Cryptotaenia japonica 'Atropurpurea' and Hypoestes sanguinolenta

Cryptotaenia japonica 'Atropurpurea' (Purple leafed Japanese Parsley) and Hypoestes sanguinolenta 'Freckleface' or Polka Dot Plant
These two plants make a great team in a shady corner of the garden .The "Freckleface" is a hardy soft leafed plant from Madagascar which can be grown as a summer annual in cold climates or perennial in warm ones.It comes in three colours, red ,white and hot pink.It produces flowers in summer on tall stems but as they are insignificant, they are best cut off to keep the plant in a compact shape. The almost black ruffled leaves of the Japanese Parsley are quite distinctive but they need to be set against something bright to show them off. It also produces a flower stem to about 25 cm of tiny light pink flowers which are fairly insignificant. Both these plants will respond to moist garden soil but will hang on during dry weather and come back to life after rain.