Silver Plants in your Garden? Why not?

Silver plants do for a garden what silver accessories do for an outfit — they add a little luster, glitz and a contrast that sets off the ensemble.

It's quite a glamorous role for a group of plants that are basically tough-as-nails survivors. Silver plants, that is plants with foliage that ranges from near white to gray-green, or that has silvery markings or a metallic sheen, owe their eye-catching color to nature's protectiveness.

The silver comes from fuzzy hairs, a waxy layer or a thickening of the leaf that protects the plant against harsh conditions. White wormwood, the curry plant, lavender and sage, no longer planted just for medicinal or culinary purposes but for their own intrinsic beauty.

Silver plants can be divided into three categories: downy, waxy and variegated. Downy plants, the most common, have tiny hairs that maintain a layer of humidity close to the plant's surface to protect it from extreme heat or cold.

Waxy types have a waxy coating called bloom on the foliage, which protects against temperature extremes, drought, wind, salt spray and harsh sun. Variegated plants have leaves that are streaked, spotted, edged, frosted or marbled, and the markings are believed to cover air pockets that keep cells from overheating.

Because the silver color in plants is a form of adaptation to the environment, the plants thrive and look best when they're grown in the conditions to which they're naturally suited. A downy plant that grows naturally in full sun and sandy soil, for example, will lose much of its silvery fuzz if it's placed in a shady site with rich soil.

But even when the plants are matched to their ideal conditions, their appearance can change with conditions, seasons and age. The fuzz on lavender flattens in the rain. Colorado spruce loses some of its iridescence when the weather warms. Lamb's ear turns bluish in winter.

The good news is that silver plants encompass so many varieties that there's a plant for almost every use and growing condition. For example, many people are familiar with only one variety of artemisia, Silver King, but there are more than a dozen others that might be more suitable, depending on the site. And there's been an explosion of silver plants for shade, including varieties of heuchera and brunnera.

They light up shady spots and offer new options for an area of the landscape that's traditionally been somewhat limiting. Silver plants also use much less water than other plants do. Give them a go, brighten up your garden with silver plants.