Where would our gardens be without foliage, especially at this time of year when it is so fresh and colourful. All around us foliage is bursting into life, uncurling in fascinating colours, shapes and textures, bringing their own special magic to the garden and setting the flowers off beautifully. My main groups of deciduous foliage belong to plants that like the shade and I wouldn’t want to be without any of them, but there are also lots of silvers, golds and purples that like the sunshine.
Starting with the Hostas, this one is H. June which seems to be happy with a bit more sunshine than my other hostas. At least at this time of year the slugs haven’t started to make their presence obvious.
Hosta Sagae in my back border has lovely large leaves which will get even bigger as the weeks go by, ending up quite huge.
Heuchera Rio really shines out of the border by the gravel area in the back garden. It is planted in front of a young eucalyptus and contrasts beautifully with its glaucous blue leaves.
Heuchera Spellbound is a definite favourite, I have repeated it elsewhere in the garden as I like it so much.
Heuchera Key Lime Pie brightens up a shady corner in the back garden.
Hosta Krossa Regal is making quite a statement near the bog garden where it is spreading nicely through the border.
Hakonechloa macra Aureola is now showing its lovely golden lesves which seemed to take a long time before they got going, after the winter,
Pulmonaria longifolia is winning the battle with the campanula with a bit of help from me, I think maybe it needs a bit more help.
Brunnera Silver Spear is newly planted this year in the woodland, I think this is going to be a good one, the leaves are rather large already.
Not far away I have planted Hosta Sum and Substance and its leaves are huge! Only in its first year, planted at the side of the new path in the woodland, this is looking really good so far.
In my old strawberry pot in the back are Heucheras Spellbound on the right, Zipper in front, Pauline in the centre and Heucherella Sweet Tea on the left. Hosta sieboldiana is in another pot on the right.
Asplenium scolopendrium or Hart’s tongue fern in the woodland.
Milium effusum aureum is now flowering adding a gauzy haziness to the rhododendron bed.
Brunnera Jack Frost shining in a dark corner where a sunbeam has caught it.
A silver leaved Pulmonaria which just turned up in the woodland, I hope it seeds around to make more, as it is so beautiful.
A view across the pond showing multiple different foliage of ferns, ,2 forms of iris and more.
Ostrich ferns, Matteuccia struthiopteris, looking very happy in the bog garden.
Next door to the ferns is the variegated form of Iris pseudocorus which will lose its stripes once it flowers.
Hosta and astilbe make good planting partners.
Lovely fresg growth on this fern, but I can’t remember it’s name!
Lovely new growth on my Eucalyptus tree. This one is kept for cutting for flower arranging at church, so I hopefully have new growth coming all the time. Love the red stems which contrast with the gorgeous blue of the leaves.
My purple Acer in a pot, Acer palmatum disectum purpureum, love the filigree leaves.
Further down the border in the back is the Smoke bush, Cotinus.
and next to it is Rosa glauca with leaves the same clour as the Eucalyptus.
A view along the border showing them all together.
Santolina Lemon Fizz on the alpine scree. This has just had a really hard cut back and has already put on lots of new growth.
A view across the back lawn towards the woodland with contrasting foliage in the foreground and the golden foliage of Philadelphus coronarius Aureus in the background. I wish someone would tidy all the stray pots away!
I have enjoyed looking at all my fresh foliage, it all looks nice and shiny at the moment before the temperatures rise and sometimes makes it all look rather dull and stressed in the heat of summer, I will enjoy it for as long as I can. Are you enjoying your foliage at the moment?
