Here in the Mid-Atlantic Azalea Belt, our big spring show is fading fast.  Even my beloved crossvine blooms are pretty much gone. But the chartreuse leaves of my ‘Ogon’ Spireas? They’re large statement plants already! The leaves emerge in late February/early March, will turn orange in the fall, and won’t drop until Christmas week, reliably. The shrubs are also reliably full, like this one.

It’s seen here with blooms of crossvine, two varieties of clematis, and a coral honeysuckle, all illustrating my contention that everything goes with chartreuse. Just like purple.

A few feet away, another ‘Ogon’ easily hides my HVAC system – and an old white azalea. On the right is another foliage plant I adore, this one evergreen – ‘Goshiki’ Osmanthus.  Its mix of colors includes some chartreuse. 

Four smaller examples, clockwise from upper let: ‘Lucky Devil’ ninebark shrub, Sedum ‘Angelina’ in a bird bath, Sedum sarmentosum surrounding a newly planted Profusion series zinnia, and a sweet potato vine that’ll quickly wrap around Persian Shields in both pots.In my back garden, a “Rising Sun’ redbud is a season-long focal point, and the young ‘Little Honey’ hydrangea (lower left) is already brightening up the whole border. By mid-summer the black-eyed susans will dominate.

Creeping Jenny fills in between pavers and anywhere there’s bare ground. Since it’s on some invasive plant lists, I’ll be researching and blogging about whether or not it should be removed in this case.

One last example of the impact of chartreuse foliage is from my co-op’s office building, where I adopted the landscape. I hear lots of comments when I’m gardening there and the ‘Ogon’ Spireas get more compliments than any other plant. And to repeat – the color will last until Christmas!