Foliage is an important component of a garden's design and can carry it through times when flowers are few and far between.

An all-green garden doesn't need to be dull or unappealing.

With or without flowers, a foliage garden can be filled with interesting textures, unusual forms and stunning colours.

The neatly splayed fronds of a fern, the glossy green leaves of shrubs or the ornamental drama of long grasses bring finesse to a garden.

Foliage plants come in various shades of green and also variegated patterns of white, gold, and red, yellow, blue, or bronze that can act as a focal point or an accent in a colour scheme.

Leaf texture is an important element in the foliage garden; if foliage plants are limited to only one type of leaf texture or even a few, the garden could become uninteresting to look at.

It's best to include a wide range of textures, from waxy and rough to fuzzy and smooth.

If you want to use foliage to add structure and interest, here are plants to get you started:

Bromeliads, lamb's ears, hostas, xanthorrea (grass trees), flax, wallaby grasses, lomandra, dianella, carex, bamboo, ginger, strelitzia (bird of paradise), cordylines, cycads, coprosma, pony tails, yucca, agave, cotton palm, elephant ears, fascicularia bicolour, golden cane palms, spider plant and viola mars.