Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Foliage Follow-up - 4/20/2011

I know I'm a bit late on this one, but just couldn't get my act together this weekend!

Nepeta Walkers Low
Nepeta 'Walkers Low'
As much as I love the flowers of Nepeta, I adore it's purplish stems and downy gray-green foliage even more...so striking, especially in spring.

geranium ann folkard april 18 2011
Geranium 'Ann Folkard'
Even if it never flowered, I'd grow this Geranium for it's foliage...a wonderful, bright chartreuse. I enjoy how it winds its way throughout the garden...ending up over 6' away by summer only to die completely back every winter.

Oxalis Oregana april 18 2011
Oxalis oregana
My little patch of Oxalis continues to expand and fill in.

heucherella sweet tea april 18 2011
Heucherella 'Sweet Tea'
This was a total impulse buy last spring, and its spring color is breathtaking, especially in contrast to the delightful apple-green Oxalis. Sadly, the color darkens considerably during the summer and is a bit drab.

pennisetum april 18 2011
Pennisetum spatheolatum
Nice, bright blades scream "Spring"!

euphorbia faded jeans april 18 2011 2
Euphorbia 'Faded Jeans'
My favorite Euphorbia, in spite of its diminuitive size. It's evergreen and a great textural accent to everything around it.

persicaria red dragon april 18 2011
Persicaria 'Red Dragon'
Photos can't quite capture the intensely saturated burgundy/scarlet coloring of the fresh growth of this perennial.

persicaria red dragon v april 18 2011  196

echinops april 18 2011  194
Persicaria 'Red Dragon'Echinops bannaticus

baptisia purple smoke april 18 2011
Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'
I always thought Baptisias were pretty, but wasn't terribly tempted by them. Then, last fall, I saw this variety with chalky purple stems...and I knew I had to have it :-)

geranium katherine adele april 18 2011
Geranium 'Katherine Adele'
Another perennial Geranium, this one with heavily marked leaves...really striking.

euphorbia dixter april 19 2011  201

dewy crocosmia  198
Euphorbia 'Dixter'Dew on Crocosmia 'Orangeade'

sedum angelina april 18 2011  193
Sedum 'Angelina'
These looked really, REALLY scraggly at the end of winter, but are starting to fill out nicely again.

tulip april 18 2011

linaria purpurea april 18 2011
Tulip 'Queen of the Night'Linaria purpurea
This Linaria is another plant that I was on the cusp of buying, and upon seeing the contrasting stems, snatched them up.

parrotia foliage april 16 2011  188
Parrotia persica
I love the wonderful, pleated foliage on the Parrotias.

monarda raspberry wine april 16 2011  178
Monarda 'Raspberry Wine'
The newest growth on 'Raspberry Wine' is always slightly flushed with red...a nice touch, and the foliage is a deep, rich green.

GeraniumBlogold april 18 2011
Geranium 'Blogold' (Blue Sunrise)
This foliage on this Geranium is almost unbelievably bright.

rheum palmatum Horizontal april 16 2011  175
Rheum palmatum tanguticum
Now that the Rheum is up and growing, it seems to be expanding by the moment...I even found 2 additional buds emerging near the original crown...awesome!

agastache golden jubilee april 18 2011
Agastache 'Golden Jubilee'
The earliest and fastest-growing of all my Agastaches ('Black Adder' and 'Blue Forture' are JUST emerging). I love the golden spring foliage (later fades to a mellow chartreuse), especially in combination with the purplish new growth.

rodgersia april 18 2011  195
Rodgersia podophylla 'Rotlaub'
The ones I planted last year are just emerging, I got 3 more at Dennis 7 Dees sale rack this spring for $5 each...SCORE! This is one of my all-time favorite foliage plants, a mature clump is a sight to behold.

lupine april 18 2011
Lupine

fennel april 18 2011  191
Foeniculum (Bronze Fennel)
I know Fennel grows like a week all around Portland, but I still love their delicate, ferny foliage, especially the bronze variety.

maidenhair fern
Maidenhair Fern
This little speciment I got last fall is just emerging, can't wait for it to settle in and really get going.

heuchera marmalade april 18 2011
Heuchera 'Marmalade'
I don't have many Heuchera, but the few I do have are really invaluable for their year-long contribution of color and texture.

columbine dewy april 18 2011
Columbine 'Tequila Sunrise'
If only the Columbine foliage could look like this all season!

persicaria lance corporal april 19 2011  203
Persicaria 'Lance Corporal'

oxalis crassipes
Oxalis crassipes
I love how this Oxalis forms a perfect hemisphere of foliage.

nepeta sunrise april 18 2011
Nepeta 'Walkers Low'
We end as we began, but in the sun, with 'Walkers Low'. What's up and growing for all you?

