For a number of years I've been keeping track of the wide range of variegated and colored leafed plants that originate in our garden. Quite a few won't be shown here since they may turn out to be stable enough and interesting enough to market commercially. Fortunately, that still leaves a pretty good selection to fill these pages.

We'll usually find anywhere from 1 to 3 new variegated species each season and about every 3 years a purple or red leafed plant shows itself. Because we plant veggies near our flowers, we rarely use chemical herbicides or insecticides and when it is necessary, we're careful.

Not all of these new plants survive. Some are simply too weak or unstable. A few have been lost to accidents and a few have been eaten by gophers.  

As for the birds...... The albino turkeys were probably the result of 2 chance mutations coming together as was the original robin. The turkeys were obviously wild and not domestic. They also didn't last long around predators. The robin, on the other hand, lived about 8 years coming back each spring to stake out his territory in our back yard and raise a new batch of "variegated" robins. We still catch sight of a strangely marked robin every once in a while.

We've been working to stabilize and increase the color in a few of the most interesting surviving plants while trying to figure out why we seem to be blessed with so many variegations. Experiments each season have led to some interesting theories... none of which you'll find here.

Instead, I hope these photos will inspire you to explore your own garden in search of something new and wonderful. Enjoy.



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