It is Christmas Day... so I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of the red and green combinations in my garden today. Some plants, like this 'Efanthia' euphorbia and the 'Amber Waves' heuchera pictured below it, seem to show off their red-and-green combos all year round:
'Marmalade' heuchera shows variations on peaches and reds all year round, but by this point in the winter the golden oregano at its feet has usually already disappeared. Not so this year:
I'm sure I've already rhapsodized over bergenia enough... but I can't resist showing one more picture. In a few weeks, the green centers will probably be entirely gone, and the reddish color will have deepened into almost purple:
Some plants appear to be evergreen at first glance, but if you look a little closer on this hellebore and mountain laurel, you can appreciate their pretty red stems:
The handsome abutilon that I mentioned in my jungle post, which had been placed in the clearance section as its first flush of blooms finished up, is already beginning to bloom again. They look lovely now, but will be even showier when they actually are in full bloom. I promise to post another picture at that point:
Last but not least, what would Christmas time be without a poinsettia picture? I must confess that I do not like poinsettias in general... but this one, with its interesting leaves (check out their variegation, lower right) and lacy bracts splotched with cream, caught my eye. At just $4 for a 4inch pot--but a very full plant--I couldn't resist:
I hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday... and is looking forward to the new year.
27 comments:
Kim: That euphorbia you show looks just like one I discovered called "Helena's Blush." I love the color mixed with plants with apricot-colored flowers. I just combined it on a job using Salvia x jamensis 'Sierra de San Antonio'. You can see it at smgrowers.com (site of a fabulous local wholesale nursery).
As usual, your blog posts are top notch. Haven't been here for awhile, but it's Christmas day and if I don't so something other than eat, I'll lapse into a sugar-induced coma.
Hoping the weather is fine...GWG
Merry Christmas! Love the pointsettia!
I saw that variegated poinsettia somewhere and was tempted, but didn't buy it since I am a well-known killer of poinsettias. That's a really pretty variety.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Merry Christmas! I just love finding red and green in the garden as well. Isn't it fun?
Warm holiday wishes,
Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage
Merry Christmas, Kim :-D
Great festive theme for a post!
Your photos above show just how valuable foliage plants are in the garden. I really enjoy the greens in my garden too - and the ocassional spots of red.
Wishing you happy gardening in 2008 :-D
Great Christmas post Kim. I like all of the red and green. Your poinsetta is interesting. It is fun to have a shot of bold red for christmas too. I like red.
Hope you had a great Christmas! You've talked me into Bergenia in 2008 ;-)
Red and Green in the garden! You are lucky! I did notice that the Helleborus foetidus is starting to show some flower buds! The snow has melted enough to see them. Love those heucheras and that euphorbia (the first one)! Now it is time to clean up the mess!
Hi Kim,
Almost bought one those Poinsettias because the foliage is really cool shaped. Oak leaved Poinsettia, perhaps ;) .
I wanted to come by and say that the Orchid I posted will grow in a bark mixture (like that one) or strapped to a log.
Also wanted to say thanks for leading us through your garden year. You really came up with some interesting things that made me think and the pictures were great.
Have a most Joyous and Wonderful New Year!
Great idea for a Christmas post. Heucheras are some of my favorite plants. Hope you have a joyful 2008!
Merry Christmas!!! I like that poinsettia, too....although my outside plants are just white and brown :)
Happy Boxing Day! We just got back from an overnight stay at my daughter and son-in-law's and I'm catching up on yesterday's posts. I love all the red and green in your garden...no snow? My Dad is visiting his sister in Independence and I know they had a storm last week...is it gone? I'm so happy to see you say you don't like poinsettias! I've always thought there was something wrong with me for not being wild about them...I like them for about one week and then I start to see the leaves dropping and know the end is coming. I wasn't ready to ditch mine as early as Carol but maybe I'll give it up earlier this year than usual!
Just about everything has been variegated but that's the first Poinsettia that I've seen like that. It's really unusual.
