Plants with Great Foliage and Flowers (Foliage Follow-up)

Many times, spring peaks in March here.  As is the case this year, temperatures can take a dramatic upswing, causing everything to bloom seemingly at once.  Remarkably, this is when I most appreciate the foliage in my garden.  Foliage gives the eye a place to rest when brightly colored flowers all seem to scream for attention.  Foliage also gives the garden the structure it needs to ground all that floral chaos.

While I tend to think of plant selections in terms of foliage versus flowers, there are a large number of plants in my garden that offer both.  For this month's Foliage Follow-up post hosted by Pam at Digging, I thought I'd feature some of the foliage plants I treasure in my garden for also offering floral interest, albeit not during the early spring floral fest.

Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily) is a graceful foliage plant for dry shade areas.  It usually blooms in late spring/early summer, producing beautiful sprays of white flowers with yellow and purple stamens.

Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' is glorious when it produces flushes of delicate coral-pink bottle-brush blooms at intervals during the course of the year but its vase-like structure and silvery new growth make it a standout any time

Crassula multicava (aka Fairy Crassula) is new to my garden but I've long admired the sprays of tiny flowers the plants produce in winter.  Here, the undersides of the leaves offer an echo of the Cuphea 'Starfire Pink''s flowers above.

Echium candicans 'Star of Madiera' is already getting ready to produce its blue bloom spires but its variegated foliage makes it a focal point in my garden all year

Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet' offers much the same effect as Echium 'Star of Madiera' albeit on a smaller scale.  Its variegated foliage is very attractive but so are its maroon and pink flowers.

Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder' offers quilted green leaves with purple veins and underside color all year but in fall, when there's not much else in bloom here, it bears delicate lavender flowers

Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' is a gorgeous, if short-lived, shrub with scented foliage that also flowers

I have LOTS of rosemary but Rosmarinus 'Gold Dust' (shown here in front of yellow-flowered Bulbine frutescens) is my favorite.  Its medium blue flowers are an added bonus.

I haven't actually seen Yucca 'Bright Star' bloom in my own garden but the flowers I've seen in photos are impressive

There's another group of foliage plants with flowers that I can take or leave.  The flowers are fine but, if the plants don't bloom, it's really not an issue in my view.

Clockwise from the upper left, this group includes: Melianthus major, which has never bloomed in my garden; Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi', which produces small flower stems, leading to the plant's decline; Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', better know for its bright variegated foliage than its white, bell-shaped flowers; Agave attenuata, which produces an impressive "foxtail" bloom when mature, then dies; Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' with tiny coral pink flowers that are often hidden by the foliage; Pelargonium peltatum (aka peppermint geranium), another plant producing flowers almost lost within the foliage; and the green and lemon-lime forms of Santolina virens, which produce small yellow button-like flowers

And finally, there are some foliage plants that I like best without their flowers.

From the left, these include: Aeonium arboreum, the bright yellow flowers of which can be more freaky than decorative; Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', which produces tiny pale-pink flowers that strike me as being at odds with the strong gold foliage; and Senecio vitalis, whose dusty white blooms I usually cut off when they appear

For a look at other plants offering fabulous foliage, visit Pam at Digging.

All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Who's up?

In preparing this week's post for "In a Vase on Monday," hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, I realized that I've been making up vases in connection with this meme for 2 years now.  My first vase post was March 31, 2014 and I don't believe I've missed a week since then.  This amazes even me.  Some weeks, especially in late summer when the garden's usually at its lowest point, it's hard to find anything fit to share, although I can't claim the difficulties faced by participants in colder winter climates - even in summer, there are succulents to draw on here.  In spring I have the opposite problem - there are too many choices and I wander my garden dazed and confused.  Sometimes, a flower is just so outstanding, I find I have to do something with it.  At other times, like this week, it's more a matter of deciding who's due a turn at bat.  This week, Lupinus propinquus was up.

Front view

Back view

Top view

The perennial lupine is pretty but it isn't nearly as flashy - or as blue - as I'd expected it to be when I selected it from a mail order nursery.  However, it is vigorous.  Its branches stretch a good 6 feet wide already and it's only been in the ground for 5 months.  Cutting it back for use in this week's vase could be considered an act of self-defense on my part.  In a vase, though, its pale colors are almost upstaged by its companions.

