The garden here is usually predominantly green, but the weather has been so very hot over the last week, leaves have been falling off trees, making the garden look more like autumn. The temperatures have reached to well over 30C, which we hardly ever have here, and fallen leaves are burnt to a crisp, crunching underfoot. I am wilting like a few of my plants, but at least I can move to the shade and drink plenty of water when necessary, the plants just have to cope as best they can.
I really must rake out the leaves from the Ophiopogon rug in the gravel garden, it looks so autumnal.
At least when the grass gets cut, the leaves will be picked up.
The rest of the garden is still looking green however, this small hedge of Lonicera nitida was clipped a week ago and looks nice and smart with its sharp edges.
Crocosmia Lucifer is almost ready to flower, but at the moment I can just enjoy the sword shaped leaves.
Acanthus mollis is wilting a bit in all the heat. They tell us that it will soon be cooler so this plant should be happy as well as me.
This hosta in the bog garden is looking happy, it has plenty of moisture still to keep it bright and perky.
There are lots more Primula sikkimensis spreading in the bog garden, their leaves like the conditions here very much.
A new Rogersia that I have bought for the bog garden, the leaves are quite different from my original one with the bronze pleated leaves.
Iris pseudocorus variegata has flowered already and the leaves are gradually turning green, losing the bright yellow variegation from earlier in the year.
Contrasting shaped leaves from astilbe and rogersia
more contrast from a Hosta,fern and Alchemilla mollis.
Rhododendron yakushimanum , showing the beautiful indumentum (like a felt covering) on the new leaves.
The indumentum gradually gets worn away, probably by our rain, then the leaves are a glossy green.
Heucheras are forming nice contrasts round the garden, brightening up dull places.
Also contrasting with Brunnera Jack Frost seedlings.
Pittosporum Irene Patterson has been clipped to form an umbrella. This is where I retreat to when the weather is so hot, in the shade with a good book and a nice long iced drink.
More contrast from Rosa glauca with Cotinus.
Sunlight shining through a small Chusan palm, Convolvulous cneorum and Cordyline Torbay Red.
Heucheras and a Tiarella in my old strawberry pot. They seem to be doing so much better in this pot than the old strawberries used to do.
Huge leaves of Hosta by the front door, I don’t think it has had such large leaves before. The leaves are very thick and the snails don’t seem to like them very much thank goodness.
Cooler weather arrived overnight, thank goodness, it has been so difficult sleeping lately, so my plants and I can have a break from all the heat that we have had over the last few days and get back to normal.
Thanks must go to Christina at My Hesperides Garden for hosting this foliage meme each month, where she encourages us to look at the foliage in our gardens as a change from concentrating on all the beautiful flowers that we all have at the moment.
Hi Pauline,
My, you certainly have had some horribly hot weather. I’m so glad to hear your temperatures are getting back to normal. Honestly, even though those are common temperatures for our summers, I hate anything above 79f (26c). Your garden is wonderful in spite of it. There are so many different varieties of Heuchera and Hosta to choose from. They are a great addition to any shade garden.
They say that at Heathrow Airport it was 35C, thank goodness it is now down to 20C! Like you Sally, I prefer it a bit cooler. When we have temperatures like this I’m glad we have such heavy clay soil, it holds onto any moisture for much longer and the plants get the benefit from that.
So many gorgeous foliage contrasts! I especially like your umbrella-covered retreat.
Thank you Peter, I do like a good contrast! My retreat was the only cool place in the garden, it was rather lovely sitting there while it was so hot, thank goodness temperatures are back to normal now.
You really do have lovely contrasting foliage Pauline and so well captured in these photos. I do like the Acanthus. On my recent trip to the UK I bought A. mollis Hollard’s Gold and it is lovely.
Thanks Denise. I hope your A.Hollard’s Gold is better behaved than the straight species, mine is starting to spread too far and will soon have to be made to realise that it can’t spread over the garden!
It cools you down just looking at all that lovely foliage. I cannot stand the hot weather either – I didn’t emigrate from Australia because I wanted to live in another hot country! Thankfully it’s cooled down now, though still humid.
That’s a really lovely specimen of Lonicera nitida. I’ve only seen it look like a scraggly shrub, and thought it was a myth that it could be a replacement for Box!
Temperatures much better today Juleanne, thank goodness!
