Foliage Follow-Up - February 2012

Geranium 'Ann Folkard'
Finding interesting foliage around the garden at this time of year is far easier than finding blooms...even in my mostly-deciduous garden! Normally there wouldn't be Geranium foliage around at this point (well, except for Geranium macrorrhizum), but this year a few of them remained evergreen, including 'Ann Folkard', which even had a long-lasting show of it's autumnal coloring, shown above.


Saxifraga stolonifera
I got this during our spring Plant Nerd Road Trip...oddly, I can't remember who gave it to me anymore! It's a pleasant little low-grower. with wonderful foliage...I especially love the little hairs that grow on the leaves, and you can't quite tell, but the underside of the leaves is a wonderful, rich burgundy.


Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'
I doubt this is normally evergreen, but again, it has been this winter. I love the color of this foliage...it supposedly reseeds like crazy, but I haven't noticed any seedlings so far.


Geranium 'Katherine Adele'
Another Geranium that isn't typically evergreen, this one has looked wonderful all winter...just love it.

Corydalis 'Bronze Beauty'		Artemisia 'Powis Castle'

Euphorbia 'Faded Jeans'
I've mentioned before that I have a love/hate relationship with this plant. I loved it during its first year, when it was a compact little mound of foliage, then, unfortunately, it bloomed and has looked ratty ever since. I'm not sure what to do about it...cut it to the ground and hope for the best? Give it away to someone more forgiving? I might give it another year...but in a garden as small as mine, I don't have room to indulge plants that never quite look decent...except for winter :-(


Heuchera 'Marmalade'
Another plant that looks amazing for a while in spring...then kind of sulks during the heat of summer. I'm also giving this one more year to prove itself.


Bracken Fern and Oxalis oregana
Now this is a grouping that exemplifies what most people think of as typically Pacific Northwestern...both of these plants are abundant in wild areas...and really do look perfect together.


Oxalis oregana
Another selection of our native Wood Sorrel...this time with a red reverse to the leaves!


Pennisetum 'Hameln'
Of course, one of the biggest components of my winter garden are the dormant grasses. At this time of year, right before I cut them back in a few weeks, they are mostly bleached out and have very subtle color. They are also at their most ephemeral...mere ghosts of their former selves.


Panicum 'Shenandoah'
One of my favorite grasses, the Panicums have wonderfully sturdy winter form...even though our recent heavy snow flattened them for a day, they popped right back up. Love the subtle variations of color between this the other grasses.


Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues'
I'm fascinated by the constant change in the coloring of Schizachyrium. From spring green to a steely-blue during summer it transitions to reds, oranges and purples in fall, only to fade to a subtle silvery-pink during winter...amazing!


Stipa gigantea
Some grasses, like the above Stipa, are atually evergreen in our mild climate...this Stipa, which I'll have to move this spring, forms an arching mound of very fine leaves.


Uncina rubra
The tiny hook sedge I bought because Norm liked it this spring...I do love the color...but it's just so SMALL! It gets a bit overwhelmed during summer...will have to move it this spring...perhaps a contrasting container of some sort...to really show it off?


Anemanthela lessoniana
My absolute favorite grass for winter color...also knows as Pheasant's Tail Grass. I have a few of these, and the ones in the backyard (which gets no direct sun from October-April or so) remain mostly olive-green with just a bit of orange and gold thrown in. This one, however, which gets some midday sun, positively GLOWS...love it!

For more fab foliage, head over to Digging, hosted every month by the wonderful Pam Penick!