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Lupinus propinquus (syn. Lupinus arboreus), noID Antirrhinum, Centranthus ruber 'Alba' (a weed here), Freesia, Lavandula stoechas 'Silver Anouk', Limonium perezii, the dainty blooms of Pelargonium tomentosum, and Pittosporum tobira 'Variegata'

As usual, I picked some flowers that didn't make it into the main event.  These ended up in a small vase.  Even though small, I like the way these "leftovers" came together.

The burgundy color in the Pelargonium echos the color of the rose

In addition to Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet' (left) and Rosa 'Ebb Tide' (right), this vase contains stems of Pelargonium hybrid 'White Lady' and Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'

Last week's vase didn't hold up well.  My beautiful 'Medallion' roses withered within 2 days.  I'm not sure why they fared so poorly, especially the one cut in bud, except that it was unusually warm that week and I cut the stems near mid-day.  I cut 3 more 'Medallion' roses late last week when rain caused their heads to droop.  The heavy blooms still hang their pretty heads but the flowers have fared better than the two I cut for the last "IAVOM" post.  The cooler weather was more hospitable for the roses, even if the storms brought us very little rain.

Two rainstorms brought us only 0.17 inches of rain in total over a 4-day period.  These clouds, photographed on Sunday morning from our backyard, brought us nothing at all but at least some areas to the east benefited.

The roses sit in the front entry.

Maybe I should try wiring their stems to hold up their heavy heads?

The vase containing the lupine cuttings got pride of place on the dining room table.

And the small vase sits on my desk.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and others have assembled to fill their vases this week.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: False Start

Last week, I got it into my head that I was going to use Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet' as the centerpiece for this week's vase, prepared in connection with the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Why I fixated on that particular flower with its relatively short stems, I can't say, except that I do like the way the sun shines through the flower petals in the early morning.

Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet', photographed in the garden for Bloom Day

However, when I went to clip my first flowers from the shrub, I realized that the high winds we've had for the last few days had done the plant little good so, with one stem in hand, my plan fell apart.  I decided to stick with the color scheme anyway.  Here's what I put together:

Front view

Back view - the leaves make me think of the train on a formal dress

While the vase I used is short, its opening is rather wide so I ended up using a lot of flowers to fill it:

• Alstroemeria (no ID)
• Centranthus ruber album
• Cercis occidentalis 
• Coleonema album
• Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'
• Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy'
• Lagurus ovata 
• Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet'
• Pelargonium peltatum (double-flowered form, no ID)

Alstroemeria is still plentiful in my garden

Centranthus (photobombed here by Alstroemeria and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink') spreads like a weed in the driest areas of my garden

The seedpods of Cercis occidentalis, the Western Redbud, are more magenta than they appear in this photo

Lagurus ovata, aka Hare's Tale Grass, shown here with Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', is incredibly soft  - I wish I could make a sweater of it

The tiny stem of Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet' that started things off is barely visible as part of the overall composition

The double- flowered form of Pelargonium peltatum is front-and-center

This week's vase is in the front entryway (mainly because it doesn't look good with the current table runner in the dining room).

You can see Cathy's vase and find links to other gardeners' Monday creations here.


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

My favorite plant this week: Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet'

My favorite plant this week is Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet.'  It has been calling out for attention for the past few weeks, since it started blooming.  I bought 3 plants in early January, attracted by the green and creamy white, crinkled foliage.  The flowers were described as pansy-like and indeed they are.

Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet'

Close-up of foliage

The 3 plants are grouped together in the bed that formerly held our Eucalyptus tree.  A Geranium 'Tiny Monster' weaves around them.

Pelargonium shown with underplanting of Geranium 'Tiny Monster'

I'd never seen the plant in flower and I was concerned that the blooms might clash with surrounding plants but the upper reddish plum petals pick up the color of the nearby Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost' and the Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey.'

Pelargoniums do very well here.  They can get by with limited water and, while they can handle full sun, they don't mind a little shade.  Most take our summer heat in stride.  One of the 'Oldbury Duet' also survived being dug up by a visiting raccoon.

The label that came with my plants said these will grow 15 inches (38 cm) tall and wide.  They're reportedly hardy to 25-30F (-4C).  This Pelargonium originates from South Africa and falls into the "angel" category.

Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet' is my contribution to the weekly meme hosted by Loree of danger garden.  You can see Loree's status report on her roster of favorites here and connect to other gardeners' favorite picks for the current week.