Fab Foliage Friday

Golden elderberry (Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold') sends its gold-filigreed foliage across a sprawl of round-leafed leopard plants (Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'). In early spring the ligularia leaves are deep bronzy green, providing a dramatic backdrop for the finely textured fronds of the elderberry. Elderberries are one of the easiest shrubs out there, and you can keep them at a manageable size-and pump up the color of the foliage in spring, when its hue is most vivid--by cutting plants to the ground early in spring.