Foliage Follow-Up May 2011

Excitement builds as this aralia shows signs of life. Aralia cordata ‘Sun King,’ slightly bug-eaten, from Plant Delights, planted fall 2010.
I’ve been hovering over this one, coddling it, schlepping gallons of water to it in the very back of the garden, adding lots of mulch to keep it cool.
I’m not too sure how much shade this one will need to keep from burning. So blindingly chartreuse, the camera picks up very few leaf details.

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I replaced some winter-blooming annuals in this container with this tough shrub for summer.
Ozothamnus ‘Sussex Silver,’ mimicking the columnar growth of a dwarf, silvery cypress.
I didn’t like where I had planted it in the front garden, so will keep it potted for now. Old, dried flowers hanging on.

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Athanasia acerosa has it all, arresting foliage, great flowers to lure me and insects.
These yarrow-like blooms last a long, long time.

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This teucrium I bought last summer under the name ‘Fairy Dust’ has been a wonderful surprise. Planted in a dry, narrow strip, full sun.
Here a branch leans toward the ground, snuggling up to a cotyledon, but it’s otherwise an upright grower to about 3 feet. Small white flowers.

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Fallopia baldschuanica ‘Lemon Lace,’ from the knotweed family, formerly polygonum. The silver fleece vine, for shade.

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It’s true, chartreuse gets a lot of play in my garden. (Some might say too much for such a small garden.)
Pheasant berry, Leycestria formosa, a cut-back shrub, moved closer to the hose spigot last year but still in dappled sun most of the day.

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Corrugated leaves of “dinosaur” or Tuscan kale.

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Thanks to Pam at Digging for giving us a chance to strut our favorite leaves every month.

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5 Responses to Foliage Follow-Up May 2011

  1. Pam/Digging says:

    I quite like those nubbly Tuscan kale leaves. Are you growing it as an ornamental, or do you eat it as well? The Ozothamnus ‘Sussex Silver’ is also really eye-catching. You can see I’m drawn to silvery plants, which is just as well since they do so well in central Texas.

  2. Greggo says:

    Had to take a second look, with the unusual plant material. ahh california…Nice blog and post . will come again. liked your article on high line also.

  3. Kathy says:

    I have no fewer than 4 different Teuchriums now in my garden-I believe this is yet another genus I’m collecting. Now you’ve shown me one I don’t have. I’m sure I could squeeze it in somewhere !

  4. Kaveh says:

    Love that Athanasia acerosa. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

  5. Denise says:

    Pam, the kale is delicious! I’m a big fan of the silvery too.
    Greggo, glad you came by. Wonderful spring you’re having in Kansas.
    Kathy, I bet you have the Teucrium betonicum from AA. Mine’s showing a few bloom spikes.
    Kaveh, I’m coming across a few West Coast blogs mentioning athanasia but don’t know much about its introduction. Very cool plant.

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