July Foliage Follow-up

The focus on flowers during the spring and summer months can relegate foliage to the role of a bit player, at least when it comes to nursery shopping.  However, even if colors are carefully coordinated, buying too many flowering plants can create a sense of chaos in the garden, as I've learned from personal experience.  Now that I've had a larger garden to play in for 2 years, I think I've finally curbed my flower fixation.  When I plan revisions to a planting bed, I'm paying more attention to foliage than I did in the past.  I can't say that I've done an 180 degree turn but I think I can claim to be a recovering flower fanatic.

Since the beginning of this year, I've added several new foliage plants to the garden, including:

Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', the 3rd added to my back border

Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant', added around the flagstone pathway in the side yard (Sure, it flowers too, but I grow it mainly for the textured, purple-infused foliage)

'Florida Sun Jade' coleus (Solenostemon scutellariodes), currently the star attraction in a pot also containing a Japanese maple and a fuchsia

Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' and peppermint-scented Pelargonium tomentosum, merging together prettily in the side yard

3 Hypericum x moserianum 'Tricolor', slowly spreading in my back border

Strobilanthus dyeranus (aka Persian Shield), used to replace flowering plants in 2 large pots

Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass), added to the 3 placed in the back border last year

I added Rumex to the vegetable garden mainly to add foliage interest to a bed otherwise dominated by rather common vegetables:

Rumex 'Raspberry Dressing'

I also recently also picked up an interesting Chinese Evergreen for the living room.  Maybe a house plant shouldn't count for the purposes of a foliage follow-up post but it's too pretty to exclude.

Aglaonema (no ID on the variety but it may be 'Siam Pearl')

As a play on blending the inside and the outside, I also took some pictures of foliage visible from inside my living room.  Unfortunately, they didn't turn out very well - in addition to finding a way to manage window glare, I seriously need to spend some time cleaning my windows.

Persicaria 'Red Dragon', photographed from the inside of a dirty window

You can see foliage highlights of other gardeners' foliage selections on Pam's blog, Digging.  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Trouble Spot: Shade to Sun Transition

In February, the large Eucalyptus tree that dominated our side yard was removed for reasons I detailed here.  At the time, I worried about collateral damage to the surrounding garden areas.  The area most directly impacted by the loss of the tree was the bed directly adjoining the one in which the Eucalyptus formerly stood.  Instead of nearly full shade, it now receives full sun - in fact, it became the sunniest bed in my back yard.  While the tree service people did a great job of protecting the plants in that area, the plants suffered under the full sun exposure.  Within weeks of the tree's removal, the ferns had yellowed, the Pericallis (Florist's Cineraria) was burned and stunted, and the Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star' was all but dead.  I added some sun-loving annuals like the Nemophila menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes), shown in the picture below, and, later, Layia platyglossa (Tidytips) but, as time went on, the bed looked worse and worse.  Only the pansies seemed to enjoy the change in sun exposure.

Former shade bed in March

The plants in the former shade bed also didn't blend particularly well with the plants I'd selected to fill the adjoining bed formerly occupied by the Eucalyptus.  I probably should tear out all the plants in the former shade bed and start from scratch but I'm giving the largest ones, 3 Acanthus mollis and 2 Arthropodium cirratum (Renga Lilies), a reprieve to see if they can adjust.  Both varieties are said to handle full sun but it remains to be seen if that's true when the sun is accompanied by high summer-time temperatures, low humidity, and regular Santa Ana winds.  I've relocated the ferns and some of the other shade plants that weren't already dead.  This weekend, I filled some of the empty spots with new plants, including Aster novae-angliae 'Skyscraper', Briza media, Teucrium betonicum, and Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina'.  In addition, I moved a Salvia leucantha 'Waverly White' from the back border to this one.  All of these plants are reported to be drought and heat tolerant.

