10 bushes with golden yellow foliage to brighten up the garden

Berberis thunbergii 'Tiny Gold'

This Berberis or ‘Tiny Gold’ Barberry is a striking dwarf variety. It is a spiny bush with very small growth, dressed in a bright deciduous foliage that ranges from light green to fresh chartreuse. The spring flowering is yellow tinged with red, followed by very decorative red berries in autumn. This compact, rounded variety with a ball habit makes an excellent choice for rockeries or a gentle punctuation in a flowerbed. It can also be showcased on a terrace or balcony. It is ideal for brightening up a sunny or partially shaded area. Very cold-resistant and adaptable, it fits into any type of soil. A sunny position enhances the intense colour of its foliage as well as the flowering, but it will also thrive in partial shade in the South and West of France.

Berberis Tiny Gold

• For more information on these bushes, visit our plant sheet: “Berberis, Barberry: plant, prune and maintain”
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Betula nana 'Golden Treasure'

This Betula nana ‘Golden Treasure’ is a dwarf birch. It is a true boon for small city gardens, rockeries, balconies, and sunny terraces! It forms a very compact bush, not exceeding 1 metre in all directions in maturity. Sits foliage, deciduous, is formed of small leaves of acid green in spring, turning golden yellow in summer and autumn. In May, upright yellow-brown aments emerge above the delicate foliage. This golden mist ball retains its beautiful attire from summer to autumn.

This small sun-loving hardy bush prefers soil that remains cool, low in lime, and slightly acidic to achieve beautiful leaf colours, along with a sunny exposure.

Betula nana Golden Treasure

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Choisya 'Goldfinger'

Its compact shape, modest dimensions, bright evergreen foliage, and springtime white flowers with a delicate citrus scent make the Mexican Orange Blossom or Choisya a valuable bush in any garden, even those of modest size. With its particularly exotic appearance and fragrance, it is a boon in a garden inspired by tropical themes. The Choisya ‘Goldfinger’ is a variety with golden yellow foliage, particularly bright. Hardy down to -15°C, it adapts well to the north of the Loire in any light, not overly calcareous, well-drained soil. It enjoys a warm, sunny position sheltered from cold winds. After the first flowering, light pruning will be sufficient to maintain a compact habit.

It creates a bright focal point in the garden: plant it as a standalone in a strategic location to enjoy its delicate fragrance or to punctuate a free-form hedge. It is also easy to grow in a pot on a terrace.

The highly fragrant flowering of Choisya Goldfinger

• And to learn all about this beautiful bush, discover our plant sheet “Mexican Orange, Choisya ternata: planting, pruning, and maintenance”
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Corylus avellana 'Aurea'

Here is a Hazel tree like no other, as elegant as it is delicious! With its beautiful stature and luminous crown, this Corylus avellana ‘Aurea’ is a lovely fruit bush that deserves its place in the ornamental garden. It stands out from the type due to the colour of its luminous foliage, which is noticeable from afar. Late in spring, it develops young, rounded, dentate, and highly veined leaves that are bright yellow, turning increasingly green, before falling in autumn, with the two shades blending harmoniously. The very early flowering, before the leaves, takes the form of long, pendulous aments in pale yellow on the naked branches, giving way to hazelnuts at ripeness.

Plant it in ordinary soil that is not too dry: it thrives everywhere, in full sun or partial shade. It forms a beautiful focal point in the garden, grouped at the edge of a thicket or within a free-standing hedge, fruiting or as a windbreak.

The spring foliage of Corylus avellana Aurea

• To learn all about Hazels and how to grow them in the garden, check out our advice sheet: “Hazel, corylus – Plant, prune and maintain”
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Cotinus coggygria 'Golden Spirit'

The Cotinus coggygria ‘Golden Spirit’ is a variety of smoke tree characterised by its deciduous foliage that changes throughout the seasons. The sumptuous golden yellow of spring is followed by a coppery red in autumn. This is a bushy shrub that reaches a height of 3 to 4 m at maturity: an interesting small size for compact gardens. Spectacular and surprising, the flowering consists of a multitude of coppery orange plumes, resembling a beard but mainly a wig, enveloping the golden foliage of this Cotinus from summer to autumn. Easy to grow and very hardy down to -20°C, it prefers well-drained, poor, and light soils. It provides beautiful luminosity in garden beds and also finds its place in informal hedges, as well as in rockeries.

A lovely contrast between the bright foliage of Cotinus Golden Spirit and its airy pink flowering.[/caption>

• To learn more, discover our complete guide “Cotinus or Smoke Tree: planting, pruning, and growing”
• To explore, our beautiful range of Cotinus

Escallonia laevis 'Gold Ellen'

Well known to Breton or English gardeners, Escallonia is an evergreen bush, ideal for forming hedges by the sea. The Escallonia laevis ‘Gold Ellen’ stands out from other varieties with its generally glossy dark green leaves, featuring superb golden yellow persistent foliage speckled with green. It forms a dense bush, with a rounded habit, reaching 2 m to 2.5 m in height and width at maturity. In summer, fleshy, carmine pink flowers bloom at the tips of each branching, set against the lush foliage. This beautiful, glossy, and leathery foliage, aromatic when crushed, persists in winter and brightens the garden throughout the year. Easy to grow, it thrives in ordinary, cool, well-drained soil in full sun and sheltered from draughts. It can be planted at the back of a border or on a terrace; it is an excellent evergreen hedge shrub, whether left free or trimmed.

