I learned a new word the other day: hortifuturism. I also learned about a new colour: Cyber Lime. The Garden Media Group, a U.S.-based garden industry PR firm was championing both as hot, hot, hot for 2024 in their annual trends report. “What better color to symbolize the traits of hortifuturism?” the giddy copy gushed about this new, eyeball-searing shade. What better colour, indeed!

I’m not sure hortifuturism is going to be a big trend or ever will be a thing. Quite frankly, I struggle to imagine what hortifuturism would even look like. 3D printed shrubbery? But bright and cheery greens I can totally see. So does Homes and Gardens magazine declaring “Bold, punchy and powerful citrus greens are the big story for plant color” for 2024.

Here are my 6 top plant picks for adding some bright green zing to the garden.

Coleus Lime Time™

I don’t think there’s a brighter bright green than the leaves of Coleus ColorBlaze® Lime Time™. If you want to add a shock of colour to an otherwise drab container planting or flower bed, this plant will do the trick. It can grow up to a metre high so it can easily compete for attention with larger plants in a deep border in full sun or part shade. Bonus: Small blue flowers on spikes appear towards the end of the season for even more colour interest.

Lodgepole pine ‘Taylor’s Sunburst’

The new spring growth of Pinus contorta ‘Taylor’s Sunburst’ glows with a radiant yellow/green colouring. The needles will eventually turn dark green by fall. Get the best view of this stunning specimen by planting it where the sun backlights it at some point (preferably during the cocktail hour). Bonus: the tree’s pollen cones are an adorable cherry red colouring.

Scotch moss

Arenaria verna, also known as Scotch Moss, is not a moss at all, of course. It’s a prostrate herbaceous perennial in the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). Most Scotch moss cultivars are grown for their lighter, chartreuse-leaning colourations – hence its inclusion here. Irish moss (Sagina subulata) tends to be available in darker green iterations.

Despite its not being a moss, though, Scotch moss sure looks like a thick, velvety carpet of moss in most situations. So if you want that kind of ground coverage in a full sun spot (with well draining soil), this is the plant for you. Bonus: in spring, Scotch moss blooms with tiny white flowers (as seen above).

Bleeding Heart ‘Gold Heart’

I love bleeding hearts. They are the picture of springtime and romance with their graceful arching sprays of blooms. I tend to choose the white over the classic pink blooms but Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart’ is my exception because of its brilliant green-almost-yellow leaves. This plant is particularly helpful when you need to light up a darker, shadowed area as it thrives in part to full shade. Bonus: the blooms can last for over a month in late spring to early summer.

Caladium ‘Lemon Blush’

Spark Of The Heart container planting featuring Heart to Heart “Lemon Blush” Caladium. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners.

You can always count on a caladium to add a shot of colour to a container planting or a flower bed. Coincidentally, as part of Proven Winners 2024 National Plants promotion, the Caladium Of The Year distinction goes to Heart to Heart® ‘Lemon Blush’. The plant’s vibrant green leaves are electrified by hot pink centres and veining. Here’s another option for jazzing up a darker corner, whether in a pot on a shaded patio or in a border.

For the lime-green planter combo shown above, you’ll need:

• 1 x Heart to Heart® ‘Lemon Blush’ Caladium hortulanum
• 2 x Sedum mexicanum ‘Lemon Coral’®
• 1 x Sweet Caroline Medusa™ Green Ipomoea batatas

White camas

Of course, I couldn’t write up a list of any description without including a native plant. Zigadensus elegans ssp. glaucus, called Mountain Death Camas or, less ominously, White Camas. This is not an easy plant to score for the garden and, if you find one you’ll want to be very careful about where you plant it. It’s highly poisonous. But maybe you’re inspired by the Duchess of Northumberland, the genius gardener behind the choices of killer plants in The Poison Garden at Alnwick. I’ve seen them on offer at Canadian wildflower seed supplier Wild About Flowers. This is a wonderful plant to brighten up a moist, even soggy, part of the garden.

But there’s more!

If you’re looking for the perfect bright green shrub for your garden, check out Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ in Romancing the limelights.

What are your favourite bright “cyber lime” green plants for the garden? I’d love to hear your suggestions. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!