Most of my Christmas poinsettias are dead within a few weeks after Christmas but least year I received a pink one that just bloomed right up until Spring. I planted it outdoors and enjoyed it all summer. It grew almost to four feet but never bloomed again.
That was a great post.
One of the comments mentioned that your plant was Helleborus foetidus. Is that hardy in your garden? I love all Hellebores, & the leaves of that 1 are outstanding!
Garden Wise Guy, it does> look a bit like 'Helena's Blush,' except without the pretty cream edge. (And I would love to be able to grow s. jamensis!) Thanks for the compliments.
Nickie, thanks! You too.
Kylee, I couldn't resist... but if they'd only had the $19 version I probably would have passed. *grin* Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
Cindy at Rosehaven, Merry Christmas! Red and green in the garden IS fun... Ma Nature knows her decorating schemes, doesn't she?
Shirl, thank you! I, too, enjoy the foliage plants in the garden. Especially in my small space, the foliage really has to pull its own weight. :)
Lisa, funny you say that. I do normally prefer the red poinsettias (if there must be poinsettias) for that shot of bold color. But this one was definitely interesting.
Entangled, YES! 1 down, many other gardeners to go... ;) lol.
Layanee, oooh... I wish I had some stinking hellebores. They have such lovely leaves--I just don't know w here I would put more hellebores. lol. (And yes, I have a garden mess to clean up, too.)
Digital Flower Pictures, I'm grinning... because I have referred to it as my oak-leaved poinsettia in my own head! :) Thanks for the answer on the orchid. And thanks for the compliments as well... coming from someone who also makes me think about my garden, I really appreciate it.
David, thanks--and a joyful 2008 to you, too!
Lisa, no white in my garden right now. Sadly, it all went away. Merry Christmas to you, too!
Leslie, yup, the snow is all gone. It was so strange: When the dog and I were coming in from our nightly walk on Friday, there was still a lot of snow carpeting the garden. When I got up (way too early) for work the next morning, there was hardly any left! It's very rare for the snow to disappear overnight, but then it was a very warm night.
By the way, we're not the only ones who don't like poinsettias--I've been seeing that sentiment expressed a lot on garden blogs lately. :)
Carolyn Gail, ooh... now that you say that, it would be fun to experiment and plant my poinsettia outside in the spring. Hmm. Maybe I ought to start taking better care of it now. lol.
Mr. McGregor's Daughter, mine is not the stinking hellebore, although those are hardy in my garden. (And should be in yours, too, right?) This pretty one is 'Ivory Prince' which is probably a cross between h. nigercors and h. ericsmithii from what I have read, and is sometimes labelled as h.nigersmithii. But maybe someone will come along and correct me on its parentage?
I love the foliage on this one, too, and they've survived this summer's draught and my relative neglect fairly well, even in relatively poor soil. So far, so good!
By the way, I adore hellebores... and highly recommend you go to Plant Delights' website and do a search for them to see some new (to me anyway) varieties. I really really really want 'Picadilly,' 'Silver Lace,' 'Chedglow,' and 'Golden Showers!'
Hey Kim. I stumbled across your blog through Verobirdie's art blog -- as I too, am a fiber artist. I love your blog and have marked it to visit OFTEN as I, too am from NE Ohio - Westlake - but now live in North Carolino and I, too am an avid gardener AND I, too have not one but TWO garden assistants - two Welsh Pembroke Corgis - Tobie and Gizmo. Tobie -- the official "fertilizer" (if you know what I mean) and Gizmo the official garden cultivator (he's a digger!!). I love your pictures, your descriptions and your Pup!!
Have a wonderful New Year and I will most certainly be visiting often.
Oh, silly me -- I forgot to mention.... your Christmas garden is SPECTACULAR!!!
Kim, I hope you and yours had a splendid Christmas. Every time I see your photos I wonder why I live up north. How lucky to have such wonderful growth in the midst of winter. I think I mentioned that I can grow nearly anything out-of-doors but my houseplants just never survive. My pointsettia is nearly bare and will be sent off to the composter by week's end.
