Rainbows are symbolic for many people and cultures. They also look beautiful! Unlike the rainbows that appear fleetingly in the sky, this rainbow of colour will last year round in your garden with minimal maintenance.
I recently replanted a bed of heucheras that sits at the heart of a peaceful community garden designed as a space for bereaved parents to remember the babies they lost in pregnancy or infancy. Rainbows are a symbol of hope, comfort and joy after the storm of loss, and this rainbow of colour lights up the garden throughout the year. A heuchera rainbow can be a striking centerpiece for larger home and community gardens, but you can easily adapt this project for a smaller space.
Heucheras are evergreen or semi-evergreen perennials grown primarily for their foliage, which comes in a wide variety of colours, ranging from deep purples and vibrant reds to yellow, peach, silver and green. In addition to their beautiful leaves, heucheras produce dainty stems of small flowers in summer. They're easy to grow and slug resistant.
How to plant a heuchera rainbow in your garden
You'll need a reasonably large bed that's deep enough to create the rainbow shape. This rainbow was planted in a purpose-built curved bed, but you can plant your heucheras into an existing bed or border. They also grow well in containers, so you could create a heuchera rainbow in a courtyard or patio garden using multiple pots. You could even raise the pots on slightly different levels to give a 3D effect.
Traditional rainbows have seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. True blue is the rarest colour in the plant kingdom, and there are no blue heucheras, though some varieties have blue-green leaves. You definitely don't need 7 colours for your rainbow, either. I used five colours, as that's what I had space for in the bed, but four or six colours would also work well.
When choosing heuchera varieties for your rainbow, take into account the size and appearance of the plants (some have ruffled foliage, others flatter leaves), as well as their sun or shade tolerance. Here are some suggestions for (almost) every colour of the rainbow.
Red heucheras
I wanted a red that was very distinct from the orange variety, so I chose Heuchera Fire Chief, which has bright red leaves that turn a deep red as the summer progresses. Heuchera 'Cherry Cola', Heuchera 'Fire Alarm' and Heuchera 'Forever Red' are other good options.
If you only have space for four colours in your rainbow, it makes sense to combine red and orange. Heuchera 'Cranberry' is an ideal choice with its vibrant orange-red foliage.
Orange heucheras
Heuchera 'Marmalade' is a very popular variety with dual-toned foliage that's peachy orange on top and pink underneath. Unlike many orange heucheras, the leaves don't turn red later in the year. Heuchera 'Ginger Peach' is another option with ruffled leaves, whereas Heuchera 'Peach Flambé' has flatter leaves that turn burgundy in autumn.
Yellow heucheras
I went with the ever-reliable Heuchera 'Lime Marmalade' for the yellow part of my rainbow, as it keeps its zingy lime-green colour year round. Heuchera 'Champagne' gives a purer yellow colour in summer, but has peachy tones earlier in the year. It's a good choice for a shadier border. Heuchera 'Electra' is another option, with red-veined yellow leaves that take on an orange tint in autumn.
Green heucheras
Heuchera 'Apple Crisp' has bright green, ruffled leaves, making it an obvious choice for the central band of a rainbow – with a couple of caveats. First, while it's an excellent choice for a shaded bed, it won't fare as well in full sun. Secondly, as it's a compact variety, make sure it doesn't get overshadowed by larger, more vigorous heucheras.
I chose Heuchera 'Green Spice' for the green segment of my rainbow, as it's a similar size to 'Lime Marmalade'. The gently lobed green leaves have a silver tint, with burgundy veins.
Purple heucheras
You have plenty of purple heucheras to choose from, ranging from pink-purple varieties to deep purple cultivars that look almost black. If you have space for six colours in your rainbow, then I'd include two purple heucheras: a light or mid purple variety, such as Heuchera 'Wild Rose' or Heuchera 'Forever Purple', and a darker purple like Heuchera 'Timeless Night'.
As I only had space for one purple row, I opted for Heuchera 'Midnight Rose', a deep purple heuchera with pink-purple splashes on the leaves.
The cloud at the end of the rainbow
With every rainbow comes a cloud. Silver-leaved foliage plants create a fluffy, natural end to your heuchera rainbow. I used a mix of Senecio candicans and Brunnera macrophylla for contrast, but you could also use a silver-leaved heuchera such as Heuchera 'Silver Scrolls' or Heuchera 'Cinnabar Silver'.
Senecio 'Angel Wings' has large, velvety, silver leaves that give an effective impression of a billowing cloud. It's very drought tolerant, but needs a sunny spot and very well-drained soil. Brunnera is a hardier plant, more accustomed to our wet UK winters. It has silver-green leaves and beautiful blue flowers in late spring. Brunnera 'Silver Heart' and Brunnera 'Looking Glass' have the most silver in their leaves.
Tips for planting a heuchera rainbow
Heucheras grow best in well drained soil with some shade from strong afternoon sunlight. I used plants in 3-litre pots for my rainbow, but you can use smaller plants in 9 cm pots; they'll just take a little longer to fill out the bed. You usually space heucheras 30–60 cm apart, depending on the variety, but for this project, I planted them a little closer to give a dense block of foliage.
Find out more about growing and caring for heucheras in our complete heuchera care guide, and browse our full range of heucheras to find the best plants for your rainbow.
