Well lookee here two posts in three days! Anyway, I have been reading gardening posts this last few days especially those from across the pond because I am planning to go to the Garden Bloggers Fling in Austin in May and I want to reconnect with the blogs that inspired me some 9 years ago to start blogging.
One of the first blogs I started reading was Pam's Digging. Pam is based in Austin and her blog is very much about foliage plants especially those that thrive in the heat of Austin - lots of Agaves. I was fascinated by the different look of Pam's garden and continue to find the difference fascinating. Anyway, Pam hosts a Foliage themed monthly blog on the 16th of each month, following on the day after Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, and having spent an hour or two starting to re-engage with the garden I thought I would do a foliage post, albeit 3 days late.
This combination is one of my favourites in the garden. The Melianthus major IS my favourite foliage plant and I have three dotted around the garden, grown from seed some 5-6 years ago. I especially love the leaves at this time of year when they sparkle with rain drops or morning frost. The abutilon was acquired three years ago and is thriving so much so that my son can't see out of his workshop window sometimes. In the top photo you can see Euphorbia characias 'Silver Swan' which I have also had for a few years and has to be heavily pruned from time to time.
To the left of the Euphorbia is Fatsia japonica 'Spiders Web', planted at the same time as the Euphorbia. This photo is an indicator of the state of the garden with one plant becoming swamped by another. It's that fine line between the borders looking full and generous and looking neglected and overgrown. I need to do some careful editing and some rejigging to give the plants more space but I have plans to gain a little more space by losing the top path which goes nowhere!
I have decided to embrace my love of foliage going forward which should have the benefit of keeping the garden looking interesting through most of the year.
