Saturday, May 18

May 2013 Foliage Follow-Up

I love my front yard garden.  I know that it's not good for house resale to have so much garden, and I also know that when we do finally move the person who buys the house will likely get rid of most if not all of the plants here.  But when I come home, seeing this garden makes me happy:


(Excuse the slant. I clearly had trouble standing up straight and taking a picture on this day!)

With this front yard garden, I was aiming for 3 things:
  1. Year-round interest through texture, form and color contrasts.
  2. A drought tolerant, low-maintenance garden.
  3. Taking advantage of the backlighting that I would get every evening as the sun set.
I am very happy to say that I mostly managed to hit on all three counts.  Here are some detail shots:

Japanese maple. Its fiery burn eludes the camera, unfortunately.
Mexican feathergrass and sea kale is a favorite frothy combo.
I like to think that the oakleaf hydrangea grounds them a little.
Grandma's variegated iris, brown carex, 'Bressignham Ruby' bergenia, heucheras, sage and grasses.
The view as I exit my car.
The front yard isn't the only place with good foliage interest, though. Here are a few shots from the backyard:

Heucheras might be my favorite plant to view backlit.
I thought the little-leaf-shadow inside the blazing bigger leaf was cool here..
Another heuchera, this one nestled at the foot of a just-emerged chocolate eupatorium.
My newly planted urn, featuring a softleaf yucca in the center. (You can see it hanging down from the top of the frame.)
Ivy geraniums, heucheras (dug up from the garden), and white licorice plant ring the outside.
 That's probably enough for this month's foliage post! For more foliage links, visit Pam's May Foliage Follow Up post and check out the comments.  :-)

8 comments:

Alison said...

I love Heucheras too. Nice shot of the light coming through the leaf! It's great to have a garden that brings you joy when you see it. It doesn't matter that some Philistine who buys your house won't appreciate it.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Hopefully someone with a gardening sense will want your home and garden when you decide to move. I just love it. You always have the best combinations.

Kris Peterson said...

I laughed when I saw your comment about your garden and the resale value of your home. My husband said something similar to me when I tore out all the grass at our last house and created what he characterized as a very personal jungle. However, when we finally sold the house 2 years ago, the garden was referenced by our real estate agent and others as a prime attraction. (We sold in 6 days at a time the local market was down.) So, you never know. Doing what makes you happy delivers the most joy in the here and now, which is where we should all live anyway. I love your foliage pics.

Unknown said...

Alison, Lisa and Kris... thank you all for the lovely comments. After stressing out a little bit about readying a house for sale this weekend, they were especially appreciated!!! :-)

(And Kris... I hope that holds true for my house, too! Fingers crossed.)

Rainy Day Gardener said...

I love your foliage combinations! I hope the weekend went well. I, personally, think having gorgeous gardens around a home increases it's appeal and your's are fabulous! Cheers, Jenni

Annie in Austin said...

Also wishing that a horticulturally inclined buyer sees the same beauty that you and all of us see - it could happen!
Love the heucheras.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Pam/Digging said...

Gorgeous! Sometimes you just have to plant for YOU, and future buyers be damned. But I think in your case, future buyers will be attracted by your garden, not scared off by it. It's lovely!

Natalie said...

"I love your foliage combinations!"

Indeed, they all blends well.

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