We all want more color in our landscapes and usually concentrate on flowering annuals and perennials. But often overlooked are plants with colorful foliage. Let’s take a look at a few of my favorite purple and reds. I’ve been growing Black Pearl ornamental pepper for several years and it is a favorite. The foliage starts off as chartreuse and quickly transitions to dark purple. The round marble sized fruit are bright red and slowly change to purplish-black. The full sun coleus are known for their colorful foliage, but Big Red Judy is a real stunner. Growing up to 3 feet tall and wide the brilliant red foliage is vibrant in the full sun. A big plus is that Big Red Judy is slow to flower which makes it a great lower maintenance landscape plant. But the one plant I am most excited about is the newly introduced Delta Jazz crape myrtle. Delta Jazz was developed by personnel at Mississippi State University. The foliage starts out as a rich raspberry maroon and matures to a dark mahogany brown. The foliage makes a good background when the medium pink flowers appear in mid to late summer. The unique foliage color makes Delta Jazz a good candidate to be used as a specimen plant. Plants with colorful foliage can be used in lieu of flowering plants. And why not? These plants have attractive foliage that is showy without having to rely solely on any flowers. I’m Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.