Former shade bed after replanting

Newly planted Aster novae-angliae 'Skyscraper', said to get up to 5 feet tall and wide

Briza media (Quaking Grass), which grows 12-18 inches high

Teucrium betonicum, which should form a 3 foot mound at maturity

Verbena lilacina 'De La Mina', said to grow 2-3 feet tall and wide

Salvia leucantha 'Waverly White'

The Baby Blue Eyes I planted in February took a beating under our relentless Santa Ana winds so I pulled them out and filled in with more Ajuga repens 'Catlin's Giant' along the pathway that separates the former shade bed from the former Eucalyptus bed.  I also added Pratia pedunculata (Blue Star Creeper) between the flagstones, which is already filling in nicely.

Replanted pathway

I think the plants on the 2 sides of the path now blend together somewhat better, although I'll have to wait until some of the new plants grow up and flower before I draw any final conclusions.

Broader view of 2 adjoining beds

The next major project is to remove some of the nearly dead "lawn" surrounding these beds.  This section of grass (weeds) wasn't in good shape to begin with as it was riddled with tree roots.  When the Eucalyptus came down, it took a thorough beating because the tree service guys used it as a staging ground when they cut up the branches and trunk of the tree.  My plan is to extend the existing flagstone path to the side patio and also through the arbor toward the path that leads to the lower section of the front garden.  I'll probably fill in around the expanded path with other low-growing groundcovers.

Damaged lawn area

Instead of collateral damage, I'm trying to see all this as a new opportunity but, in any terms, it's still a lot of work.

New Planting Bed: Part 2

I wrote about the creation of a new planting bed on the site of a large Eucalyptus tree removed at the request of a neighbor here.  With all the major plants in place, the bed still looked very bare as shown below.

Bed after initial planting in February

It's hard for me to live with so much bare ground for long.  Although I'm well aware of the need to provide shrubs and perennials sufficient space to grow, I find myself filling in with annuals and other short-lived or "dispensable" plants to create a more immediate sense of fullness.  The only exception in dealing with this bed was that I actually started with a working list of fillers and edging plants.  For once, I stuck by my list - pretty much, anyway.

Here's a view of the bed with the added plants:

Bed after the addition of fillers and edging plants in March

The Plectranthus cuttings I added are almost invisible in the picture above.  The foliage of the mature plant, with purple veining and purplish undersides, is beautiful on its own but graceful lavender flower clusters add another dimension when they appear in the fall.  Whether these cuttings will make it is still questionable as they seem to be getting more sun than they'd like in this partial sun bed.

Plectranthus fruticosus (?) cuttings with Helichrysum petiolare

Mature Plectranthus fruticosus (ID unverified)

I added some purple Heuchera as planned.

Purple Heuchera hybrid 'Melting Fire' with Heuchera maxima

And Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant."

Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant'

I also added Teucrium chamaedrys (Germander) along the wall.

Teucrium chamaedrys (with annual Anagallis)

I inserted 3 very small cutting of Stachys byzantina 'Helen Von Stein' in one spot I thought could use a soft gray touch but in other spots substituted Helichrysum petiolare.  This should eventually cascade over the wall along the adjoining pathway.  In lieu of the Seslaria caerulea (Blue Moor Grass) I'd originally planned on, I used the small-sized Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' which has an airier quality but also tolerates partial shade.  When the Helichrysum fills out, the Festuca may need to come out.

Festuca galuca 'Elijah Blue (with Helichrysum petolare)

I admit to adding some things I hadn't planned on, like the annual Pericallis x hybrida (Florist's Cineraria).  I picked up the last 2 plants in the dark blue color while on a nursery trip with 2 friends who took me shopping to divert my attention from recent sad events.  When I decided that the jewel-toned plants didn't work in their intended spot, I plunked them into this bed, assuming they'll be gone long before the neighboring Loropetalum spreads out.  This 'Senetti' variety doesn't get as big and isn't as robust as the varieties I formerly grew but it has the advantage of being much less prone to leaf-miner.

Pericallis x hybridya

I also added 2 more Argyranthemum frutescens 'Elsa White.'  It's the first time I've come across a plant carrying my mother's first name and, while there are no doubt more out there, I couldn't pass on the symbolism of running across this particular plant at this particular time.

Argyranthemum frutescens 'Elsa White'

Now I'll give my selections some time and see how they do.  I'm sure I'll have to move plants that become overcrowded and replace or move plants that fail to thrive but, for now, I'll leave them alone to do their thing.