It’s Not Always About Flowers – Here’s 76 Leafy Plants For Every Garden

lush and leafy garden with various green shrubs including hostas, surrounding a gravel path

By ELIZABETH WADDINGTON / Updated September 24th, 2024
Reviewed By PETER LICKORISH / Meets Our Editorial Guidelines

IN THIS GUIDE

Trees & Shrubs
Climbers, Vines & Wall Shrubs
Bamboos
Ornamental Grasses & Sedges
Ferns
Herbaceous Perennial Foliage Plants

A beautiful garden is not all about flowers.

Foliage plants can create a lush and leafy space to delight the eye and there are many options to choose from.

They might be used in a richly biodiverse garden filled with plenty of native, wildlife-friendly species, or they might be used to create a more exotic, tropical feel.

Many of the greatest foliage plants are excellent for use in shady spots, though there are also plenty of options for sunnier areas.

lots of trees, shrubs and bulbs with varied green foliage growing in garden borders around a lawn

Creating a lush and leafy feel in your garden does not need to follow a particular scheme and you can use a huge range of different types of plants to create gardens with very different looks and atmospheres.

If you want a lush and leafy feel, the key thing to remember is that you should create layered planting schemes with trees, shrubs, perhaps some bamboo and ornamental grasses, as well as a range of varied under-storey plants.

By choosing the right plants for the right places and aiming for as much biodiversity as possible, you can create a stunning garden even when there are not many flowers in sight.

green shrubs in flower beds surrounding garden arch covered in white flowers

While it can also be a good idea to include flowering plants for pollinators, keeping the focus on foliage when it comes to aesthetics can help you achieve a rich, luscious look.

We share 76 excellent foliage plants for your garden.

They are by no means the only options, but they could give you a good place to start when planting your own lush and leafy planting scheme.

Trees & Shrubs

Trees and shrubs can often be essential for creating an abundant, lush look in your garden, and the species that you choose will set the tone for the rest of the design.

There are two different strategies which can work very well when creating a lush and leafy look with plenty of plants prized for their foliage.

Foliage Planting Schemes With Native Trees & Shrubs

The first strategy involves creating a woodland or forest garden feel by including plenty of native tree and shrub species.

In a woodland garden, these species are chosen to create a more natural environment, while a forest garden mimics a natural ecosystem but includes plenty of edible or otherwise useful plants.

a silver birch tree with white bark and lots of green leaves

In both of these types of gardens, choosing plants to maximise the number of beneficial interactions between the plants, wildlife and other system elements is key.

Of course, many flowering plants can also be included within such a scheme, but the foliage of the different trees and shrubs certainly contributes significantly to the overall feel.

Remember, foliage plants do not always simply have to be a sea of green.

the yellow, lanceolate leaves of a rowan shrub in autumn, bearing clusters of tiny red berries

Many foliage plants also have leaves which change colour or come in a range of arresting hues.

To increase a sense of lushness and leafiness, trees and shrubs cannot just be grown as stand-alone specimens, but can also help create a sense of abundance, peace, privacy and enclosure as part of mixed hedgerows or borders.

UK native trees (many of which can also be used in lush and leafy hedgerows) include these species:

1) Alder

Alnus glutinosa trees with bushy green leaves growing in a woodland area

2) Birch

diamond-shaped, serrated leaves hanging from the stems of a birch tree

3) Hornbeam

large, well-established Carpinus betulus tree with bushy green foliage

4) Hazel

5) Hawthorn

white flowering Crataegus monogyna shrub

6) Spindle

spindle tree with an abundance of red flowers hanging from its branches

7) Beech

a well-established mature Fagus sylvatica

8) Holly

red berries protruding from the branches of a holly plant, set against a blue sky

9) Apple

apple tree bearing an array of round red fruits from its woody branches

10) Pine

lots of green-leaved, coniferous pine trees growing in a field in front of a bright blue sky

11) Oak

oak tree with lobed leaves appearing in clusters

12) Willow

mature salix with cascading branches adorned by an abundance of green foliage

13) Elderberry

clusters of black berries growing from stems of a Sambucus nigra plant

14) Ash

branch of an ash tree with narrow ovate leaves and many green flower buds

15) Yew

taxus tree with waxy green spindles and some small round red berries

16) Elm

large Ulmus procera trees covered in green leaves with a blue sky as a backdrop

Many of these native trees are prized not only for their yields and other benefits, but also for their attractive foliage over the summer months, in the case of deciduous species, or, in the case of evergreens, year-round.

