I don't know if I can rightly call this a foliage followup, since I didn't post any pictures of flowers yesterday for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. The only plants flowering out there are a couple of sickly-looking supermarket primroses, shivering right down to their roots (like me, when I was taking these pictures).
In truth, the foliage would be completely unremarkable as well, if not for our frosty weather. The last few days have seen temps down in the low 20s at night, and struggling to reach the upper 30s during the day, even with the sun out. Frost is a great equalizer, it improves just about everything. It also provides a good lesson in micro-climates. Where does the frost strike worst? Where does it not strike at all, or just barely? And where does it linger longest, despite sunny days?
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| Oak leaves, hanging on |
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| Callistemon subulatus |
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| Pink Muhly grass, planted this past fall |
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| Seedheads of Panicum virgatum 'Blood Brothers" with frozen water droplets shining in the sun |
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| Euphorbia |
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| Lavender and Carex testacea |
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| Black mondo grass and Mexican feather grass |
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| Geranium and thyme |
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| Tetrapanax |
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| Oak leaves and something prickly whose name escapes me (the tag is in there somewhere frozen into the soil, and I won't be reaching in to tug it out any time soon) |
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| The back of a Heuchera leaf |
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| Northern sea oats/Chasmanthium latifolium |
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| Chasmanthium seedheads |
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| Rubus lineatus |
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| Yucca 'Bright Star" showing a touch of the pink edges it is known for |
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| Frozen Lavender |
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| 'Fat Albert' Blue Spruce, with tiny frost threads in the needles |
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| Agave ovatifolia |
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| Agave americana |
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| Wondering how mushy this will be when it thaws |
Still with me? You stubborn, hardy soul.
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| Frost even improves the look of weeds... |
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| ...And twigs |
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| Unfortunately the cold has done nothing to deter the dreaded string algae in the stream |
I want you to know I struggled mightily against a semi-frozen brain to come up with plant names for this post. For some reason I wanted to call every grass Miscanthus, despite the fact that none of them is.
Pam at the blog Digging hosts Foliage Followup, on the 16th of every month, the day after Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Its purpose is to celebrate foliage, the under-appreciated, minimum-wage workhorse of every garden.
Go there now to see her post on Yummy Yuccas and to check out the other bloggers who have left links to their own posts.