17 comments:

  1. What a feast to look at! The lighting in these photos gives such exclamation to these delicate first leafings. Each is so distinct and so unusual... the details get lost when the plants fully emerge and take their complete forms, but right now each leaf is a delight.

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  2. So many beautiful plants...so many questions! First off do you remember where you found Euphorbia 'Faded Jeans'? I would love a couple of these. And what a score on those Rodgersia! I got mine at Cistus and paid (a bit) more. Which 7-Dees do you go to, Powell? I need to visit. And your Lupine, do you have issues with slugs eating the foliage? Their leaves have got to be one of the slugs favorite things in my garden. Just one more...the Rheum palmatum tanguticum how long have you had it and what conditions is it growing in? My only plant basically just disappeared years ago.

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  3. It's been my experience too that the best color on Heuchera/ellas is in spring. My Georgia Peach looks stunning right now. If it held that color all summer... Major score on the Rodgersias! Such eye-catching eye candy once again, Scott. Love all your photos.

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  4. Beautiful foliage photos, thanks for posting them! My Rodgersia is not showing the slightest sign of life, but maybe it's still just asleep, if yours are just waking up.

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  5. Laurrie: You are so right...I love how right now, every little happening is cause for celebration...it's such a fun time to continuosly check out the garden just to see what's new!

    Danger: I found the Euhporbia at the Stark St. Portland Nursery last year...kind of crammed in with other "groundcovers", not that I'd categorize it as such. I usually end up there at least every other week during the summer, if I see them there, I'll grab a few for you (have been wanting some more for around the garden anyway...and if you don't need them by then, I'll just have more!). They were only there for about a week...I never saw them before or after that. The Rodgersia was a big surprise...I spent quite a bit more on my first few (from Forest Farm) last year...so I wasn't about to let these slip by. The Rheum...well...that's an example of how crazy I can be. I remember growing up that my Grandma said you could never, in any way, overfeed a rhubarb. I dug out a hole about 2' wide x almost as deep...and literally filled the whole thing with compost...that stuff with the ridiculous name "Bumper Crop" from PDX Nursery. That's where the Rheum was planted and seemed to LOVE it. I top-dressed with about 1" of additional compost as soon as I saw it coming up too...I'm probably overdoing it...but I want HUGE leaves on that sucker this year! Last year slugs decimated my Lupines (among other things) but this year, they haven't been as bad, for some reason, knock on wood. I have a huge container of Sluggo on my porch and I pick it up every morning as I head out to check on things and liberally dose any plant that seems especially juicy or at risk.

    BTW...I saw some BEAUTIFUL specimens of the Rheum (with amazing red folaige) at the Division St. PDX Nursery a few weeks ago...almost bought one...but have no idea where I'd put it! My only sadness about my Rheum is that it just doesn't have that red foliage, it's pretty much always green...oh well.

    Grace: Thanks! Wouldn't it be great if they stayed that beautiful all season...that would be amazing!

    Alison: I bet it is...I have a few different types and some of them are still not up yet either...but I haven't given up yet...the soil just needs to warm up a bit more, I think.

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  6. I need both those Geraniums! fantastic. ditto with Loree on that Euphorbia

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  7. The little euphorbia is really special. Now, to find a source!

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  8. your photos are so great! i cannot believe that you plant that oxalis - it is such a horrible weed here - it shows up everywhere - i'm glad somebody finds some beauty in it. i don't.

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  9. I love the Geraniums! So many of the plants you showed I'd love to add to my garden. This time of year I really love how the Heucheras look, they all look so fresh. I love Linaria. If I cut it back after it blooms it will bloom again. Does Persicaria spread much?

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  10. Thanks for joining in for Foliage Follow-Up. Like you, I keep saying I need to plant bronze fennel. The foliage is so striking, but I've just never felt passionate about it. And then each time I see it I wonder why. It's really lovely.

    I've collected links to other Foliage posts here, for interested parties: http://www.penick.net/digging/?p=11531

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  11. Beautiful array of foliage photos! Rheum palmatum tanguticum is my favorite. I do wish we could grow that here in the south. Too hot!

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  12. I have Sweet Tea too and have been very happy with its progress so far. Your Golden Jubilee Hyssop is really neat, I like it.

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  13. This is quite the foliage line-up. I think if I had all these, I would cut the flowers off so they did not ditract from the foliage.

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  14. Gorgeous photos. I love those two geraniums and would love to grow them but I don't think they'd like the South very much. Such great colors though.

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  15. You have some geraniums there I've never seen before. All obtained locally?

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  16. Your foliage is looking awesome! I wish I could get lupines to grow. Do the Faded Jeans Euphorbias spread very far? I have a spot for something that size.

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  17. Well now that I've seen some of your exquisite plants, exquisitely grown and photographed, I say both "Thanks a lot," with complete sarcasm (zone and gardener envy), and "Thanks a lot,", with gratitude for the eye candy. So beautiful!

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