Combining both types of native species in your garden is a good choice for those who want to wow with varied foliage plants.

The static year-round green of evergreens is best spiced up with the changing hues of deciduous plants.

Exotic, Jungle-Like Planting Schemes

The second strategy is to aim for a more exotic look by choosing a range of large-leaved and dramatic non-native foliage plants.

While such schemes may not have as much value for our native wildlife, this is another way to achieve a lush and leafy look in your garden.

More exotic species for a lush and leafy jungle-like look include:

17) Banana

large brown and red leaves from a Musa x paradisiaca plant

18) Catalpa

catalpa with large heart-shaped leaves and tubular white flowers

19) Japanese Aralia

large palmate leaves from a Fatsia japonica shrub

20) Fig

21) Maidenhair

maidenhair tree with unique frilly green leaves

22) Palm

23) Magnolia

large pink flowering magnolia tree growing in front of a narrow path in a park

24) Empress

large, heart-shaped leaves from a paulownia tomentosa shrub

25) Tetrapanax

large leaves growing in abundance on a Tetrapanax papyrifer tree

26) Mahonia

clusters of yellow flowers growing from a mahonia shrub with dark green serrated leaves

Of course, you do not necessarily have to go for either idea exclusively.

You might decide to combine both native and non-native species to create your dream garden, with a range of varied foliage plants combined in unique and interesting ways.

Climbers, Vines & Wall Shrubs

If you want to create a lush and leafy look in your garden, then you will not want to be left with bare walls or fences.

If you are not creating a hedgerow around a garden boundary, it is a good idea to consider adding climbers, vines or wall shrubs to dress bare surfaces.

Some interesting climbers and wall shrubs which are good foliage plants include:

27) Climbing Hydrangea

heart-shaped green leaves growing against a wooden fence from a white-flowering hydrangea shrub

28) Winter Creeper

green and yellow variegation on the leaves of Euonymus fortunei

29) Ivy

a wall covered in the leaves of an ivy plant

30) Maidenhair Vine

Muehlenbeckia complexa shrub with orbicular leaves covering thin green stems

31) Virginia Creeper

the red and green leaves of a Parthenocissus quinquefolia
plant climbing over a brown fence

Choosing these and other climbers and wall shrubs, especially evergreen climbers, can give your garden that lush and leafy feel right through the winter months.

Bamboos

Beyond trees and shrubs, there are also plenty of other dramatic and architectural foliage plants to consider for your lush and leafy spaces.

One important category of plants that you may wish to consider is bamboo.

Bamboo can suit a range of different situations and grow quickly to create mature and lush planting schemes.

potted bamboo plants with brown and green canes and pinnate leaves growing against a white wall

Some are largely ornamental, but many also provide edible yields.

Using different bamboo can, again, create very different styles in your garden.

Bamboos can work well in forest garden schemes alongside some native species, or in a more exotic style garden design.

Some bamboo to consider growing in a UK garden include:

32) Bambusa

33) Chimonobambusa

leaves and stems of a chimonobambusa plant

34) Chusquea

tall, brown, upright canes from a Chusquea plant

35) Fargesia

36) Indocalamus

Indocalamus plant with parallel veining along its large ovate leaves

37) Phyllostachys

Phyllostachys nigra with black canes and green leaves

38) Pleioblastus

thin and long green and white variegated leaves from a Pleioblastus plant

39) Pseudosasa

40) Shibataea

41) Thamnocalamus

Some bamboo can also be grown in containers to bring a lush, leafy look and architectural drama to a patio or decked area.

