Bouquet: Red & Yellow

As I've said in prior posts, I prefer to construct bouquets of flowers that are in ample supply - I don't like to cut flowers if doing so leaves holes in my garden.  Right now, there's a lot of Coreopsis 'Big Bang Redshift' in the backyard so it was the logical choice for inclusion in this week's bouquet.  This flower hasn't put its best face forward in my garden either, as I explained here.

I've noticed that these flowers are in the process of going through the "redshift" that gives them their name.    When temperatures are high, the flowers open in a butter yellow color with deep burgundy centers.  However, as the weather cools, the red tones start to dominate.  Our local temperatures are running lower than normal for this time of year, leading some forecasters to say it feels more like June than August, and Coreopsis 'Big Bang Redshift' is adjusting its coloration accordingly.  The photos below, although poor in quality, show the change.

Yellow tones dominated the early blooms

Now the majority of flowers are more red than yellow

I picked up the red/burgundy color of the Coreopsis by adding cuttings of the following plants to my bouquet:

• Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy'
• Solenostemon scutellaroides 'Mocha Mint Coleus'
• Leucadendron (no ID)

Here's the completed bouquet, offered as this week's contribution to the Garden Appreciation Society even hosted by Erin on her The Impatient Gardener blog:

I wasn't sure about inclusion of the coleus.  I haven't decided if I like this plant or not.  A friend, seeing it in the garden, asked me what was wrong with it.  With very irregularly shaped leaves in varied mixes of yellow, green and red, I admit that it can look a little scruffy.  However, in close-up, I think it's rather interesting.

The stems and leaf edges of the Leucadendron pick up the red in the other plants.  I brought this Leucadendron with me from our old house, where I had it in a large pot.  Now that it's in the ground, it's growing like gangbusters.  I originally thought it might be L. discolor 'Pom Pom' but, after seeing pictures of that plant, I don't think that's correct.  I now think it might be 'Wilson's Wonder', not that you can tell that from just the stems.  When the cones develop, it looks more yellow than red/orange as it does this time of year.

As you can see in this overly sun-exposed picture, in November, with its cone showing, it looks more yellow than red

This photo, taken at the beginning of July, reflects more varied hues

Any guesses as to the Leucadendron's name?

Foliage Follow-up for June

In keeping with the approach I took with my Bloom Day post this month, I thought I'd show some of my foliage choices in their planting context rather than sticking with individual plant close-ups as I've generally done in the past.

Aeonium with Ceanothus (no ID on either)

The Aeonium was given to me by a friend after we moved into our current house 2+ years ago.  I just stick it in the ground and it takes off.  It reproduces in a blink, which has allowed me to spread it around.  I think it looks particularly good here in partial shade combined with a Ceanothus hedge I inherited with the property.

Albizia julibrissin (Mimosa), newly leafed out in the back garden

I have a love/hate relationship with this Mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin).  It has a beautiful shape.  It provides partial shade to the patio in the summer.  In leaf, it's graceful.  The flowers, which will be along in a month or so, are lovely - for a nanosecond.  Almost as soon as it flowers, it starts dropping unattractive clumps of dried flowers and leaves, followed by an endless supply of seedpods.  Tiny Albizia seedlings sprout all over the garden - I expect I'd have a forest of Albizia if I wasn't vigilant about pulling them out.  As perspective, here's a picture of the same tree just 5 weeks ago, when it was covered only in dry seedpods:

Elsewhere in the garden, most of the plants are better about behaving themselves:

Artemisia 'Powis Castle' and an artichoke create a place for the eye to rest in my dry garden

A coleus (Solenostemon scuttellaroides 'Mocha Mint') mixes comfortably with Campanula, not yet in bloom, along a pathway

An Eucomis, grown from a bulb and not yet in flower, adds height to a pot with mixed ferns and a pink Calibrachoa

The same ferns in a matching pot on the other side of the front door, grow with an Irisine (no record of variety) and a yellow Calibrachoa

Loropetalum chinense almost overrun by Helichrysum petiolare - I'll have to reduce the number of Helichrysum in this bed to give the Loropetalum proper growing space

Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tristar' with Dryopteris erythrosora (aka Autumn Fern) outside the living room window

Pot of succulents put together as a birthday present for a good friend

For good measure, here are some additional photos of foliage that's looking particularly good in my garden right now:

Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's', still small but holding its own after 1 year in my dry garden

Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope' in its 2nd year in my back border

A mature Agave attenuata, inherited with the property, has presence in my side yard

Ajuga 'Mahogany', a low-growing groundcover, is spreading well along the edges of my front border

Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' (I think), returning after a winter buzz cut

And can anyone tell me what this is?  It planted itself along a wall in the lower front portion of my garden.  I like the foliage but it looks as though it may take over that entire section.

Mystery shrub

As always, my thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting Foliage Follow-up.  Check out Pam's site for foliage photos posted by other gardeners.

March Foliage Follow-up

A major shift in my priorities over the past couple of weeks has left me little time for this blog, which I've come to view as a welcome diversion from some of the more stressful aspects of my life, and gardening, which has always been a life-affirming activity for me.  That's a wordy way of saying that I've had less time and less material for this month's foliage follow-up post.  With that disclaimer, I do have some images to share.

I have 5 varieties of Abelia in my garden.  There are 3 with particularly attractive foliage:

Abelia x grandiflora 'Confetti'

Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's'

Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope' (recovering nicely from an earlier haircut)

Do images of bad foliage belong in these posts?  The Duranta 'Gold Mound' and its relative, 'Burlesque,' darkened again this winter.  Last year, its mottled appearance caused me to yank out some of these plants but, as I found that most regained their gold/chartreuse color as the days grew longer and the temperatures became warmer, I decided to be more patient this year.  Still, I can't say that I'm happy with the seasonal foliage changes associated with this plant.

Duranta 'Burlesque' (I think)

In contrast, I'm very pleased with the feathery foliage of Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid.'

Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid'

I recently picked up 3 Francoa, drawn mainly by the plant's ruffled foliage.  It's too new to this garden to draw any conclusions about how well it will perform here.

Francoa sonchifolia 'Rogerson's Form'

I love true Geraniums and 'Katherine Adele' is one of my favorites, due mainly to its attractive foliage.  The flowers, when they appear, are a subtle accompaniment.

Geranium x oxomiaum 'Katherine Adele'

I added 2 new Coleus to the shadier end of the bed vacated by my former Eucalyptus tree late last month.

Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Electric Lime Coleus'

Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Mocha Mint Coleus'

I'll close with a mix of foliage textures making an appearance on my slope.

Oenothera speciosa, Geranium incanum (a weed here) and Sedum (No ID)

For links to more foliage photos, please go to Pam's Digging blog.