvery look. The many varieties make it easy to find an agave to suit your garden style, but regardless of size, shape, color, or texture, agave adds a strong architectural element to the garden.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 5–11
Blue Fescue
For big impact, use blue fescue (Festuca glauca ) in large quantities. It makes an eye-catching edging plant, and its mounding habit is ideal for creating a contrast with taller, more upright grasses. No matter how you employ it in your landscape, blue fescue features silvery-blue foliage that shines from spring to fall.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in dry to medium, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 12 inches tall and 9 inches wide
Zones: 4–8
Blue Spruce
A tough, drought-tolerant tree, blue spruce (Picea pungens var. glauca) shows off short, silvery needles all year long. Plant breeders have been working on the tree for a long time, and you can now find compact versions, shrub types, and even groundcover forms.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in acidic, medium-moisture, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 60 feet tall and 20 feet wide
Zones: 2–7
Cardoon
Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is mainly grown as an eye-catching ornamental in the U.S., but it is also grown as a vegetable in Mediterranean cuisine. It features silvery, thistlelike, 3-foot-long leaves and large globe-shaped flowers in violet-purple that make striking, long-lasting cut flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and rich, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 7–9
Coral Bells
Several coral bells (Heuchera spp.) feature silvery foliage of metallic silver with purple-gray veins and pink undersides, such as 'Pewter Veil' shown here. They're low-maintenance plants that are adaptable to either ground or container planting.
Growing Conditions: Part sun or partial shade in well-draining, humus-rich soil.
Plant Size: Up to 3 feet tall and 30 inches wide
Zones: 3–9
Curry Plant
It's not the plant from which curry flavoring is made, but you'll certainly think it is when you catch the aroma of its leaves. Whether you grow this plant for its scent or its ornamental beauty, the lovely silver foliage works well as a filler in containers or in beds and borders. Once the curry plant (Helichrysum italicum subsp. serotinum) matures, small, round blooms appear on the stalks.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 24 inches tall and 36 inches wide
Zones: 8–11
Dusty Miller
A popular silver foliage plant for mixing with red geraniums and vinca vine, dusty miller (Senecio cineraria) has soft, fuzzy leaves that make just about any planting partner shine. It's particularly pleasing to pair with purple plants, such as 'Purple Flash' pepper, 'Bull's Blood' beets, or 'Blackie' sweet potato vine.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide
Zones: 7–10
'Fire Witch' Dianthus
A lovely little groundcover, 'Fire Witch' dianthus produces fragrant pink flowers in early spring atop wiry stems that rise from mounds of grassy, silvery-blue foliage. After this plant blooms, deadhead the faded flowers to promote additional blooming in the late summer or early fall and to allow the silvery-blue foliage to take center stage. Dianthus with silver foliage comes in many varieties, including 'Pomegranate Kiss', 'Neon Star', and 'Fire Star'.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in evenly moist, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 6 inches tall and 12 inches wide
Zones: 3–8
'Jack Frost' Brunnera
One of the finest silver-leaf plants for shade is 'Jack Frost' brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla), a stunner with sky-blue flowers in spring and heart-shaped, silver foliage with narrow green veins and edges. Silver leaf plants are particularly effective in the shade, where their light color helps brighten dim corners.
Growing Conditions: Part shade in moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter
Size: Up to 18 inches tall and wide
Zones: 3–8
Japanese Painted Fern
A perfect planting partner for 'Jack Frost' brunnera, Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) adds a fine texture to the foliage mix. Its silvery-green fronds flushed with burgundy-purple add depth and dimension. Happily, Japanese painted fern is slow-growing, so it won't take over the garden in the way some old-fashioned ferns can.
Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter
Plant Size: Up to 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide
Zones: 3–8
Lamb's Ears
One of the most tactile garden plants, lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) has silvery leaves coated in soft hairs that make it feel velvety to the touch. The plant’s leaves resemble a lamb's ear in both shape and texture. This low-growing, spreading perennial makes an excellent groundcover for hot, dry spots, such as slopes.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and dry to medium, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 18 inches tall and wide
Zones: 4–8
Lavender Cotton
A shrubby perennial, lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus) features striking silver-gray foliage and yellow flowers in summer. It's often used alongside herbs in knot gardens, though it works just as well in mixed beds and borders. The plant's aromatic foliage has historically been used as an insecticide and moth repellant.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in dry to medium, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 6–9
Licorice Plant
A fantastic filler plant that adds drama and dimension to container gardens, silvery licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is also tough, holding up like a champ in hot, dry conditions. It's known for its slight licorice aroma in the heat of the summer. Add it to hanging baskets or let it trail over a stone wall for added beauty and contrast.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade in dry to medium, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 9 inches tall and 36 inches wide
Zones: 9-11; grown as an annual in cold-winter areas
Melianthus
Sometimes called honey bush (Melianthus major) or peanut butter plant due to its sweet-scented foliage, melianthus always makes a bold statement in the garden. Its stems bear long, blue-gray leaves and dark maroon flower spikes that can grow up to 2 feet tall. It's a shrub in warm-weather climates but an eye-catching annual in cooler zones.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in moist, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 10 feet tall and wide as a shrub and up to 3 feet tall and wide as an annual
Zones: 8–10
'Purple Dragon' Lamium
A top-notch groundcover, Lamium maculatum 'Purple Dragon' offers pretty heart-shaped leaves overlaid in silver and clusters of red-purple flowers throughout the summer. Like most groundcovers, it wants to grow and grow, so allow plenty of room for it to spread. Some gardeners find it spreads faster than they like, but the plant, commonly called spotted deadnettle, is rarely considered invasive. Other silver foliage varieties include 'White Nancy', 'Pink Pewter', 'Red Nancy', and 'Orchid Frost'.
Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in moist, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 8 inches tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 3–8
Rose Campion
Unforgettable in full bloom, rose campion (Lychnis coronaria) is known for its abundant hot-pink flowers, but before and after it performs its floral show, the dense woolly, silvery-gray leaves are ornamental on their own. Deadhead the flowers immediately after bloom to prevent any unwanted self-seeding.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in average, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 3 feet tall and 18 inches wide
Zones: 4–8
Russian Sage
An especially pretty plant for the late-summer and autumn garden, Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) features gray-green foliage and violet-blue flowers into fall. This woody perennial of the mint family has a pleasant scent, isn't appealing to deer and rabbits, and doesn't miss a beat in a drought. However, in some regions, it can become weedy, spreading aggressively by underground stems, so grow it where you can keep it contained.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in dry to medium, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
Sea Holly
Thanks to its dramatic steel-blue, thistlelike flowers and spiny, silvery foliage, sea holly (Eryngium spp.) is striking both in the garden and dried-floral crafts. Fortunately, this coarse, clump-forming perennial is easy to grow and not at all invasive, unlike thistles.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in dry, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
Sedum
One group of plants that comes in a range of foliage shades, including silver, is sedum. Low-growing Sedum sieboldii shows off gray-green leaves that are often touched with pink. Rosy-pink flowers appear in autumn, adding to this plant's overall appeal. Like most sedums, this species can tolerate extended periods of heat and drought, and it's typically not bothered by deer and rabbits.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in average, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 6 inches tall and 10 inches wide
Zones: 6–9
Silver Sage
Looking somewhat like the beefier cousin of lamb's ears, silver sage (Salvia argentea) features big leaves covered in white hairs that seem to shine in the sun. It's a biennial (or short-lived perennial when it's especially happy), though it's more often treated as an annual in container combinations.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in dry to medium, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide
Zones: 5–8
Lungwort
If you're looking for an easy-to-grow plant for shade that deer and rabbits won't eat, try lungwort (Pulmonaria spp.) This lovely little perennial blooms in early spring, producing blue, pink, or white flowers over long dark green leaves marked in silver. Older varieties feature silver spots, but newer selections, such as 'Silver Shimmers' (shown here), 'Majeste', and 'Silver Bouquet', feature brighter foliage.
Growing Conditions: Part to full shade in moist, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 1 foot tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 3–8
Silver Thyme
Drought-tolerant and deer-resistant, silver thyme (Thymus vulgaris 'Argenteus') is an edible herb with variegated green and gray leaves. It works well in containers, rock gardens, or as a groundcover. Small, pink flowers that attract bees appear in midsummer.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 1 foot tall and wide
Zones: 5–10
Snow-in-Summer
An excellent groundcover for hot, sunny sites, snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) features fine-textured silver foliage topped in late spring and early summer by pure white star-shaped flowers. The clusters of white blooms form a snow-like carpet and can even hold up to light foot traffic.
Growing Conditions: Full sun in dry, sandy, well-drained soil
Plant Size: Up to 1 foot tall and wide
Zones: 3–7