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Foliage Follow-up: Fresh Spring Growth

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In yesterday's Bloom Day post I bemoaned  the fact that, in spring at least, my garden seems out of balance, with flowers dominating the scene.  That doesn't mean I don't have a lot of foliage plants.  I have 29 trees by my current count and the entire property is surrounded by hedges of various kinds.  While I've taken out all of the lawn, I've added ornamental grasses as well as creeping thyme throughout the garden as ground cover.  And do we even need to discuss my Leucadendron collection?!  In summer, when the heat is on and flowers are in retreat, foliage plays a more dominant role, even if the floral elements demand the central focus in spring.

But, even in spring, some foliage plants command attention.  The Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' I added in the middle of the backyard border last March is one of those plants.  This shrub, purchased in a 1-gallon container to fill the spot vacated by a tall peppermint willow (removed to address a neighbor's complaint with obstruction of her view of the harbor), was probably one foot tall when I planted it but it's already 4 feet tall.  It does bloom but, at the moment, its the fresh new foliage that caught my eye.

The new silvery orange-toned foliage is especially good-looking when viewed from the dirt path behind the backyard border

But the shrub also looks good when viewed from the flagstone path that bi-sects the backyard


The Callistemon isn't the only foliage plant with orange-tinged spring foliage.

This Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' enjoys a good deal of shade in its spot in the vegetable garden alongside the garage 

The Calliandra haematocephala produces these flushes of new foliage periodically throughout the year

While my Itoh peony (Paeonia Itoh hybrid 'Keiko'), has refused to rebloom since I planted it in 2013, it does produce pretty foliage in the spring


Other notable foliage this month includes:

Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's', which has formed a handsome clump since I planted it in October 2012

Dwarf Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa', which leafed out seemingly overnight

Melianthus major, which I was forced to cut back severely after some creature (I'm blaming the raccoon) badly damaged its main branches, probably when climbing down the Arbutus above it

What I think is Persimmon 'Hachiya', now producing glossy new leaves

The 'Red Flame' seedless grape


I'll end this month's Foliage Follow-up with a different kind of green plant, a spiny hedgehog cactus.

A friend passed this Echinopsis oxygona on to me in December 2014 with just 4 columnar segments.  It's developed all those rounded segments since then and is showing signs that it may even bloom this year.


For views of more flashy foliage, visit Pam, the host of Foliage Follow-up, at Digging.


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

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