Lovely plants Kim!
Diane & my 3 canine garden helpers at Sand to Glass
Dogs Naturally
Belated but heartfelt wishes for great holidays, Kim. I love the festive plants and their bright colours. Some of ours are buried under snow still, and a new gentle deposit of an inch or so tonight should add to the pristine look. Now that my bulbs are all in...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Your pictures are gorgeous. I love how gardeners can share our different gardens by posting pictures of things we may not be be able to grow.
Hello Kim,
Your post shows how important are evergreen plants in the garden.
I am also in love with abutilon and mine (pink-orange) also starts flowering again :)
Happy New year 2008!
Wait!! Where are the purple poinsettias??? And the glitter???? You call this a Christmas post?? I am sooo disappointed... :}
I do like that Bergenia - and I think it grows to a zone 8, but it just feels to me ('feels', what the heck does that mean?) that our summers would be too hot for it. Maybe I should try it this year - maybe if I give it some shelter from the hot afternoon sun, it might have a chance.
lovely colors, I esp love the heuchera, I gotta get me some ( more) of those!
Bergenia never did well for me in IL but it looks so interesting, Kim. If I try it here and it croaks there would be Austin weather to blame instead of my faulty gardening ;-]
I'm sort of back after a couple of weeks away, but have no hope of catching up with the runaway garden blog world. I love your night time planting post, the rosemary flowers and the wacky orchid. You'd proabably like Adaptation - the scenes between Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper (both playing against type) are fun. And just my 2 cents - maybe the reason you liked Magnolia was that it wasn't a Tom Cruise movie - it was a John C Reilly and Phillip Seymour Hoffman movie?
Happy 2008!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Hi Kim,
You always manage to find colors. You have such a keen sense of it I am wondering if your house is filled with colors too!?!
Now that I think of it, I wonder how much our houses resemble our gardens. Must write about that...
--Robin (Bumblebee)
clevelandgirlie, nice to "meet" you! Westlake isn't too far--in fact, there are several lovely garden centers there that I like to frequent: Gale's, Cahoon's and the little place whose name I can never remember but which has a great herb selection in the spring.
I have been working 70+ hours at work for the past two weeks, but I did sneak in a little peak at your blog and I can't wait to have a day off to really dig into it. :)
Diane, thank you! You know, just think... if you lived down here, you may have more green but your 3 canine helpers would have so much less snow to dig around in and enjoy! *grin*
Jodi, thank you. We have some of your snow now, too, and most of my plants are buried. (I'm really liking how the carex buchanii looks sticking out of the snow in a tuft, by the way.) I rather like the look of a gentle blanket of snow with mysterious little bumps where you know a plant is hiding.
Weeping Sore, I definitely agree! You have no idea how many of your lovely succulents and tropicals (tropicals by my standards, anyway) that I garden with in my mind after seeing them on your blog.
Ewa, oooh... I love the pink-orange ones with the big papery flowers! I hope you can post a picture for us to see. :)
Pam, SHHHH! Stop trying to out me and my taste for Christmas glitz! ;) I think that the bergenia would do fine for you in more shade like you mentioned. I have mine in part sun but it's hot Western sun... so I don't see why a little morning sun in your neck of the woods wouldn't work for it, too.
Muum, I think I gotta get me some (more) of those, too! lol.
Annie, I wonder why it never did well for you in IL? I would have thought it would have been just fine there... huh.
By the way, that's a very astute observation about Magnolia. And it's probably why I liked The Last Samurai, too--it was a Ken Watanabe movie for me. :) Happy 2008!
Robin, I think that they are a LOT alike! (See my post about my orange hallway to get a glimpse of some of the color in my house. The funny thing is, though, that the colors are more like shots of color, and much of the rest of the house is soothing woodtones and such. Maybe I'll have to post some pictures.
Hi Kim! Don't know when you put that new banner on the blog, but it is wonderful. Also, loved the poinsetta photo.
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