10 award-winning trees and shrubs with silver foliage

Trees and shrubs with silvery or grey-toned foliage bring a distinctive luminosity to planting schemes. Their cool shades blend effortlessly with every garden palette, so they sit comfortably among vibrant colours or more muted combinations. Many are also adapted to dry conditions, with reflective leaves that reduce moisture loss and help them thrive through spells of summer drought. Each year, RHS Plant Trials highlight exceptional performers through the RHS Recommended: Award of Garden Merit.

Here are 10 standout trees and shrubs with silver foliage that carry this trusted mark of quality and will elevate any outdoor space.

Fluffy yellow flowerheads

Small yellow flowerheads in winter and spring

Acacia baileyana is a bushy shrub or small tree with prettily divided evergreen silvery leaves and, in late winter and spring, each leaf joint carries a fluffy bottlebrush composed of bright yellow pompom flowers. They stand out from a distance and last well both on the plant and when cut. Best in full sun, and with the protection of a sunny wall in colder areas. Height 3–6m (10–20ft). Hardiness rating H2.

Shimmering silver

Flaking bark brings character, along with cream flowers which appear from late spring to summer

Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila, known as the snow gum, is one of the hardiest of all eucalyptus, and makes a small to medium-sized evergreen tree with large, leathery, grey-green leaves held on white twigs. The effect is of a mass of shimmering silver. The trunk is attractively patterned in grey, cream and green and there are also clusters of creamy flowers in late spring and summer. Height 6m (20ft). Hardiness rating H5.

Silver wool-covered leaves

Silvery-grey foliage and spikes of deep purple flowers make this lavender vibrant

Many lavenders feature silvery foliage, but Lavandula × chaytoriae ‘Richard Gray’, a

A plant produced by crossing two distinct parents, often different species, to produce offspring that combine the characteristics of both. Hybrids can occur naturally, but crosses are often made deliberately by plant breeders to produce plants with better yield, improved flowering or vigour, or improved disease resistance.

Velvet–like leaves

Clusters of pale pink pea-flowers appear in summer and autumn

Long known as Dorycnium hirsutum, this rounded and usually evergreen Mediterranean shrub, Lotus hirsutus, has grey-green stems and foliage – all of which are covered in silvery hairs. White flowers open in the shoot tips from pink

A bud is a small, undeveloped shoot that contains the potential for new growth. Buds are typically found on stems, where they can be apical (found at the tip) or axillary (found between leaf axils) and may develop into leaves, shoots or flowers.

A bold look

With other common names being ‘honey bush’ and ‘honey flower’, it is considered an exotic plant

Melianthus major is one of the boldest and most enticing of small shrubs, with leaves up to 50cm (20in) long, divided like a rose leaf into many pairs of segments and the whole leaf is greyish or blue-green in colour. Spikes up to 75cm (30in) long of dark, brick red flowers develop in the shoot tips in their second year. Best in well-drained soil in sun, protected from cold winds. Height 2m (6ft 8in). Hardiness rating H3.

Violet and blue tones

Deeply aromatic grey-green leaves provide a sensory experience

With almost white stems carrying deeply cut silver leaves, before flowering begins in late summer, the whole Salvia ‘Blue Spire’ plant has a pale, delicate look about it. Then 30cm (1ft) spikes of deep blue, almost violet flowers develop in the shoot tips, making a very appealing combination. Leave the silver stems for winter colour, then prune back hard in spring as growth is beginning. Height 1.2m (4ft). Hardiness rating H5.

Can be left unpruned

Fragrant dark purple flowers are sparsely produced in summer, followed by fruits containing sticky pulp

This neat and bushy evergreen features small, glossy, grey-green leaves, each with a narrow, slightly irregular margin of white, creating a pale shining effect. Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Queen’ has small, black, fragrant flowers in summer. With the shoots that are good for cutting, the plant can be allowed to develop informally or pruned in spring to restrict its size and develop a neater, formal shape. Height 3m (10ft). Hardiness rating H4.

Ghost-themed

Silvery when young, later grey-green, with catkins produced in spring

Salix exigua is a tall shrub that can be restricted in size by annual pruning, with its main feature being its slender 10cm (4in) grey foliage covered in silky silver hairs, creating a slightly ghostly presence. There are also catkins in spring as the leaves open. It can be trained as a small tree, but its tendency to

Suckers are growths that appear from the root systems of many trees and shrubs such as lilac, cherries, Robinia. On grafted plants such as roses, suckers can grow from below the graft union, on the rootstock material. Suckers are usually removed by gently pulling off when young.

Rich-coloured berries

Creamy-white flower clusters are followed by orange-red berries in late spring

Forming an attractive columnar shape, the small to medium-sized Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens’ tree features broad, boldly ribbed leaves covered early in the season in a thick layer of creamy down. As the heads of white flowers open in late spring, the down blows away, but there are dark red berries later. Thrives on dry chalk as well as more fertile soils. height 8m (26ft 8in). Hardiness rating H6.

Subtly fragrant

The silvery-grey, finely dissected leaves are lightly fragrant.

Santolina chamaecyparissus ‘Pretty Carroll’ is a compact evergreen shrub with narrow, soft, silvery-grey, finely dissected leaves that are lightly fragrant. Produces long stalks topped with button-like clusters of tiny, bright yellow flowers in late summer and early autumn, which elevate outdoor spaces. Height: 40cm (16in). Hardiness rating H5.