A Garden of Foliage Delights

Emma had a great idea. While flowers get all the glory in a garden, they would be nothing without their stems and leaves and many times these go unappreciated. Emma suggested we pay homage to that great green foliage we have in our gardens and I jumped right on it.

I've always been a foliage fan and welcomed this opportunity to highlight some of the great greens (and not-so-green) here at Our Little Acre. Let's get started!

Elephant Ear (Colocasia gigantea)

Romie has always been fascinated by these, so this year I bought a few bulbs and planted them. Here you can see some of the hail damage we had during a storm last week.

Sea Holly 'Sapphire Blue' (Eryngium amethestynum)
I love the veining and the serrated edges of the leaves, but this one also has beautiful flowers and the upper part of the stems are as blue as the flowers!

Gold-Striped Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola')
I bought this when I first met Kim (from A Study In Contrasts) during a visit to Cleveland last year. She recommended this for shade. It came back in fine shape after the winter. It's a slow grower though, so I bought a second one this spring.

Heuchera 'Ginger Ale'
Just love those Heucheras!

Heucherella 'Stoplight'
This is a cross of a Tiarella and a Heuchera, which are similar plants. Sometimes this one looks more yellow than it does right now. I think it depends on how much sunlight it gets. I have it in pretty much full shade right now.

Spotted Dead Nettle (Lamium maculatum 'Golden Anniversary')

Pelargonium hortorum 'Indian Dunes'
I've had this one for two years. I winter it over in the basement greenhouse.

Fern Leaf Peony (Paeonia tenuifolia 'Rubra Flora Plena')

Ornamental Oregano 'Kent Beauty' (Origanum rotundifolium)

I made sure I bought this early this year. Last year, I tried to find it mid-summer and everywhere I went they told me they had sold out of it right away. I can see why.

Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

Not only is the foliage interesting, but the stems put on their own show. When they emerge from the ground in the spring, they're blood red!

Ornamental Kale 'Nagoya Pink' (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)
I have 'Nagoya' in red, pink and white. As they grow, I prune the bottom leaves and by fall, when they're very large, they look like fancy trees.

Lungwort (Polemonium 'Trevi Fountain')
This is one of the first plants my mom gave me (for my birthday!) when I started gardening three years ago. I love the polka dotted foliage!

Lettuce 'Mesclun Mix' (Latuca sativa)
It's so pretty, I almost hate cutting it, but it keeps producing, so I'm not without it's pretty leaves for long.

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare var crispum)
I should have included this in my post about invasives, because it definitely IS. It spreads by underground runners.


Variegated Porcelain Berry Vine (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata)
This one can be invasive, too.

Tatting Fern (Athyrium filix-femina 'Frizelliae')

This hasn't been a strong grower for me, but it has reliably returned for three springs now.

October Daphne (Sedum sieboldii)

As well as having beautiful red-tinged leaves, the growth pattern is interesting and attractive, too. All the stems radiate from a central point, giving it a 'fireworks' look.

Sedum pachyclados
I love the tiny rosettes of this sedum.

Here's a two-for-one: Brunnera 'Jack Frost' (Brunnera macrophylla) and Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum)

Euphorbia 'Bonfire'

Euphorbia 'Chameleon'

Euphorbia myrsinites a.k.a. Donkeytail Spurge
Yes, I'm enamored with Euphorbias.

Yucca filamentos 'Color Guard'

Flowering Maple (Abutilon pictum 'Variegata')
I haven't had this very long and it hasn't bloomed yet, but I imagine it will have orange blooms. Most of the variegated ones do.

Astilbe 'Colorflash'
I found this at half-price at Meijer last fall, and snatched it right up. I'd read about it earlier in the summer and wanted it. Good things come to those who wait!

Balsam a.k.a. Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens balsamina)
These are volunteers from last year and they appeared all over the garden, due to the explosive nature of the seed pods. I transplanted the healthiest ones to another area.


Heuchera 'Midnight Rose'
And my love affair with Heucheras goes on and on...

Bloody Dock (Rumex sanguineus) grows well in the ground and in our little pond.

This is just one of four different Coleus plants that I have planted in a shaded area in front of the honeysuckle trellis. None of them were marked as to which cultivar they are. :-(

I've enjoyed taking another look at my garden in a slightly different way and I hope you have, too!