Common Name(s) |
Botanical Name |
Site |
Height |
Flower/Foliage |
Color Comments |
Annuals for Foliage |
Asparagus Fern |
Asparagus officinalis
var. pseudoscabar |
Sun |
48-60” |
White |
Grown for airy foliage, small white flowers |
Cabbage, Ornamental;
Flowering Cabbage;
Flowering Kale |
Brassica oleracea |
Sun |
12-24” |
Purple, pink, white,
green, red, blue-green |
Biennial grown as an annual, grown for foliage, best in fall, control cabbage looper and cabbage worm |
Caladium |
Caladium bicolor |
Shade, part shade |
12-24” |
Greens, reds, pinks,
white |
Planted outside as a tuber in early summer, foliage dig and store tubers for winter |
Calico Plant
‘Purple Knight’ |
Alternanthera dentata |
Sun, part shade |
6-9” |
Burgundy foliage |
Trailing |
Castor Oil Plant;
Castor Bean |
Ricinus communis |
Sun |
120” |
Red; foliage
is also red |
Deeply lobed leaves, highly toxic, grown for foliage |
Coleus |
Coleus x hybridus |
Part shade |
12-24” |
Green, purple, red,
variegated foliage |
Grown for foliage, easily propagated by cuttings, remove flower spikes |
Coleus, Giant Exhibition |
Coleus x blumei |
Shade, part shade |
12-16” |
Assorted foliage |
Prefers moist, well-drained soils |
Dusty-Miller |
Senecio cineraria |
Sun |
12-18” |
Gray foliage |
Excellent edging plant, grown for foliage, tolerates drought, remove flowers that develop |
Geranium, Scented |
Pelargonium x hybrida |
Sun |
10-18” |
White, green |
Grown for their scented foliage, good house plants |
Hibiscus ‘Red Shield’ |
Hibiscus acetosella |
Sun |
48-60” |
Red, white, pink |
Rarely blooms, grown for deep red maple-like leaves |
Iresine |
Iresine herbstii |
Sun, part shade |
12-18” |
White |
Inconspicuous flowers, bronze-green, burgundy, variegated foliage |
Kochia;
Burning Bush;
Summer Cypress |
Kochia scoparia
var. tricophylla |
Sun |
12-30” |
Green foliage |
Hedge, border, accent, grown for foliage, changes to red upright bush form in the fall |
Millet, Purple
‘Purple Majesty’ |
Pennisetum glaucum |
Sun |
48-60” |
Purple |
A vertical plant in the grass family, purple foliage and seed heads |
Polka Dot Plant |
Hypoestes phyllostachya |
Sun |
6” |
Assorted |
Foliage has red, pink or white markings, keep soil slightly moist |
Swiss Chard |
Beta vulgaris |
Sun, part shade |
12-18” |
Assorted |
Popular cultivar is ‘Bright Lights’, bright foliage colors, an edible ornamental |
Taro;
Elephant Ears |
Colocasia esculenta |
Part shade |
18-30” |
Pale green |
Produces heart-shaped, large leaves, green to purple, container suited, moist soils, propagate by tubers |
Annual Herbs |
Basil |
Ocimum basilicum |
Sun |
12-18” |
White flowers |
Grown for an array of foliage types |
Fennel, Bronze |
Foeniculum vulgare |
Sun, part shade |
48-60” |
Yellow flowers |
Attracts butterflies, remove old flowers to promote flowering, licorice-scented, reseeds aggressively |
Fernleaf Dill |
Anethum graveolens |
Sun |
24-36” |
Yellow foliage |
Small flowers on umbrella-like heads, attracts butterflies |
Oregano |
Origanum rotundifolium |
Sun, part shade |
6-12” |
Violet, white,
cream, purple |
Aromatic, trailing or vining form |
Rosemary |
Rosmarinus officinalis |
Sun |
15-30” |
Pink, blue |
Semi-prostrate, scented foliage, herb |
Sage, Garden |
Salvia officinalis |
Sun |
9-18” |
Blue, lilac, white |
Aromatic, gray-green or multi-colored leaves, leaves rough |
Annual Ornamental Grasses |
Bunny Tails;
Hare’s Tail Grass |
Lagurus ovatus |
Sun |
12-18” |
Cream/tan |
Soft, fur-like flower heads, heads can be dried and colored |
Fiberoptic Grass
‘Live Wire’ |
Isolepsis cernua |
Sun |
6-24” |
Silvery |
A sedge, flower heads on end of green stems, moist conditions |
Fountain Grass, Purple |
Pennisetum setaceum |
Sun |
48-60” |
Red foliage |
Propagated by division, not winter-hardy |
Lemon Grass |
Cymbopogon citratus |
Sun, light shade |
20-36” |
Non-flowering |
Uniform moisture, strongly scented leaves |
Pony Tails,
Mexican Feather Grass |
Stipa tenuissima |
Sun |
18-30” |
Tan |
Delicate, fine, flexible, bright-green leaves |
Ruby Grass;
Pink Paintbrush |
Melinus nerviglumis |
Sun |
8-18” |
Ruby-pink |
Blue-green foliage that turns purple-red in the fall, with 3-4” ruby-red blooms |
Annuals for Fruit |
Corn, Ornamental |
Zea mays |
Sun |
3-7’ |
Husk green to
burgundy |
Grown for stalk, husk and leaf colors, also for kernel color(s) |
Pepper, Ornamental |
Capsicum annuum |
Sun |
12-25” |
Fruit, red, black,
yellow, orange, purple |
Grown for colorful fruit, some cultivars have colorful foliage |
Annual Vines |
Black-eyed Susan Vine |
Thunbergia alata |
Sun, part shade |
Vine |
Red, orange,
yellow, white |
Suitable for growing indoors |
Cardinal Climber |
Ipomoea multifida |
Sun |
Vine |
Red |
Deeply fringed foliage, attracts hummingbirds |
Licorice Plant |
Helichrysum petiolatum |
Sun |
9-12” |
White, chartreuse
or silver foliage |
Trailing plant for use in hanging container, everlasting, fuzzy, foliage use |
Mandevilla |
Mandevilla x |
Sun, part shade |
Vine |
Pink |
Leathery, dark green leaves, used as an indoor plant, container plant |
Moon Flower Vine |
Ipomoea alba |
Vine |
Sun, part shade |
White |
Flowers open at night, funnel shaped, fragrant |
Morning Glory |
Ipomoea spp. |
Sun |
+72” |
White, pink, red,
blue, purple |
Screens, trellis plant, soak seed overnight before planting, vining plant, tolerant of dry soils, readily self-seeds |
Scarlet Runner Bean |
Phaseolus coccineus |
Sun |
Vine |
Red |
Support with trellis or string, colorful seeds |
Silver Pony-foot |
Dichondra argentea |
Sun |
6”,
trailing |
Pale green, silver |
Groundcover, silver-gray foliage, drought foliage tolerant |
Sweet Pea |
Lathyrus odoratus |
Part shade |
18-60” |
White, purple,
lavender, pink |
Grows best in cool, moist conditions, not well suited to Nebraska’s climate |
Sweet Potato Vine |
Ipomoea batatas |
Sun, part shade |
Vine |
Lavender flowers,
green, purple
foliage |
Heart-shaped leaves on a trailing plant, foliage green to burgundy or variegated, rarely flowers |