This is the time of the month when our thoughts turn to the foliage in the garden. Sometimes it doesn’t just form a green backdrop to all the flowers of summer, quite often they are the points of interest themselves.
Heuchera and hosta.
Heucheras and hostas make a lovely contrast, the hosta is Canadian Blue and the Heuchera h.Marmalade showing the change of colours as autumn approaches.
Brunnera Jack Frost.
Brunnera Jack Frost looks good from the moment it appears in the spring. This is now seeding around so I have quite a few plants to pot up and plant around the garden. Here the foliage contrasts with the foliage of an hemerocallis next to it.
Contrasting fern foliage.
Two ferns growing either side of the path through the rhododendron bed, the one on the left is Polystichum setiferum divisilobum and the one on the right is the Hart’s tongue fern, Asplenium scolopendrium.
Heuchera.
Heucheras are fantastic for foliage interest and there are so many beautiful new varieties to chose from. This one is h. Berry Marmalade.
Anemathele lessoniana
A grass which is seedling rather too much round the garden, this has lovely movement when the wind blows and the colours in the foliage and the flowers are beautiful.
Dryopteris cristata Martindale and Lamium orvala.
In the woodland , by the path is the Fern Dryopteris cristata Martindale and already in its autumn colours, Lamium orvala. I do wish I didn’t have to look up all my fern names each time!
Hosta and ferns.
Also in the woodland is a hosta that was given to me and the fern Adiantum venustum The fern forms groundcover over an area and the hosta pops through in the spring, but never seems to be in the same place two years running.
Two more ferns.
Two contrasting ferns, one very shiny and one with a matt finish to the fronds. The shiny one on the left is I think, Polistichum setiferum Plumosum Bevis found down here in Devon and named after the man who found it growing in the hedgerow. The one on the right is Cyrtonium fortunei, the Japanese holly gern.
Heuchera Key Lime Pie.
Another heuchera in the woodland, shining out in the shade.
Pulmonaria.
There are lots of pulmonaria in the garden, just the normal everyday variety, but some have more silver to them than the others.
Rhododendron foliage.
Lovely new foliage on one of the rhododendrons in the garden.
Darmera peltata
Large leaves behind the alpine scree contrast with the grasses behind them.
A group of three ferns and a heuchera.
Two japanese painted ferns, Athyrium niponicum Pictum, a tatting fern Athyrium felix femina Frizelliae and Heuchera Creme Brulee, all contrasting with each other.
Miscanthus malepartus.
The tall grass Miscanthus malepartus forms a tall 7ft tower of grass. Soon the purple flower stalks will rise above the foliage, but while waiting, the leaves form a waterfall of foliage.
Pond area.
The pond area is looking very overcrowded and it really is in need of sorting out. I will do this in the autumn, hopefully there won’t be too much disturbance for the wildlife at that time of year. In spite of this, there is plenty of contrast between the different foliage plants, there just shouldn’t be so much of each plant!
Sambucus Black Lace and Bowles Golden Sedge.
Still in the pond area, where Sambucus Black Lace is keeping company with Bowles Golden Sedge.
Zantedeschia aethiopica.
The beautiful white flowers of the Zantedeschia in the bog garden, have been holding my interest for months now, but the leaves are just as interesting and beautiful in their own right.
Rogersia and Astilbe.
Still in the bog garden, the astilbe foliage contrasts with the foliage of Rogersia, which if you remember in the spring, was a beautiful bronze colour. It looks totally different now, but still forms a nice contrast to the plants around it.
Thalictrum aquilegifolium.
At the drier end of the bog garden, we have the lacy foliage of Thalictrum aquilegifolium, the flowers are rather pretty too!
Acer Shindishojo.
My new Acer Shindishojo is still putting out new red leaves while the main colour of the foliage has changed to green. It will have to stop putting out new leaves soon when the autumn changes start.
A trio of leaves.
Libertia peregrinans, Ophiopogon planicapus nigresens and the little blue grass Festuca glauca are all happy growing together. Occasionally I have to step in when they get too muddled, but usually I just let them get on with it. I can see a few green leaves in the photo which will have to be weeded out!
Begonia Glowing Embers
One of the blue pots by the back door has various plants in it, but I think the best foliage comes from Begonia Glowing Embers. I will try to keep this going over the winter, or maybe take cuttings, as it is one that I would like to use again.
It is thanks to Christina at My Hesperides Garden that we look more closely at our foliage, do please pay her a visit to see other foliage around the world which is catching the gardeners attention.
Your August foliage looks lovely and fresh and healthy and really enhances your garden Pauline. I love ferns and like you I have difficulty in remembering their names. But Bevis is my favourite and it seems to be difficult to find. I admired it in my friend’ s garden for years and wished I had one. Eventually, she succumbed to my less than subtle hints and gave me a bit. It is very special. All thanks to sharp eyed Mr. Bevis.
Thank you Chloris, I have to be thankful for all the showers that the west of the country has! Mr. Bevis must have super eyesight to have spotted the fern in the hedgerow, the lanes here have so many on the shady sides, we must be very thankful to him.
The fern and heuchera combo is lovely. I really must give heucheras another go, their colours seem perfect for August. I brought loads with me when we came down here but only two survived and neither have really thrived.
I always plant the heucheras with lots of compost and leaf mould Jessica, when planting them these days and they respond by looking very happy. I’m slowly going round others that I planted years ago, which don’t look happy,and giving them the same treatment, thank goodness they are now responding.
I love the Heucheras (I think we have almost identical ones!) and they have been one of the few foliage plants to make it through the winter in my garden.
