Monday, August 1

A Lot Going On (in the Front Yard Garden)

There's a lot going on in the front yard these days. Lots of color (even though there are few blooms) and lots of texture through the many, varied plants that reside there.  It's finally starting to look like the drought-tolerant tapestry that I had envisioned!



I know that I have mentioned this before, but one of my favorite things about the front yard is the way that the evening sun provides pretty backlighting that just makes all of the foliage colors glow. These purple heart leaves are normally so dark that they appear to be almost flat in color, but when they are backlit, they show an amazing amount of shade variation and detail.

Even the silver sage, salvia argentea, is transformed by the setting sun. Its thick, downy leaves show off glowing light green patches and some pretty veining detail.

The salvia plants themselves offer up a nice textural counterpoint to the fine-foliaged sedums and brown grasses (mostly carex buchannii) in the front yard.



Right next door, sunshine turns the leaves of my pineapple lily ('Sparkling Burgundy' eucomis) to shades of yellow-green. You can really see the color contrast when you compare the green leaves to the burgundy ones in the background that are shaded by the oakleaf hydrangea.

And yes, once again I am looking forward to the pineapple lily's bloom! I love how the color of the stalk and buds are picked up by the rosy tint of the oakleaf hydrangea in the background. I try to tie in a few things like this throughout the entire front yard garden--it helps to keep the garden looking like a cohesive design, rather than a mishmash of randomly chosen plants.


More of a tour of the new front yard garden to come... but probably later in the week. It seems that we have more thunderstorms in the near future here.  I never mind thunderstorms, but I really wish that they would cool things off a little bit. The tomatoes might be loving this weather, but my sled dog Garden Assistant definitely does NOT approve!


8 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Love all of those textures. I can see why you love your front garden. The sage with those big furry leaves looks like a large animal in the front garden. Tell Coco that Luna feels her pain. She is miserable in this weather.

Benjamin Vogt said...

You get RAIN??? It hasn't rained here in nearly 3 weeks! Your front spread is really looking good. I remember when it was much different, and this should have people stoping by asking "can you plant me one of those?"

Unknown said...

Greenbow Lisa, I LOVE that idea... the sages ARE these big furry mounds of animal. :) Poor Luna--I feel for her, too!

Benjamin, thanks! I'll send some rain your way--but I must warn you, it only seems to come in the form of thunderstorms. Some with bad winds and small hail. Still want it?

Unfortunately... people seem to think I'm more crazy than genius. "You sure must like to work in your garden!" To which I respond, "You don't see me out here much, do you? It's low maintenance!" But they don't seem to believe me... *sigh*

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

I would love to sit on your front steps and gaze at the garden while the sun goes down. What a show. I feel for the poor dogs in this weather. Hopefully, we'll get a break later in the week.

Sissy said...

It's beautiful, Kim! The neighbors don't know how lucky they are! I hope you get some rain and some relief from the heat for the Garden Assistant!

Anne McCormack said...

I love the combination of the purples and silver in your yard! Silver sage is one of my favorite plants, though I've had trouble giving it the kind of drainage it needs.

Gail said...

You do texture and color so well! Your front garden is charming~I love backlit plants~That's the one thing I miss the most in my garden~They are too many trees blocking that gorgeous sunset!

Unknown said...

MMGD, do you ever get over to Cleveland? If so, let me know--you have an open invitation! :)

Thanks, Sissy! The rain has been another story here. If it's hot hot and humid, we're having torrential thunderstorms. In mid-July, there was one day night where the rain gauges filled up to 4 inches between dusk and dawn! Crazy.

Anne, the soil here is so well-draining, it's amazing. Most of NE Ohio is heavy clay, so I'm not sure whether I'm on some Lake Erie sandbar here, or whether the soil is just spent after so many years. (It's a tiny urban lot, and my house was built in 1919.) But it certainly does make silver sage, lavender, etc., very easy to grow!

Aww, thanks, Gail! You have so many other neat things going on in your garden, though. How about you come and enjoy my backlighting photos, and I'll visit your blog for photos of prairies and that awesome fence... and we'll just enjoy those things vicariously? :)

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