An all-green container planting of Coleus, Sweet Potato Vine and ornamental grass–perfect for a shady corner.

In art class, a depiction of a bunch of stuff all in the same colour family is considered monochromatic. Think Picasso during his Blue Period. In gardening, this is usually considered boring. Unless you were Vita Sackville-West, whose White Garden (Ok, so there are green and silvery grey plants, too) at Sissinghurst Castle still brings droves of tourists to admire its romantic beauty even as the garden enters its seventh decade.

I couldn’t even try to pull off a garden any where close to the scale or artistry of Sackville-West’s but as soon as we’ve passed the danger of a last frost (hopefully in a week or two) I’m planning to plant up a couple of all-one-colour containers. Here’s why:

1. When a combination of plants are all one colour, the container’s shape and colour suddenly takes on a much bigger role in the overall look. When you have a fabulous pot you want to show off, this is the route to take.
2. Shape and texture are the eye-catchers of a monochromatic combo. Sometimes a mixture of multi-coloured blooms just gets same-old-same-old. But a lush combo of jagged-edged burgundy leaves? That’s interesting.
3. One-colour plantings move the eye along rather than stopping your gaze dead in its tracks. Lining a front walkway with matching containers planted with an all-green plants combo is an example. Your eye follows the line of containers up to the real star of the show–your front door.

Here’s the recipe for the container planting above:

• Green and yellow leaves: Solenostemon scutellarioides ColorBlaze® ‘Alligator Tears’
• Lime green leaves: Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Light Green’
• Dark green trailing grass: Isolepsis (Scirpus) cernus Graceful Grasses® ‘Fiber Optic Grass’

Photo: Courtesy Proven Winners.