I adore the ferns especially that Adiantum venustum, which reminds me of the delicate maidenhair fern
They must be tough Matt to have survived this last winter for you! The Adiantum venustum is just like the indoor plant Maidenhair fern, it looks so delicate but is proving to be very hardy with me, it has survived -10C one winter here.
It looks like your new Acer is going to be a treasure. It certainly strives to please. I admire your Brunnera Jack Frost too. Mine doesn’t always make it to the end of summer because of heat and humidity, but so far it has survived to come back each spring. Do you have the Athyrium ‘Ghost’ fern in the UK? It’s a hybrid between the Japanese painted fern and Southern lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina), and always one of my best performers.
I think the Acer is going to be worth every penny Marian, the foliage is so pretty at all times of the year. I have now potted up my seedlings of Brunnera Jack Frost and will wait for them to form a good root system before planting them in new areas in the garden.
Yes, we do have Athyrium “Ghost” over here, I keep meaning to get one, but have never got round to it, after your recommendation I will put it on my wish list for this autumn, many thanks!
Beautiful combinations Pauline.
For North America, I would change your first sentence to: This is the time of the month when our thoughts turn to yellow daisies (rudbeckia, hellenium, helianthus, heliopsis, etc.) all of which are now taking centre stage.
Thanks Alain, I try to make planting combinations interesting even when they aren’t in flower.
Pauline, your August foliage looks so healthy and happy. I do admire the Heucheras and ferns. I read your tip to Jessica about using lots of compost and leaf mould when planting Heucheras and I’ll give that a try. Mine did well last year but they never caught their breath all summer here from heat and drought. The leaves of Darmera peltata look fantastic. Have a good week.
Lots of rain means happy plants Susie!
The Darmera was planted by the previous people, it really is a bog plant which they put in the wrong place. I have tried to move it to the bog garden we made here, where the underground stream is, but the roots are so strong and thick, they burrow under the rocks that are in the bed, so I’ve had to leave them where they are. Usually they are one of the first plants to look stressed when we have a drought, but this year, there is plenty of moisture to keep them happy.
You certainly have some wonderful foliage Pauline; lovely colours and textures. Your ferns are really lovely – I have started adding them to the garden too and now I want even more.
Ferns can be quite addictive Annettte, once you start collecting them you find there are so many more quite different ones!
Your garden looks beautiful and such a space for planting the woodland plants. Foliage is very important for the last moth of the year, that is what I think too.
Sigrun
Many thanks Sigrun, foliage is so important for giving interest to the garden when the flowers are having a rest!
Your garden is wondrously beautiful because of the colors, textures and shapes of the foliage. I love all your ferns. The combination of the colorful ferns and heuchera reminds me I should do something similar.
I love playing around with colours,shapes and textures of leaves Deb, and the heucheras, ferns and hostas make it so easy and such a pleasure.
Hi Pauline; sorry I’m late commenting on your wonderful GBFD post; for some reason I can’t leave comments when I’m using my iPad or IPhone and I’ve only had enough time today to switch the PC on. You are an inspiration to us all, your garden would be amazing even if you didn’t have any flowers at all! I love all your ferns and I’m hoping that when I have created more shade I might be able to grow some of the tougher ones that don’t mind it being very dry; but I’ll have to wait a while until the new trees grow. I never remember the names of the ferns and if I did I wouldn’t know how to spell them! You must have some good notes about what you have where so you can look them up, and you can recognise each one! Thank you for always contributing to GBFD, I really appreciate your taking time to photograph and share your beautiful garden with us all.
There are quite a few ferns that can cope with dry shade Christina, but not the prettiest ones I’m afraid! I have a good fern book that sits permanently beside the lap top as I can never remember the spelling of any of them! Thanks for all your lovely comments, much appreciated.
Oh I know what you mean about fern names Pauline. I bought a new one yesterday and can only recall that its name begins with the letter A! You have some absolute beauties. I will return to this post later with notebook and pen to make a note of names.
I now have 3 fern books, one of which is permanently by the lap top in case it is needed, I would never remember the names or the spelling without it. I just hope I’ve labelled them correctly if you are going to take notes!
I did enjoy looking at all your marvelous ferns! They do look lovely growing with the hosta.
I really like all your pond plants and think they look really natural growing as they are…oh my….yes, grass seedling do sprout up everywhere don’t they?xxx
Ferns make such good foliage plants Dina and contrast nicely with lots of other plants.
The pond really is so overgrown, but soon I’ll be able to tackle it. Having received some waders for my birthday earlier in the year, I don’t have any excuses any more for not getting into the pond and sorting it out – who says romance is dead?!
You’ve such healthy and happy foliage and some fabulous combinations of color, shape and texture! I’m especially fond of ferns so it was a treat to see so many of yours!
I think they’re happy because of the rain Peter, it seems to be forgetting to stop! With having so much shade in the garden, it was almost a foregone conclusion that ferns would feature somewhere. When I first started the garden here, I had no idea that there were so many different ones to be had, I’m still finding new ones, so watch this space!
Add me to the list of people who will be giving their heucheras compost this fall! Yours are looking well…. mine not so much 🙂
The ferns steal the show though. So many subtle contrasts and interesting textures. I’ve been nervous about adding more since we always run through summer dry spells, but it might be worth it to fin a few more tough ones.
I think I ought to just concentrate on the ferns in future Frank! There are so many lovely ones these days and with a lot of shade it makes sense for me to try and track them down. We are lucky in that we don’t usually have very high temperatures in the summer, but we usually have some rain, this year we are having such a lot, I’ve never seen the ferns look so happy before!