Colorful Leaves

Sometimes a leaf can be just as eye-catching as a bloom.  Different varieties of coleus are planted each year as annuals throughout the garden.  Some are pass-alongs from other's gardens, some are over-wintered from cuttings placed in water and brought into the house and some are purchased new each spring.

Most come without any identification.  That's fine with me, I wouldn't remember their names anyway.  The colors reflect the caladium colors and provide a nice contrast of leaf shape.  With similar light and water needs, these two plants make a good pairing.

Frilly leaves of bright chartreuse, purple, pink, and cream all create a bright spot in the shade gardens.  There are some coleus that can take quite a lot of sun but all of mine are planted in dappled shade.  They seem less thirsty with more shade. 

The variegated cast-iron plant which is another plant that was passed-along to me, is really starting to settle into its spot and put out more of those lovely leaves.  The cast-iron plant is an old Southern shade garden staple that is not that easy to find for sale at garden centers.  Aren't gardening friends the best?

Last May, this curcuma was blooming.  Not this May.  But, I love the leaves with that burgundy mid-rib and count on their appearing each year.  They show up by April and last through November.  The beautiful fuschia bloom is a bonus I hope to get soon.

Lots of caladiums were planted beneath the big oak tree this spring and they haven't disappointed me a bit.  My new favorite foliage plant, blood leaf irisine, shines in the slanting rays of the afternoon sun.  It is an eye-catcher for sure.   Irisine is another plant that is easy to propagate from cuttings.  I had a few small cuttings that were planted last fall that weren't fazed by the cold weather.  I'm hoping that the ones I've spread around in other areas will be as hardy.

I love having interesting foliage plants as much as I do the flowering plants.  They all have their unique charms.

Sitting in the Shade

With the cooler temperatures that have come about since the beginning of September, sitting in the shady part of the garden is once again a pleasant way to spend some quiet time.  Cool is a relative term I suppose.  The daytime highs have been in the mid to high eighties with night temperatures being in the mid seventies. 

So many of the plants in the garden are enjoying this time of year as much as the gardener.  Sitting here,  I notice the Curcumas are as tall as the six-foot fence.  The Butterfly Gingers and the Pinecone Gingers are nearly as tall.  Since all of them will be going dormant for the winter season, I want to sit and appreciate them for all they are giving to the garden right now. 

Persian Shield, Forsythia Sage, Shrimp Plants, how many of these will last through this winter's cold spell?  Past years have seen these plants going semi-dormant but not disappearing altogether.  That is, past years not including the most recent.  Oh how I fear the corner becoming nothing but oak leaf mulch as it was this past January through March.

Some plants were added to give the area at least a minimal amount of green this winter.  Cast Iron plants are cold hardy and several clumps have been placed throughout the corner plantings.  Both Variegated and Green Liriope were planted as a border to define the area.  Two Holly Fern were placed within the corner plantings as well.  But what about the Schefflera, the Bleeding Heart Clerodendrum, and the Cat Palms?  How will they react to a cold winter blast?

Ah, well, this is the best time of the year for this area of the garden.  This shady corner has been growing in beauty all summer and now has reached its peak.  Seasons change and so will the garden.  Everything that seemed gone forever in January has returned with enthusiasm. 

The huge live-oak that gives the area its shade will stand strong through the cold continuing to provide cover for all the birds which frequent the feeders and birdbaths during all the seasons of the year.

Providing feeders with fresh seed and birdbaths with fresh water ensures that these colorful visitors will stay around through all the seasons.

Now is the time I have been given to enjoy this spot.  The scent of the Butterfly Ginger blooms, the ripening beauty of the Pinecone Ginger cones are only available now, in this season.  The buds on the Forsythia Sage promising yellow spires of blooms, the reddening bracts on the Red Shrimp plants are only for this time. 

As I continue to sit in this special corner of my garden, I realize I'm learning to listen.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

Mid-May Missive

May has brought the garden into wonderful, colorful, life.

In the shade, the curcuma zedoaria are not only lifting their burgundy striped leaves but, for the first time in this garden, they are blooming.

This lovely groundcover is also blooming in the shade.

Last fall an impulse purchase of Golden Globes, Lysimachia procumbens, was made from the reduced price rack at a local big box store. It didn't do much, certainly didn't bloom at all, but it did live through the cold weather. In my opinion that is worth a lot in a plant. Well, look at Golden Globes now!

On the sunny side of My Garden Path the zinnias are popping with color.  The Gulf Frits are loving them.
 

Another sun-lover, Rosa 'red cascade', is putting on a fresh flush of its perfect miniature rose blooms.

Is it possible that just a few short months ago I was whining about a brown-out in the garden?  I am so glad that I am now keeping this photo record.  Maybe next year I can bear what  winter brings with the patience born of knowledge.  Knowledge that there are plants in my garden that WILL return in spring, knowledge that spring WILL arrive eventually, is what I hope to remember.

Next Project Begins

Hopefully, this weekend will bring nice weather for working outside.  I am so eager to get started on the dark, damp, shady area which runs along my back fence. 

The two variegated shefflera I purchased a few weeks ago were planted in the corner flanking a birdbath. This is the drier part of a damp area. I sure hope these bushes will be all right here. I like the way they brighten an otherwise dark corner.

Moving down the fence line, I planted one of the chamaedorea palms.  The other palm ended up directly behind the shefflera in the corner.  I like the corner arrangement, but this whole area confuses me and this weekend I'm hoping to move things around to define the area better.  There are curcuma gingers between the cat palm and the shell ginger which won't show until late spring.  There are some alocasias which also will not appear until later.  They are plants which handle the wet feet but I only see them 6-7 months out of the year.  This is a start, but so far from what I want from this space.  To be continued.....