For us humans, yellow-green with its many variations can be a little intimidating. We tend to shy away from wearing it. We don’t want it on our walls or even outdoor furnishings; that is, unless we learn how to use it to our advantage, keeping the old adage of “easy does it” in mind.
Let’s face it, the majority of us are never going to feel comfortable with this strong combination, particularly the true yellow-green known as chartreuse. This color is a blending of half yellow, half green. Now that’s a color as loud as a brass band! But, for those who know how to deal with it, the results can be stunning.
Fortunately, nature is a true artist and evidently adores yellow-green. Without it, the outdoors would be blah because this combination of two colors adds punch to the landscape. Think of all of the variegated plants that stop us in our tracks. They would be plain indeed if they didn’t have that splash of bright contrast.
Advertising marketers have come up with numerous names for different hues of yellow-green, like “parakeet,” “spring bud” and “pear.” There is an endless list because the color is really all around us. We just don’t give it much thought. Take a look about you. The sun likes to play tricks with green.
There’s that bright patch of sunlit St. Augustine grass jumping out from the shadow of an oak. What is green in the evening may have been a very glaring yellow-green a few hours before, or it may have been a very beautiful filtered yellow light flowing through foliage.
Consider moneywort
There aren’t many solid yellow-green plants to pick from. One that comes close is moneywort, often called “creeping Jenny.” This small, trailing light green perennial is often used in planters as a contrast in texture and color. The tips of this easy-to-grow plant are a soft yellowish green. This evergreen puts out runners up to two feet long, and produces a mat of rounded shaped leaves. A hardy plant, moneywort is invasive and easily adapts to bogs and meadows. In the home garden, it can easily be controlled and is popular as a groundcover. It likes full sun to partial shade and a good drink of water on a weekly basis.
Golden euonymus
Golden euonymus is one of those shrubs you see at a nursery, buy it, take it home and then wonder where the heck you’re going to put it. My old “Southern Living Garden Book” describes this variegated euonymus as an “eyesore” with gaudy foliage that “nearly glows in the dark.” However, standing alone in a sunny, grassy area, it works. It just doesn’t work near most other plantings or shady areas because it sticks out like a sore thumb. It is, however, a very hardy evergreen and easy to maintain.
Chartreuse and coleus
What isn’t there to love about the coleus? We love the fact that its colors of salmon, orange, red, yellow and purple pair well with spots of chartreuse. It is popular indoors and outdoors in containers, and as summertime borders. This easy to grow tropical plant does well in sun and partial shade. With the exception of making sure it is watered regularly, care is light. Pinch stems often to maintain a compact appearance and remove flower buds to encourage growth.
Color of life
Yellow-green appears on countless plants, particularly as life returns in the early spring. It can be something as simple as a lone, feathery spray of asparagus fern emerging from the ground following a hard freeze at Victoria Educational Gardens. Now that is a bright and shining example.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
Victoria County Master Gardener Association
