Gardening is more than just flowers and vegetables. It is also about the foliage. Foliage is something that will be present all season long even when the flowers are gone. If you chose wisely you might have foliage in the garden all year long so you need to consider foliage for three big elements; texture, contrast, and color.
Trees and shrubs are the most obvious forms that provide us with foliage. Lots and lots of foliage which is a major player in the garden in the form of leaves. Not all trees and shrubs have the same foliage. Just look at the 'Sango Kaku', red cedar, and mature oak trees in the above picture. The foliage of these three trees is completely different and that is what makes the combination pleasant. Their foliage contrasts pleasantly and the color changes make a big impact in the garden.
Another source of contrasting textural foliage with interesting color changes are the perennials. A good number of perennials disappear during the winter season, but boy do they add so much to the garden during the growing season. I have a lot of shade here in my gardens so I've had to learn to work with it. Heucheras, hostas, Japanese maples, hellebores, astilbes, brunnera, goatsbeard, forest grass, and penstemons all work well together and play off from the contrasting and textural foliage of their neighbors and all require the same or similar growing conditions. The overall effect of a mix of perennials with different textures, and contrasting colors is greater than each plant can provide individually in the garden. No flowers required.
Lastly, we'll look at how color can affect the contrast of plants in the garden. The smoketree/bush is a wonderful accent shrub for a garden. They come in all sorts of cultivars and types. The two pictured above are 'Royal Purple' (on the right) and 'Golden Spirit' on the left. I paired them together specifically so they could play off from one another and what a play! Even though the texture of the two smoke bushes is similar, the colors make each shrub pop all on their own. The bonus of a backdrop of 'Annabelle' hydrangeas in green helps to set off these brilliant colors. Foliage with different colors and tints makes a big impact.
Try to consider foliage when planning your garden and not just flowers and flower color. If you plan for texture and contrast you will have interest all year round....
in the garden....
I ask you, are these furrows in the farmer's field? Or raked leftover plant material? Look long and hard and take a guess. You have a 50/50 chance of getting it right:) I'll reveal the answer in Friday's post. Good luck!
in the garden....
Brainy seeds indeed! There can be no other description for these large orange like fruits which contain the seeds of the Osage Orange tree, aka Maclura pomifera. While still in the Army I spotted these on a run route near our base at Fort Campbell. Being from the north and being a gardener I was both fascinated and curious as to what these big things were laying all over the ground (yes even while managing to fast walk-what I call a jog-on a physical fitness route). I picked some up and took them to my office. I asked everyone what they were and no one knew. That was until a good old country 'boy' from Kentucky said, "Oh, those are hedge apples."
"What the heck are hedge apples" I asked.
"I don't know but they grow in the woods around here and where I am from. We used to throw them at each other as kids. They hurt!"
Yup, I would imagine so as they are much harder than oranges, though about the same size. On a recent visit to Anonymous's place, I asked Boy #2 and Sidekick to pick up a few of these hedge apples for me. Both boys asked what they are and what do you do with them. What do you suppose I told them?
"Why you throw them at people" Of course!
No, just kidding. I told them they are brain seeds and make the squirrels smart when they eat them. Which really might be true since squirrels love the seeds inside of these 'brains'. Chipmunks appear to love them too, as I have found a few pieces of these brainy seeds scattered around the yard, and I know that pesky chipmunk is the culprit!
Boy, I sure hope Anonymous's kiddos don't start throwing these at people.
in the garden.... I have noticed the foliage of my grape hyacinths have begun popping up. If you see these small daffodil like foliage leaves popping up, do not worry as it is normal for established clumps of grape hyacinths to grow their foliage in the fall. This is a sure sign fall is fast approaching and we will soon be planting more bulbs for a nice spring show.