The Lonicera makes a neat hedge, but it does need clipping more often than box would unfortunately. This hedge was grown from lots of cuttings of one plant, so it cost me virtually nothing.
Despite the heat your garden look as good as always. At least for you the temperatures have already dropped whereas here it has been as hot as that for a month already and will probably continue for at least another six weeks. With no measurable rain since March!!
I love the combination of Hosta ,fern and Alchemilla mollis; But there are so many combinations I enjoyed seeing that it was difficult to choose just one. Thank you for always supporting GBFD, this month there was only you so I may consider dropping this meme but it would be a shame because I enjoy seeing your foliage so much.
Don’t give up on your meme Christina. I have a meme that no-one else takes part in, but I figure maybe someone will some day. Plus, a meme highlights something and in this case, it’s good to be reminded of the importance of foliage in a garden.
Thank you so much Christina, that must be the advantage of heavy clay soil!
Please don’t drop your meme, we need someone to make us look at the foliage in our gardens, when the flowers are trying to get all the attention. I feel foliage is so important, especially in months when there aren’t many flowers, where would gardens be without their structure? Maybe you and I could continue by ourselves?!
The foliage in your garden is looking wonderful Pauline. Such a variety of colours and shapes. Looks like we will have a cooler weekend which is very welcome and the plants will enjoy that too. Lovely photographs.
Thank goodness for the cooler weather Sue, I’m afraid I don’t feel too good when it is so hot.
I feel foliage is so important in a garden, after all it is with us for so much longer than the flowers!
So glad you’ve got cooler weather. Lots of handsome foliage in your garden – the Chusan Palm is quite striking.
The palm used to live in the conservatory Jason, but then I read that they are quite hardy, so since then it has lived outside and is fine in our winters.
Like you I have a hedge of Lonicera nitida that I’ve put together from plants scattered across the garden, supplemented with cuttings. I’ve cut it back to around 18 inches high but am finding I need to trim it every couple of weeks!
The hedge does need clipping more often than the box, but only about 3 or 4 times a year Jessica, it’s not too bad. I have another Lonicera bush clipped to a shape, this time L. Baggesens Gold and that quickly gets very shaggy!
You do have some lovely foliage, I especially like those heucheras. I’m so glad it’s cooled down, we have leaves everywhere too along with wilting plants that struggle in our sandy soil.xxx
The Heucheras are doing ever so well Dina, in spite of the heat and lack of rain, and they make such a difference to a dark shady border. I still haven’t swept up my leaves, I really must do it soon!
Glad you got some cooler weather! As always, I spent time admiring your various foliage combinations. Your Pittosporum Irene Patterson is amazing trimmed up like that, and the blue bench beneath is perfect. I love the heucheras. Here, heucheras don’t do very well in our summer heat, though plenty are sold in local nurseries. Heucherellas ( cross between heuchera and tiarella) do much better.
I am so glad that it is now a lot cooler Deb, much more like it should be! I love my little spot in the shade under my Pittosporum, it is so much cooler under there than anywhere else. I have a couple of Heucherellas and they perform about the same as all the Heucheras here, both lovely plants that seem to like my conditions.
You have some great foliage contrasts Pauline – and I was rather aghast at the size of your pittosporum ‘tree’ although I am pretty confident that my P Tom Thumb, like the name suggests, does not get that tall! 😉
Don’t worry Cathy, I also have P.Tom Thumb and he has stayed nice and small for well over 15 yrs!
A shame about the dry leaves, that’s not at all what I like to see at this time of year, but I’m sure they’ll carry on just fine!
You always have such a nice variety of foliage to admire. The rhododendron is particularly interesting and I hope the one I added this year has similar spring leaves (this first spring was a bit of a struggle and I’m withholding judgement until it settles in!)
Since the temperatures have cooled down Frank, the leaves are now behaving themselves, no more down since I swept them up, thank goodness!
Not all rhododendrons have indumentum on their leaves Frank, it is an added bonus which shows up beautifully after the flowers have faded.
Oh you certainly had it hot in your neck of the woods Pauline. We were away in the Lake District in the heatwave where it was lovely but comfortable 🙂 I like your shady retreat.
It was far too hot Anna, my plants didn’t like it and neither did I, in fact I felt most peculiar for 4 or 5 days in spite of drinking loads of extra water. How fantastic to have beautiful weather in the Lake district, it has such a reputation for rain, although when we lived in the NW we had many a wonderful holiday there.