Spring Celebrations and Flowers (or Maybe, Colorful Foliage Plants)

Springtime is much more than a time for getting the garden ready. It is a time of celebration. Mother’s Day, wedding and baby showers, and dinner invitations to friends’ homes… we are all going to need a lovely plant or two in the upcoming weeks, to celebrate those we love at (many would say) the nicest time of the year.

Small Azaleas and Dwarf Hydrangeas make perfect gifts; they always seem quite substantial. Flowering perennials seem right for the season, to accompany everything outdoors that is budding or already opening up in color. But choosing a flowering shrub or plant carries the slight risk of needing that plant for a gift just a bit too late or too early for blooms to be present. That is fine, as the flowering will start in good time. But for a ready-for-gifting plant with great color at all times, those with colorful foliage truly are a smart route to take. Have a few on hand, and you will be ready for celebrations that come your way.

Many houseplants have beautiful foliage color: There are peachy and pink Syngoniums, more commonly known as Arrowhead Plants, which look like springtime in pretty pastels; there are dark plum-toned, unusual amber-toned, or green and patterned Oxalis plants which open to look like lucky shamrocks and, at other times, close tightly like little umbrellas. But I find Coleus scuttelarioides, the Painted Nettle, to be one of the best gifts when it comes to colorful foliage. Painted Nettle is all color, deep and rich in tone and touch. Different varieties show off different combinations of color, but virtually all are castle-tapestry colors, regal and dramatic. To the touch, Coleus scuttelarioides is slightly velvety. And although I think of it as a "foliage plant", it even has blooms at certain times in summer.

I like Coleus scuttelarioides in the autumn months, when its colors can hold their own in the company of the orange and gold tones of the season. Hot colors, dramatic colors… they seem to go together in September, October, and around Thanksgiving. But in spring, Coleus scuttelarioides, Painted Nettle, becomes a perfect way to offset the pastels that appear everywhere. Painted Nettle becomes the rich and dramatic focal point within a grouping of paler-toned plants. What is more, it starts out small enough to be manageable, which has many advantages. 

Painted Nettle becomes the perfect houseplant for those who want to enjoy it indoors, where its size can be kept in check with some prudent pruning. For others, Coleus scuttelarioides makes a wonderful outdoor container plant, adding rich color to an arrangement. And, of course, it does well when planted directly in the ground.

In spring, at a time when many of us are thinking of pale pastel flowers and cut flower bouquets, Painted Nettle comes on the scene as something a little different. Don’t get me wrong: I like those pastels. But the coloration of Coleus scuttelarioides enables it to stand out and get noticed.

Purchase a nice ceramic plant pot, do some magic with ribbon that you can wrap around a cylindrical plastic plant container and then affix with a bit of strong glue here and there, or gather the plant container up inside a remnant of fabric that can be held in place with an elastic and some decorative roping to cover over the rubber band. Or adorn your plastic plant pot with children’s artwork, trimmed from drawings and paintings they have created and glued onto the plastic container, collage-style. You’ve got endless options for turning a lovely plant into a thoughtful gift. These containers are not intended to last and last. They are right for the day of gifting and perhaps for a few weeks to follow. Then the recipient can decide where to enjoy Coleus scuttelarioides, Painted Nettle, either indoors or out. 

Springtime celebrations are worthy of gifts. If you overdid your gift-giving during the December holidays, you might have taken a break at Valentine’s Day, and I am quite sure you took a break at St. Pat’s (unless you had some pots of gold to give out). But now, spring is here, and there are people to honor, gifts to give. Consider Painted Nettle for a rich looking and always-ready plant gift for those you love. Or if you prefer, choose other plants with different coloration. (Maybe you do want to go the pastel route, choosing a Wax Plant or pale-toned Turtle Vine. Or maybe you’ll go for a sweet miniature plant, like a Miniature Daisy.) Choose what you like best and what has meaning for the recipient, and get ready to get gifting. It is a way of honoring others, acknowledging spring, and celebrating. And as I am sure we all agree, spring itself is reason to celebrate.