By Eddie Smith
MSU Extension Service

I have always admired plants with silver color, as this unusual shade can bring some variety to garden spaces.

Dusty Miller is a traditional landscape plant and one of my favorite hardy perennials, but it is also admired for its striking silver-gray foliage. Its finely lobed leaves are covered with a dense, silvery-white, felt-like coating that gives the plant a velvety texture and a frosty appearance.

Botanically known as Senecio cineraria, Dusty Miller belongs to the Asteraceae family. It can reach up to 12-18 inches tall and spreads 10-12 inches, forming a compact and bushy growth habit.

One of the reasons I love Dusty Miller is its ability to thrive in various growing conditions.

It does well in full sun to partial shade, making it a versatile addition to different parts of the garden. It prefers well-drained soil and can tolerate poor soil conditions, which is ideal for low-maintenance gardening. Dusty Miller is also drought-tolerant, reducing the need for frequent watering once established.

The plant’s foliage remains attractive throughout the growing season, adding a continuous silver accent to garden beds, borders and containers.

Although grown as a perennial in warm climates, Dusty Miller is often treated as an annual in cooler regions. When grown as a perennial, it may produce small yellow flowers in the second year. Some gardeners prefer to remove these flower stalks to maintain the plant’s neat and compact appearance.

Dusty Miller pairs beautifully with a wide range of plants, offering a striking contrast to brightly colored flowers and green foliage. Its silver-gray leaves create a stunning backdrop for blooms like marigolds, petunias and geraniums. It also works well in monochromatic gardens, adding texture and interest alongside other silver and white plants.

Sea Holly is another striking perennial that I prize for its unique, architectural appearance and silver color. Its stiff, serrated leaves with a greenish hue and a distinctive silver metallic sheen add bold texture to gardens.

Sea Holly produces thistle-like flowers of blue, purple and silver which sit atop tall, branching stems. These flowers have a spiky, spherical form that adds an unusual and eye-catching element to gardens.

This plant also draws bees and butterflies with its nectar-rich blooms.

Like Dusty Miller, Sea Holly prefers well-drained soil and can thrive in full sun to partial shade. It is drought -tolerant and deer -resistant, making it an excellent choice for low-maintenance gardens.

Licorice Plant Icicles is another popular ornamental I adore for its striking silver foliage. I appreciate how this plant adds a delicate and frosty element to a garden.

Its unique, silvery-white leaves are elongated, narrow, pointed and covered with fine hairs that resemble icicles. The foliage is soft to the touch and very aromatic when crushed.

The Icicles plant is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 9-11, which includes a portion of south Mississippi. In cooler climates, it is often grown as an annual or used in containers that can be brought indoors during winter.

If you’re looking to add some variety to your landscape, consider the dynamic shape and color of these silver plants.