The bright pink flowering of Escallonia Gold Ellen stands out beautifully against its golden foliage.

• To learn all about this beautiful bush and how to grow it well in the garden, discover our complete guide: “Escallonia: planting, pruning and maintenance”
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Physocarpus 'Angel Gold'

This new variety of Ninebark with Alder-like leaves combines ornamental qualities. This Physocarpus ‘Angel Gold’ adds a beautiful touch of golden light to your flower beds or informal hedges! Indeed, this variety is remarkable for the colour of its leaves. Its deciduous foliage dresses in coppery yellow in spring, then turns to golden yellow in autumn. A very bright colour that it will retain until the end of the season, transforming this bush into a solar mass that can be spotted from afar in the garden. It is a lovely bushy shrub, very decorative due to its lobed coloured foliage, its bark that exfoliates in winter, and also by a lovely white-pink flowering in May-June, followed by small light red decorative fruits until autumn.

Its growth is rapid, and its adult size can reach 3 m in height and 2 m in width. Perfectly hardy, it prefers deep, humus-bearing, rich, and cool soils, tolerating slightly dry and calcareous soils. It thrives in partial shade or in a not too scorching exposure. It will also make a great impact when planted in a pot on a terrace or balcony.

Brighten your garden with Physocarpus opulifolius Angel Gold.

• To learn all about this shrub and how to succeed with it in the garden, discover our advice sheet: “Physocarpus, Ninebark – Planting, Pruning and Caring”
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Santolina Lemon Fizz

The Santolina ‘Lemon Fizz’ is a stunning and very original new horticultural hybrid of Santolina virens, a hardy evergreen Mediterranean shrub. Its lemon yellow foliage is formed of leaves edged with small teeth and has a very aromatic scent when crushed. This beautiful cultivar forms a dense, bright cushion covered in small, round heads of light yellow in summer. This lovely hardy undershrub, which can withstand temperatures down to -15°C and is drought-resistant, thrives in dry, well-drained, poor, and somewhat calcareous soils. Forming a rounded clump 30 to 40 cm high and wide, it will add a golden touch along pathways, in low hedges, amidst rockeries, or in borders to cover the bases of Mediterranean shrubs. This variety is also very ornamental in large pots.

The rosemary-leaved Santolina Lemon Fizz features lemon yellow foliage.

• To learn all about this bush and how to succeed with it in your garden, check out our advice sheet: “Santolina: planting, caring for, pruning”
• Discover our beautiful range of Santolines: our lovely selection of Santolines

Spiraea vanhouttei Gold Fountain

The Spiraea is a bush valued for its generous spring or summer flowering, its elegant and compact habit, and its diamond-shaped, dense foliage, which is green or sometimes yellow in the case of the golden spiraea. The Spiraea vanhouttei ‘Gold Fountain’, also known as “Van Houtte’s golden spiraea,” is adorned with golden-yellow foliage from spring, evolving to acid green in summer and turning orange-yellow in autumn. This light and graceful bush is covered in countless pure white flower bouquets in the heart of summer, which are also attractive. It is a cultivar of more modest size than other spiraeas, not exceeding 1.50 m in all directions, with a beautifully trailing habit, easy to prune. Hardy down to about -20°C, the Spiraea thrives in non-scorching sun or partial shade in any well-drained ordinary soil. It is easy to use as a standalone plant, in a free hedge, or in a border with other summer-flowering bushes.

Spiraea Gold Fountain

• To learn all about the different species and how to grow them well, discover our complete guide: “Spiraeas: planting, pruning, and maintenance”
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Sambucus racemosa Lemony Lace

Elder, Sambucus in Latin, is a beautiful deciduous bush with fragrant umbel flowers, and the horticultural varieties showcase stunning, unique foliage. Like this elder ‘Lemony Lace’, with finely incised, strap-like leaves that are light, very bright, and as graphic as a Japanese maple! Deeply cut and intensely luminous, its leaves display a nearly fluorescent lemon yellow in spring, turning to chartreuse green in summer.

With its laciniate, golden leaves, it will create a sophisticated scene and add a touch of exoticism to your garden. The early flowering, before the leaves appear, features white umbels in spring, transforming in late summer into clusters of decorative red fruits that contrast beautifully with the golden foliage. This variety has a bushy habit, with a slightly blurred silhouette, forming a feathery, airy mass that can reach a height and width of 1.5m at most, making it easy to integrate into any garden, even the smallest. It withstands temperatures down to -25°C, adapts to all types of well-drained soil, including chalky soil, and thrives in full sun or partial shade. Sunny, light, graphic, and low-maintenance, it fits well in a shrub border, near an entrance, and can be grown successfully in a large pot or container.

The Lemony Lace elder with laciniate leaves

• To learn more about the different varieties and how to succeed with them in the garden, check out our advice in our guide: “Elder: planting, growing, pruning”
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