The day after Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is Foliage Followup, hosted by Pam at the blog Digging. Hold onto your hats, I have a lot more foliage right now than flowers, and some of it might even be interesting.
It seems like only a couple of days ago that I was down on my knees, weeding this patch and wondering where my 'Gold Heart' bleeding hearts were. They seem to have burst out of the soil!
Nearby in the same bed are three large-leaved foliage plants with gold highlights, planted last fall (the bleeding hearts are three years old). I just hope I haven't overdone it. Maybe my thinking was to let them fight it out amongst themselves. I always assume when I plant up an area that something is going to up and die on me.
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| Farfugium japonicum 'Aureomaculatum' |
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| Acanthus mollis (but can I remember which one? No. It has mottled golden early leaves, which eventually fade to green) |
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| Variegated Petasites |
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| Beneath that trio of large leaves is this lemony-limey Heuchera |
Also nearby is this bulbous monstrosity, looking a bit like a prop from an Alien movie.
It's Rheum palmatum x tanguticum, ornamental rhubarb. Not for eating.
Around the corner and at the front:
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| Cyclamen hederifolium |
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| Primula marginata 'Mauve Mist' (no flowers yet, but who needs flowers with leaves like that?) |
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| Another scene from Alien, Podophyllum pleianthum is rearing its umbrella-shaped head |
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| Filipendula 'Red Umbrellas' |
My favorite of all hardy Geraniums is Mourning Widow, Geranium phaeum 'Samobor'. During last weekend's dry sunny days, I moved several clumps to the front of one of my beds, rather than leaving them scattered around the garden in random spots. At first they were a bit droopy, but this week's recent rain has revived them and they seem to be settling in.
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| Such a nice round shape! |
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| Along the woodland path a yellow Corydalis has seeded itself around, appearing in random spots. I love its deceptively delicate foliage. |
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| Planted just last year, Jeffersonia diphylla, aka twinleaf, promptly disappeared, but is now up, I'm glad to see. |
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| This dreadfully out-of-focus shot is Trillium ovatum. |
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| Its big sister nearby is almost ready to flower! |
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| Arum italicum 'Jack Sprat' is a reliable dry shade performer. |
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| It just occurred to me while looking at my photos, that this
variety's dark spots make it a good foil for black mondo grass, which
seems to thrive just about anywhere. |
I think I found a good spot for my recently purchased Cardiocrinum giganteum, in part shade in well-amended but well-draining soil. It's still tiny, and probably won't flower for another 7 years, so keep your fingers crossed for me.
I could keep going, but I'm sure you're getting bored. I'm just really thrilled to see so much recent activity in the garden.
To see more great foliage, check out Pam's blog
Digging, where she is highlighting a recent trip to the conservatory at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. In the comments there will be plenty of links to other bloggers' posts.