Ornamental Grasses & Sedges

Another key category of foliage plants to consider for a garden are ornamental grasses and sedges.

These plants can add architectural structure to beds, borders or containers and come in many different sizes, varying greatly in colour and form.

Some examples include:

42) Reedgrass

Calamagrostis with frilly feather-like leaves atop of arching stems

43) Palm Sedge

a carex shrub growing on a lawn in a garden

44) Pampas

pampas grass with tall upright heads that resemble feather dusters

45) Deschampsia

light brown stems of a Deschampsia plant

46) Fescue

Festuca ovina with thin blades of clumping grass covered in water droplets

47) Hakone

Hakone plant growing in a perennial border

48) Silvergrass

the aptly named silvergrass plant with feathery white flowers on upright stems blowing in the wind

49) Molinia

a field full of moor grass with purple flowers adorning tall stems

50) Fountaingrass

51) Stipa

Ornamental grasses provide great movement and sound in breezes, breaking up and softening dense and foliage-heavy planting schemes.

They can provide contrast and interest when combined with plants in other categories in this list.

When planting up a bed, it is good to have areas of softness. Bright colours and flowers need areas of green to make the whole collection of plants digestible for the eye.

Clumps of grasses provide this, like negative space in an artwork.

Ferns

Ferns are also often invaluable in a foliage-rich garden design, with many being the perfect choices for a shady spot.

As with all the other categories, there are plenty of different options to choose from, and ferns can vary considerably in their appearance, creating variety in a foliage plant planting scheme.

Some ferns to consider for UK gardens include:

52) Maidenhair Spleenwort

spleenwort fern growing from a rocky wall

53) Blechnum

shrubby blechnum fern with pinnate foliage on mossy ground

54) Dickinsonia

red and orange colours on the green, frilly leaves of large Dickinsonia ferns

55) Diplazium

leaves of a Diplazium shrub curling at their tips

56) Wood Fern

Dryopteris growing as a ground cover plant in a woodland area full of trees

57) Ostrich Fern

Matteuccia struthiopteris plant curled at the ends

58) Nephrolepis

59) Osmunda

osmunda fern with leaves that have started to turn brown

60) Polypodies

61) Shield Fern

Ferns can be combined with lots of foliage plants from other categories or with one another to create fern gardens or ferneries – perhaps in a stump garden or stumpery in a suitable spot.

Herbaceous Perennial Foliage Plants

Herbaceous perennial plants also provide interest in a lush and leafy garden where foliage is the main attraction.

Many are perfect for shade gardens, alongside ferns and other shade-tolerant plants.

Even though they often flower, their large and varied leaves make their foliage the real star of the show.

Just a few of the many options to consider which are famed for their foliage are:

62) Wild Ginger

glossy, kidney-shaped leaves from an Asarum plant growing in a garden border next to a variegated hosta plant

63) Bergenia

Bergenia rotblum with upright stems bearing pink-flowers and large, green and purple leaves

64) Brunnera

variegation and veining on leaves of a brunnera plant

65) Caladium

Caladium leaves with pink and green variegation

66) Canna

red canna lilies on upright stems with large ovate leaves at their base

67) Taro

the large, heart-shaped leaves from a taro plant

68) Colewort

Crambe cordifolia with clusters of tiny white flowers

69) Cynara

70) Coral Bells

coral bells with large lobed leaves and clumps of pink flowers growing in a garden bed

71) Heucherella

palmate red leaves and white flowers from a Heucherella plant

72) Hosta

green and yellow variegated leaves from a hosta plant

73) Leopard Plant

Farfugium japonicum with large, glossy leaves

74) Pachysandra

Pachysandra plant with dark green leaves and white frilly flowers at the centre

75) Coltsfoot

76) Rhubarb

thick red stems from a Rheum rhabarbarum plant with large, frilly green leaves

There are, of course, many more plants with wonderfully varied and interesting foliage to consider, but I hope that this guide has given you a good place to start.