GREEN is the colour I most love in the garden and at this time of year it sings out especially brightly, in bursting bud and unfurling leaf.
By Rachel Parrish, gardening correspondent
GREEN is the colour I most love in the garden and at this time of year it sings out especially brightly, in bursting bud and unfurling leaf.
There are dull greens, dark greens, shiny greens, glaucous greens, emerald greens, grey-greens, lime greens, and every shade between.
One of the liveliest performers right now is my Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae, whose evergreen leaves have been providing pleasing whirls of bottle green in the borders for months.
Its top-most bracts emit an almost citrus glow in the spring-lit garden, illuminating shady spaces and brightening patches of otherwise-bare soil, with seasonal zing.
Many other euphorbias offer an equally uplifting show and are easily obtainable from garden centres - but do beware.
Their white, milky sap (latex) can be extremely irritating to the skin and spurts out from the smallest nick in their rubbery stems.
This strange excretion was at one time used as a purgative, from which the plants common name of spurge derives.
Its Latin name was coined by the famous taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus in honour of the Greek physician Euphorbus, who reputedly used the said sap to treat King Juba 11 of Numidia around 2,000 years ago.
E. amygdaloides robbiae is a British native form of what is one of the largest genera in the plant kingdom and holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit for its good garden performance.
Originating from southern woodlands, it will grow happily in a range of conditions, including dry shade, which is a real boon.
E. schillingii has vigorous stems that shoot up in spring, making a mound topped with large heads of yellow, and also holds a a similar award.
E. characias, one of the most popular euphorbias, is a sun-loving, shrubby plant with glaucous, rubbery leaves, and can reach 4ft tall, providing a strong, architectural presence throughout winter.
Another award holder is E. myrsinites, a dwarf evergreen that enjoys a dry, baking position and will sprawl over a wall.
Most euphorbias will thrive in light, free-draining soils and are easy to grow.
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