Let there be brightness! On a grey windy day it is a great relief to retreat to the warmth of the Begonia House in the Wellington Botanic Garden. Ahhh - to have a moment in the soft moist warmth of the tropics. Coleus is a tropical plant from Southeast Asia often grown for its brilliant - some would say strident - display of multicoloured leaves. This one is Solenostemon scutellarioides - there are other plants also called coleus. The leaves can be very decorative in shape - these have scalloped edges to a varying degree - I think they would be described as having crenate margins in botanical terms.
It may sound fanciful, but to my eyes we have:
the golden yellow and lime green of sunshine,
![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59461914b6ac507c7c511495/t/59461a7e8eaa89cff0c49f67/1357862039977/1000w/20130109_coleuscolour_0002.jpg)
burnt sienna, pink and lime green of a warm day
![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59461914b6ac507c7c511495/t/59461a7e8eaa89cff0c49f68/1357862152877/1000w/20130109_coleuscolour_0004.jpg)
and a sunset of brilliant pink, lilac and purples.
![](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59461914b6ac507c7c511495/t/59461a7e8eaa89cff0c49f69/1357862712447/1000w/20130109_coleuscolour_0001.jpg)
And another day is around the corner...