Thursday, August 18

A Silvery Foliage Follow-Up - August 2011


Each month, when the Foliage Follow-Up rolls around, I walk around in my garden and take pictures of anything and everything that catches my eye. Back inside, I scroll through the new photos to look for a common thread--and sometimes make a second trip out for even more photos that fit my chosen theme.

This week, no additional trips were necessary: The "Silver Foliage" theme came through loud and clear, with frosty plants making an appearance in all but two of the pictures! Silver-foliaged plants are usually hardy, drought tolerant, and shrug off the heat of the summer... so it's no wonder that they are putting on a great show right now. Here's a quick roundup of a few favorites:

 One of two silver lotus vine I have planted. This one (also shown in the first photo) began life in a hanging basket and now lives in the urn along with purple alternanthera, 'Vista Burgundy' salvia, celosia and a red spike.

Powdery blue sea kale leaves hold their own against the bold foliage of the oakleaf hydrangea.


'Silver Falls' dichondra bridges the gap between 'Bandana Cherry' lantana and the red Japanese bloodgrass.

 You knew this was coming: A photo of my latest obsession, salvia argentea (a.k.a. silver sage).

I like dusty miller in general, but my inner plant snob only seems to remember the many ways it is usually abused in yards around here... and urges me to buy something (anything) else.

This year, we were able to compromise and plant 'Silver Cascade' (above) along with 'Blue Daze' evolvulus, a feathery magenta celosia, and a coleus that looks an awful lot like 'Wizard Pineapple' but came as part of an unnamed multipack.

Two silvery plants in this photo, to end the silver streak: 'Purple Dragon' lamium sprawls out from beneath the Japanese maple, and short fountains of 'Frosty Curls' carex comans froth up between 'Beetlemania' carex, 'Ivory Prince' hellebores, and various heuchera.

Hope you enjoyed the silver rush here in the August Foliage Follow-Up. For more great foliage from around the world, check out Pam's August Foliage Follow-Up over at Digging!

11 comments:

Pam/Digging said...

Despite summer temps, it is looking quite frosty in your garden, Kim! Silver foliage is a favorite of mine too, for obvious reasons here in arid Texas. That first combo is absolutely stunning.

Shirley said...

Hello again, Kim :-)

Ah... a fan of silver here too especially in my sunnier front garden but on saying that it doesn't half lift the greens of my more shady back garden :-)

Like you, I love the grey with the deep burgundy reds. Although, like Pam, I love the first pic it is the longer shot in the last one that's my fav. Nice planting :-D

Meagan said...

The plant in our front bed (the one that needs wire support) is just starting to get that silver look I remember so well from last year.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You always have the best plant combos. I love that big leafed sivlery sage. I also like the reds that were combined with all your silver. Happy Foliage follow up.

Caroline said...

Just gorgeous. I particularly like the purple alternanthera and the bloodgress.

MulchMaid said...

I love your reddish and silver combinations and I am absolutely with you on the obsession with Salvia argentea. I haven't been able to bring myself to put mine in the ground yet as it means certain death in winter. You asked about the Eucalyptus: it's pauciflora ssp. debeuzevillei and it's one of the hardiest eucs and can easily take our zone 8 winters (and those last two that have been essentially zone 7 lately!)

greggo said...

a. agrentea. awesome. I've grown it in colorado, texas, and kansas. Rotted every place. But, I haven't given up. thinking about planting it in pure gravel along with my lavender.

Unknown said...

Pam, yes... I would imagine that silver-foliaged toughies would be a requirement in Texas! Thanks for the compliment--and for hosting the Foliage Follow-Up.

Hi, Shirl! Yes, the grey with the deep burgundies is awesome--so is the grey with oranges, blues, purples... no wonder I love it so much. :) Glad you like the last shot, too, and thanks for overlooking the weeds in that one. lol. I always notice them AFTER I post the pics!

Meagan, I didn't even notice that the other day... amazing what cute babies make you miss in regards to your surroundings. :)

Greenbow Lisa, aww... thank you. I adore the reds with the silvers, too. I think that some of the brighter reds really need that silver to tone them down a notch. It makes me less scared to use them in the garden, anyway.

Thank you, Caroline! I definitely hope to find that particular alternanthera again... it's the first year I spied it in our local garden center and snapped it up, and it has been a real delight. :)

MulchMaid and Greggo, you two are starting to worry me with these overwintering warnings! I'm hoping that since my garden is overly well drained, I won't have any trouble with the silver sages this year. (But if they do die over the winter, then at least I'm getting my money's worth of enjoyment out of them now, right?!)

Oh, and MulchMaid, thanks for the eucalyptus info. I'm guessing that mine just doesn't like being in a pot with other things (zone 6 here) so I guess I will just have to kind of limp along with it... :)

Christina said...

You have some lovely planting combinations, Kim. I'm a fan of silver and purple foliage together too, as you'll see if you visit my latest post and you have some of the very best I've seen. Thanks for sharing, Christina

Motormouth said...

salvia argentea...dont let it bloom...one survived the other died...and the survivor it puny...its a great plant thought...what about your sea kale...does it take shade (being that it is by the hydrangea?) Thanks..(guess it wasnt a Kalachoe)...

Unknown said...

Christina, thank you! :)

motormouth, I'm going to visit your blog to tell you all about my sea kale--sorry for the late response, but your comment went into the pending folder that I had to create for comments on posts older than 1 week. (In an effort to outsmart the spammers... *sigh*)

Thanks for the advice on the salvia argentea, by the way. One of mine is looking puny already--and it's only its first year, so there is no blooming attempt involved--so I'm a little worried about them!

Post a Comment

One of my favorite things about blogging is the interaction--posts are often simply the beginning of an interesting conversation! So thanks for taking the time to join the discussion, and please know that I enjoy reading each and every comment left here. I try to answer as many as I can.