Thursday, April 16, 2015

Foliage Follow-up: Touches of Red

It's Foliage Follow-up Day and I'm joining Pam at Digging to recognize the significant role foliage plays in creating a beautiful garden.  For this month's post, I'm focusing on some of the foliage plants that add touches of red to my garden.

Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' is sporting lots of new growth in an orange-red color.  I have 3 of these peppermint-scented plants in the south-side garden bed adjacent to the patio.

The color of the Agonis' new growth is echoed in the foliage of Phormium 'Amazing Red,' Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' and various succulents

The same Agonis, photographed from the other direction

Close-up of the wavy stems and curly leaves of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'


I love the Leptospermum polygalifolium 'Copper Glow' I planted in my front garden in November but it always seems to be either too dark or too sunny to get a good photograph.  The best I could do today was this:

A graceful stem of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' hangs above Phormium 'Maori Queen'


Another relatively new plant with red touches is Dianella tasmanica 'Tasred,' which I picked up from the Australian Native Plants Nursery in March.

The base of these Dianellas is red 


During that same shopping trip, at Sperling Nursery, I picked up Helleborus 'Anna's Red.'

I presume that Helleborus 'Anna's Red' gets it's name from the color of its flowers but there's also a touch of red in the stems and the base of the leaf cluster


The biggest splash of red color I'll share today comes from an Aeonium I picked up early last year.  It didn't come with a label but my best guess is that it's Aeonium 'Garnet,' reported to be a hybrid of A. arboreum 'Zwartkop' and A. tabuliforme.

Unlike A. 'Zwartkop,' this Aeonium hasn't developed tall stalks


My last foliage pick this month is Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' (aka coral bark maple).  Planted early in 2011, not long after we moved in, it's the most successful Japanese maple in my garden, possibly because it had a chance to get established before I began ratcheting down the irrigation in my garden.  Its placement beside the garage, where it's protected from the wind and receives only morning sun, probably also helps.

Acer Sango Kaku' has almost fully leafed out


Visit Pam at Digging to see her foliage picks this month and find links to other gardeners' foliage picks.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

22 comments:

  1. Very nice selection Kris and the agonis reminds me of acacia and Leucadendron leaves too. As for Anna's Red one of the other things I like about it are its pretty marbled leaves.

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    1. The mottled leaves on 'Anna's Red' are actually what prompted me to scoop the plant up.

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  2. You have some great plants to provide touches of red. I love red foliage! I wish the Dianella that I bought a couple of years ago had survived. But it didn't come back after its first winter.

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    1. The Dianella won't be bothered by cold here, Alison, although its water needs may present a problem - it's thirstier than most Australian plants.

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  3. Replies
    1. It is! It has become an integrating element in my garden.

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  4. Replies
    1. It's a great foliage plant. I'm getting like you - this is one case in which I wish it wouldn't flower.

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  5. I really like the splashes of red, and the mottled leaves on that Hellebore are wonderful! The Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' is stunning especially next to the phormium :-)

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    1. I bought the Leptospermum and the Phormium together, which helps a lot with color coordination.

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  6. I was particularly taken with your Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'. Too bad it gets bigger than I have room for. Why can't it be, say, 3 ft tall instead of 3 m?

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    1. The on-line sources (mostly Australian) list the Leptospermum as taller than the grower's label indicated, which was 5-6 feet tall and 6-7 feet wide - with judicious priuning I'm hoping to keep mine within those bounds.

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  7. Nothing sings against a green background like pops of red. If you photoshop your smiling faces in you've got several winning holiday photos already in the bag!

    As your watering restrictions kick in it will be interesting to see how that hones your plant choices a bit. Well, interesting for observers...if Texas gardeners' experiences are indicators it is harder, much to choose or lose when they are your own plants!

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    1. I don't expect I'll be getting more Japanese maples - or Hellebores. I began the process of shifting yet another area to succulents this week - luckily, I don't have your problems with critters chewing those up. Drought tolerant Australian plants dominate many areas of my garden already- the Agonis featured in this post hails from Australia, the Leptospermum from New Zealand. I'm also looking into more California natives and other Mediterranean plants that get by without summer water.

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  8. I love your touches of red! Interestjng foliage is one of my passions, as you may already know. You have a talent for weaving your plants together to create interest. I suspect I could spend a lot of time in your garden examining all the details. The hellebore is truly beautiful!

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    1. I fell for that Hellebore foliage at first sight, Deb, and let my heart dictate even though my head was telling me that it probably needs more water than it's going to get.

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  9. it is nice with red bladed plants.
    Your rose 'Joseph's Coat.' is fantastically beautiful
    Best regards
    Mariana

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  10. Your garden is just gorgeous! It's a testament to your skill that you have so much blooming despite your drought. :o)

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    1. As the water boards restrictions tighten, fingers are crossed that I can keep what I've got going. The rest of the mangy grass is going to come out this year and we're ordering more rain barrels (even if they're unlikely to see much activity until November).

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