Friday, May 21, 2021

It can be hard to find the foliage for the flowers

It's the time of year when almost everything seems to be blooming and, under those circumstances, it can be hard to see the foliage elements in the garden but they're there.  They manage to make a statement on their own, sometime subtly and sometimes not.  As the flowers practically shout "look at me," it seems a good time to give some of the foliage standouts in my garden a closer look.

In general, the Abelias in my garden aren't shy about showing off.

Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated' would probably swamp the Leptospermum next to it if I allowed that

Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope' is only somewhat less intent on world domination

In the case of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', it's its texture and sheer size that commands attention.


I planted a variegated Helichrysum petiolare next to this 'Cousin Itt' to give it a little extra pep

This combination of 'Cousin Itt' and two varieties of Aeonium, A. arboreum and A. haworthii 'Kiwi' , wasn't really planned on my part but it's now one of my favorite foliage combinations.   These particular Aeoniums form tight clusters, making it look as though they're climbing up a wall.

Aeoniums creep into my photos with regularity as they're one of my go-to plants to use en masse as fillers but some demand notice all by themselves.

This is Aeonium 'Jack Catlin', which I originally saw at The Huntington Gardens and finally managed to procure by mail order a couple years ago

I picked up Aeonium 'Velour' on a nursery/garden center road trip a few years ago

Aeonium atropurpurea 'Zwartkop' finally achieved the presence necessary to play off the 'Blue Glow' Agaves as I'd envisioned when I planted it from a small pot

I wasn't thinking about the surrounding Aeoniums when I took photos of the Agaves and Aloe shown below but they show up anyway, this time as accents to the larger succulents.

These four Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' (as well as a fifth some distance away on the left) were planted as pups of the first A. desmettiana I bought years ago.  That plant and a second in the nearby street-side succulent bed bloomed out in 2018-2019 but the "pups" are now larger than the parent plant was when I purchased it.

This is a hybrid Aloe vanbalenii x striata I picked up in a 4-inch pot at my local botanic garden in October 2018.  Its label said "medium-sized" but I've never been sure what that means; however, so far, it fits in nicely along the moderate slope atop this dry-stacked wall.

I have several shrubs that make significant statements without flowers, although all do flower on a seasonal schedule each year.

While I've seen flowers on the tall peppermint willow trees, I've yet to notice them on these dwarf shrubs,  Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'.  However, as I routinely find tiny seedlings in the surrounding area, I have to believe there are flowers in there somewhere.  I frequently use stems cut from these three shrubs as a foliage filler in floral arrangements. 

Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' produces a couple of flushes of peachy-pink bottlebrush flowers when the weather turns warm.  Right now, all its energy is going into producing fresh leaves.

I cut this Cotinus coggygyria 'Royal Purple' back hard every year to manage its size.  It's never produced the "smoke puffs" responsible for its common name, perhaps for that reason.

I've yet to successfully manage the size of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'

I cut back this Senna bicapsularis I foolishly planted between the fence and the concrete stairway that leads down the slope every year but never as hard as I did in late winter this year.  I was afraid I might have killed it but it looks great right now.  I would be sad to lose it as its a host plant for the cloudless sulphur butterflies.

Lastly, as they're looking particularly good at the moment, here's a look at my Japanese maples.

This is the dwarf Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa'.  It's been in the ground just over 7 years old now but it's only 31 inches tall.  It's said to be a good subject for bonsai. 

I planted this Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' about ten years ago and it's provided my best experience thus far with Japanese maples, probably because it's relatively protected from both wind and the sun's most intense rays in this spot on the east side of our garage

I was so happy with 'Sango Kaku' that I bought another one a few months ago when I found it at a reasonable price.  Positioned in partial shade behind the hedge that runs along the street, I hope it'll flourish as the other specimen has.  The grass-like plants in front of it are Lomanda 'Platinum Breeze'.

That's it for my spring foliage highlights.  It's been pleasantly cool here of late as our morning marine layer has returned, keeping our temperatures in the 60sF.  Weather forecasters have been teasing the prospect of drizzle and possibly real rain all week but online sources currently suggest that our chances of that have evaporated.  Oh well.  A friend and I have plans to visit some of my favorite garden centers a few hours to the north on Saturday so at least weather conditions won't be an issue.

Enjoy your weekend!


All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party


22 comments:

  1. I love the name "Cousin Itt!" Amazing acacia. A whole 'nother side to your garden from the blooms I usually stop in to see!

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    1. Well, I am a flora-holic, Lisa, but I have an ample supply of foliage plants, including a whole lot of succulents, too ;)

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  2. When I saw that photo with the combination of 'Cousin Itt' and two varieties of Aeonium on Instagram I swooned, but it's even better here on my laptop (larger!). of course the photos that followed with agave and aeonium combinations were equally gorgeous. You do foliage so well Kris!

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    1. If I could hear them, I expect my foliage plants are constantly whispering complaints about the small amount of coverage they receive on this blog and how unfair that is...

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  3. Those aeoniums are magnificent. Only you can grow them so good.

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    1. Thanks Lisa, although I think anyone who lives along the coast in SoCal could do the same if they chose to ;)

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  4. Your flowers are always spectacular, and your foliage equally so, so I love when you feature them. Loving all your Aeoniums and the shot of 'Cousin Itt' and two varieties of Aeonium, A. arboreum and A. haworthii 'Kiwi' is awesome. You have a gift for combining attractive and complementary textures. Beautiful!

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    1. It really was serendipity that that Acacia/Aeonium combination came together like it did, Eliza. I can't claim I visualized the end product when I put the two together.

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  5. Your Aeonium/Cousin Itt combo is just so splendid ! Jack Cailtin was the first I ever had make it thorough the winter here so I picked up a couple of Kiwi verde and they have not blinked an eye through the numerous frosts we had in lieu of rain.

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    1. 'Kiwi Verde' is one tough plant, Kathy. My only complaint is that it flowers more heavily than any other Aeonium - or really any other succulent - I grow. As I'm known as something of a flower freak, that complaint may seem odd but, in the case of Aeoniums in particular, the flower spikes throw off the symmetry of the plants. I don't mind a few succulent flowers here and there but "Kiwi Verde' goes overboard.

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  6. I have never seen Aeoniums grown as well as you do in your garden. For me they are always the show stealers.

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    1. I've said that, if I was to give a name to my garden, it might be Aeoniumville, Elaine. They do very well in this location, luckily for me.

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  7. You do so well at design, Kris. And it's so nice when the plants kick in and add their special combinations, too.

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  8. That combination of 'Cousin Itt' and Aeonium is glorious! I'm a sucker for succulents (no pun there!) - the more the better, as far as I'm concerned.

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    1. Many succulents must be a challenge to grow in your climate, Margaret, although I know that at least Sempervivums and Sedums like colder conditions than mine.

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  9. Loving the Cotinus coggygyria 'Royal Purple'. What a beautiful colour :)

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    1. It's a gorgeous plant, even if it never blooms.

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  10. You are killing me with that glorious 'Itt'. You are breaking my heart.

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    1. I think I was just lucky, HB. I got my plants early on when the nurseries were offering well-rooted specimens and planted them all before our dry conditions worsened.

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