Nifty succulent combination
Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida' I've had a couple of these for several years. They don't seem to be putting on much growth but produce a nice crop of these cool leaves each year so I'll not complain.
On the other hand Banksia grandis has grown very rapidly from a small 4" pot. It even lived through the winter in the glass room.
Pelargonium 'Indian Princess'
Symplocarpus foetidus aka Skunk Cabbage
With foliage like this, who needs flowers?
We all love the gorgeous blue flowers of pulmonaria but it's spotted foliage that lasts all summer for me is equally beautiful. The debris all over everything is courtesy of the huge cherry tree we inherited with the garden.
Rhododendron sinogrande is the largest leaved rhododendron that we can grow. I've never seen one in bloom and don't care if this never does as the huge foliage is what does it for me with this plant!
New leaves unfurl dramatically. They'll hold on to this white color for a while before turning glossy greeen.
Speaking of foliage that unfurls beautifully, many members of the araliaceae, like this Schefflera delavayi, are certainly drama queens!
Impatiens omeiana is looking happy despite the heat.
Pam at Digging hosts Foliage Follow Up each month on the day after Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day to remind us of the importance of foliage in our gardens every day. Click on over to her site to see foliage catching the eye of garden bloggers all over the place!
I love this random, almost-dark outside, pictures with flash edition of FF! I try to remember to take foliage shots while I'm collecting pictures for GBBD, but I know with your crazy work schedule it's not always possible to be that organized. That Schefflera looks like an alien creature rising out of the soil to grab you!
ReplyDeleteI usually do the same thing but didn't get as much foliage this time and wanted to save some foliage images for a future post so - night photography it was. The Schefflera will grab you in a year or two as someone planted it too close to the path. Bwahaha...
DeleteYou, and everything seem to be doing very well. You know your Banksia's an Aussie, I guess?
ReplyDeleteIndeed. We are very fond of growing many of your native plants here!
DeleteLate evening photos are so dramatic. If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd have thought it was planned.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks good. I love drama queens in the garden. I hate the waiting, though.
Things seem happy for now. Sometimes the anticipation is as delectable as the event itself.
DeleteGreat photos Peter, very dramatic. That banksia is amazing and love that you included your cutleaf oak too as it's the subject of my favorite post today!
ReplyDeleteThe banksia would be even more amazing if someone hadn't accidentally dribbled liquid fertilizer on some of the leaves. I rinsed it off very quickly but still that evil phosphorous left brown spots! We need to move to California so we can grow this stuff in the ground!
DeleteFire that one, you deserve better help than that.
DeleteIt's so hard to get good help these days.
DeleteGreat foliage from top to bottom. I'm glad you ventured out when it was almost dark.
ReplyDeleteOne of these months I'll get my act together enough to participate in Foliage Follow Up!
Thanks Gerhard! Hope you have a wonderful weekend playing in the garden!
DeleteYour late evening photos make the plants and garden look even more lush and dramatic and jungle-like. Everything looks absolutely gorgeous! I love the picture with the Podophyllum, and not only for the Podophyllum itself. So many great plants in that one photo.
ReplyDeleteSome gardener can't control his plant lust and keeps stuffing plants in even when there isn't sufficient space.
DeleteYou could set a trend for photographing our gardens in the evening, they all look so good! You have a fantastic selection of beautiful leaves which show that you don't need flowers for interest. Your succulent combination is especially pleasing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pauline. I'm very fond of foliage!
DeleteAll good pics but I particularly like that succulent combination at the start of the post!
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice combination and I was lucky that I didn't hold my finger in front of the lens like usual!
DeleteI love the shape of those Quercus dentata leaves.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful tree!
DeleteIt's like you're gardening by flashlight, which I have actually done -- and I bet I'm not the only one. I enjoyed the new perspective for Foliage Follow-Up!
ReplyDeleteThanks Pam. I've put up a clip light so that I could keep gardening after dark before. Of course if you garden in Alaska, you can garden all day and all night as it's light so long there in the summer!
DeleteRhododendron sinogrande is humbling in it's hugeness. Even though you don't mind if it never blooms, it would be amazing to see and I hope it does. Maybe it needs to mature some.
ReplyDeleteI've seen them in pictures and they need to be quite a bit bigger than mine to bloom. The flowers are large and mostly white - o.k. but nothing as spectacular as the foliage. Might be an entirely different experience in person.
DeleteI'd consider the slow growth on the Pinnafida a blessing, and oh, what beautiful leaves. Do you have sinogrande in a sheltered spot? Even with protection, ours looks much worse for the wear. Like most everyone else, I think you're onto something with the evening photos.
ReplyDeleteSinogrande is right next to the house in a pot just above a basement window that probably leaks some heat in the winter. It's also sheltered by some bamboo and the neighbor's house is fairly close at this point so it's sort of a sweet spot for plants that are a bit touchy about cold.
DeleteI can see so many awesome foliage...I think your evening photos look great, maybe it gives the foliage an extra sense of mystery.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to take outdoor flash pictures in low light situations. Glad you liked the effect.
DeleteI love all your foliage plant photos. Rhododendron sinogrande is fabulous. I don't have it in my garden and I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out where I could plant one. However, I've got tons of Pulmonaria and you're so right about it being just as valuable as the flowers. Your spread is a amazing. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace. Rhododendron sinogrande seems to be happy in a pot. Would that open up any more possibilities for placement in your garden?
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