It really is back to winter again with the temperatures plummeting to below zero at night and feeling like it during the day, with the easterly wind. When I eventually got myself all wrapped up to take the photos for this post, it felt most strange to go into the woodland and photograph foliage, when I was surrounded by hundreds of lovely little flowers, never mind their turn will come. To start with, I have just bought a delicious hellebore to fill a space, Winter Moonbeam, I thought that even when the plant isn’t flowering, the leaves will still look interesting.
Helleborus “Winter Moonbeam”
There are lots of varieties of Hemerocallis around the garden and everywhere their new growth is pushing through, even on a clump that had got dug up, dumped on a bare bit of soil and forgotten about.
Rose foliage is sprouting on all the climbers and shrub roses, lovely fresh growth everywhere, such a shame that they will all be cut off when I prune them soon.
Masses of Pulmonarias everywhere are putting out new growth, must get to them and take away their old leaves to tidy them up.
Cyclamen hederifolium leaves form good ground cover in part of the woodland, there are so many different patterns on the leaves. We have quite a sizeable area here under a rhododendron bush, all started with just one corm, the ants have spread the seed for us.
At the far end of the woodland, Euphorbia Blackbird forms a nice contrast with the other green leaves around it.
Just the ordinary english ivy, but why is it red? Has the cold made it turn red like my nose?!
Euphorbia mellifera can always be relied on to look good, no matter what the weather. Quite a few flower buds have formed so I will look forward to lots of lovely honey perfume wafting across the garden in April/May.
You may remember last autumn, we started re-doing the border by the field and I found a tiny, puny little leaf of my cardoon that was being swamped by a conifer, this is how it is now that it has light and air, it has certainly grown and multiplied.
More growth to be pruned away, this time on all the buddleja bushes in the garden. They were cut back by half at the beginning of winter but will need doing again in the next couple of weeks.
Masses of foxgloves have appeared in one of the nursery beds at the top of the garden, must move them soon to the back of the woodland borders.
Acanthus mollis by the pond is looking very shiny and pristine at the moment, usually it collapses in a heap when the temperatures plummet but not so far.
I never tire of the beautifully patterned leaves of Arum italicum marmoratum. We usually find it tucked under trees because the birds eat the orange berries in the autumn and then pass the seeds when they are sitting in the trees. It puts itself in places where I would never think of placing it.
And lastly, there are signs of my Meconopsis Lingholm seedlings coming through in the nursery bed, so far I have counted twenty but hopefully there will be more than that to transfer to their final place. All the seedlings of Meconopsis betonicifolia have disappeared, thanks I think to moles or voles making their tunnels in that bed, there are holes everywhere!
Sorry, I can’t stay out any longer, my fingers, toes and nose are all frozen, I must get inside and warm up once more! Thanks must go once more to Christina at My Hesperides Garden for hosting this Foliage Day, do visit her to see more foliage from around the world.
Even though you have cold temperatures right now, I can see that your plants are much more above ground than mine. I saw your hellebores in a previously post. Ohh they were so beautiful. I only have a few, but MUST have more. It is cold in Denmark too, but next week should be above zero.
Lovely to hear from you Gitte, We did have a very mild spell a week ago which made all the plants think that spring had arrived, I hope they are not regretting it now! I agree with you, hellebores are such lovely flowers to have at this time of year, all so different and so pretty. Hope you have some warmer weather next week for you and your plants!
I should have looked at your post before I did my foliage ramble this morning, Pauline, as you have reminded me of all sorts of foliage I missed! And you have bought the hellebore that I featured from a couple of weeks ago, although I called it ‘Winter Moonlight’ and not ‘Winter Moonbeam’! After I’d posted it I meant to check the name as a doubt had crept in – I’ll go back and add a note. Aren’t the leaves wonderful? Seeing your Cyclamen hederifolium has made me think of trying to establish a clump in my woodland too, unless I put out a request to the local ant population! Lots of lovely foliage in your garden, amidst your early spring flowers, so thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Cathy, have just been out and checked on my hellebore, mine is Moonbeam, maybe just similar to yours. I really bought it for its foliage, because once all the lovely early flowers are finished in the woodland, it is a lot darker when all the leaves are on the trees. Not many flowers are happy in deep shade so I’m trying to find plants with contrasting foliage to make a tapestry effect, thought Moonbeam would look lovely next to one of my hostas. The patch of cyclamen leaves started out as just one corm, the rest has been up to the ants, so you will have to get yours organised!!
Just lovely Pauline. You really have a wonderful collection of plants and I learn so much from your every post! Hope it warms up soon. Susie
Thanks Susie, I do like contrasting foliage at this time of year when flowers are in short supply. I think we are all suffering from the cold, ours is forecast to last next week as well, but maybe they will be wrong!!
Hi Pauline,
The Buddlejas never seem to stop growing; I too have cut mine back and will floor them completely in the next month or so…
It certainly has got cold again… Frustrating. Just as we begin to think it’s OK and I am keeping my eye out for Bees/Hoverflies we’re reminded that it is still only February… Although, tbh it’s also almost March and should be fairly mild by now.
Snow today/tomorrow/sunday. We’ll see; I probably won’t be able to do a foliage post at this rate.
Could have taken lots more photos Liz, but I was so frozen, just had to come in again! The few mild days we had last week made us think that the worst was over, but not to be! I suppose the February is renowned for being the worst winter month for good reason, but no bees to pollinate the crocus, far too cold for them to be out and about!
You are far further on than I am. I do hope it doesn’t all get frosted. Transplant the m. Lingholm as soon as you can: the further into growth they get, the more it sets them back. How are the primulas? My Inverewe are just showing through the ground. I’ll need to start splitting them in about 3 weeks.
Thanks Kininvie for the advice about the meconopsis, will see to that tomorrow as long as it isn’t freezing! The primulas are just showing, mine are too new to be split yet, but I have lots of seedlings coming on to make more in the border, hope it warms up for us all soon!
Thanks for joining in again this month Pauline and with such a wonderful selection of foliage plants. Of so many it is difficult to choose one to comment about but perhaps the amazing Hellebore stole my heart, sadly I couldn’t go it. My post is also about Acanthus, I’m so surprised that yours is in foliage, when I lived in the UK it didn’t usually put on any foliage until spring. Christina
The Hellebore Christina, was chosen for its foliage, not for its flower! I thought that when the flower is over, then the foliage would look good with the hostas and ferns around it in the woodland. The Acanthus has amazed me this year, normally it dies down for the winter but this time it put out lots of new growth just before winter started and hasn’t stopped since!
Hi Pauline, I love that new hellebore, such lovely leaves. I am also rather struck by Euphorbia Blackbird, I’ll have to look out for that. Lots of lovely texture and colour in your woodland. I wonder if my pulmonarias will ever look as wonderful as yours do, they are currently rather small and sparse, but I will be relocating them.
Hi Janet, I agree, the foliage of Moonbeam is lovely, it will be a good contrast to the hostas and ferns when they re-appear. Don’t worry, your pulmonareas will soon grow and be seeding about everywhere. We have so many that have seeded, that whenever I want to plant something new, a pulmonaria has to come out, they do form good ground cover though and stop the weeds from growing!
Pauline, Lots of lovely foliage. I was wondering what ‘Winter Moonbeam’ looks like, and it’s gorgeous. Carolyn
The foliage of Moonbeam is gorgeous isn’t it Carolyn! It will keep on looking beautiful even when the flowers are over and adding to the tapestry on the woodland floor.