Shoots of many deciduous shrubs wilt quickly so are rarely seen in floral shops. You must use them quickly after cutting or condition them before use by standing them in deep cold water overnight. The red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa) in the yellow-leaved form ‘Plumosa Aurea’ has divided leaves of a rich butter-yellow with a purplish flush. The common elder is parent to some desirable garden plants that do well in the poorest soil and almost any conditions. The best is Sambucus nigra, especially ‘Guincho,’ which is purple when grown in the sun. It has the added bonus of pretty, pale pink flower heads in early summer.
The purple forms of the smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) have become more popular than the green. When pruned hard every second year, the bushes make compact growth with long stems for cutting; the green forms have vivid scarlet autumn color. Vines offer rich purple leaves with extra autumn fire. For the biggest leaves on the biggest plant try Vitis coignetiae or in small gardens grow V. vinifera ‘Purpurea.’
The most admired herbaceous leaves must be the Hosta. Leaves vary from just a few inches long to broad plates in green, gray or yellow. In autumn and winter the firmest ones take on a golden translucence and last for weeks before hard frosts fell them. More substantial for winter arrangements are the leathery, round, evergreen leaves of Bergenia, which are tinged red at the rim.
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Deciduous shrubs like Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) wilt quickly, but can be used in floral arrangements.