Once again it is time to look at the foliage in the garden for Garden Bloggers Foliage Day and see how it is adding to the overall picture in the month of June when the borders are overflowing with flowers. The foliage in June is still looking very fresh, especially where we are, with all the torrential rain that we have been having, also , all the rain has made the leaves extra large and therefore they are more prominent than maybe they usually are.
One of my favourite groupings, Polygonatum with Asplenium scolopendrium, Pulmonaria, Epimedium and Crocosmia.
A closer look at the contrasting foliage of Solomon’s seal and crocosmia.
Heuchera Key Lime in the woodland, brightening up a shady corner.
A really wonderful bronzed leaf on the Rodgersia pinnata superba, it has a metallic look to it when they first come through, eventually turning green, but still a super shape to contrast with the ferns and hostas near to it in the bog garden.
My favourite fern, just wish it had an easier name, Matteuccea struthiopteris. I woke early one morning, it wasn’t raining, so I got up for a wander round the garden and found the sun’s rays shining through this group of ferns in the bog garden, I thought they looked quite beautiful.
Forming a nice contrast by the bridge over the ditch into the woodland is a purple leaved heuchera and the hart’s tongue fern, Asplenium crispum Moly, which has undulating sides to its fronds.
Heuchera Caramel providing a lovely contrast to all the green foliage around it. Wasn’t too sure when I first bought this one, whether I liked it or not, it has grown on me over the years and now I love it!
Hosta June which is in the shade by the swinging seat, under the dead oak. The swinging seat is now out of bounds, you may have read in my last post that a wren has decided to go for a swing instead!
The bog garden has a few hostas, this one is Patriot, sharing the space with candelabra primulas and Rheum palmatum behind.
More hostas at the other end of the bog garden, not quite so wet at this end. Forming lovely large clumps now are Krossa regal and Frances Williams. Can someone help me please, is the one in the foreground Wide Brim, I’ve forgotten?
Forming a large clump now by the front door, which has shade all day, is Hosta sieboldiana Elegans. This is underplanted with snowdrops so that there is something to look at in the winter.
Hosta Devon Green is in the woodland. This is the smallest of my hostas with a very shiny, dark green leaf. This one doesn’t usually get eaten by slugs, but I see that something has been having a nibble! I don’t use any slug pellets, instead I rely on our hedgehog, blackbirds, thrushes, frogs and toad to keep the population under control!
There seems to be rather a lot of contrasting foliage on this photo, maybe too much. If we go clockwise from the bottom centre, we have Hosta Sagae, then there are a few leaves of Acer Osakazuki with some Iris foetidissima leaves ( who put those there, I certainly didn’t). The large hosta at the back is Sum and Substance, this grows very large in time. Just peeping out from behind the hosta is a small bush of variegated Pieris with the foliage of solomon’s seal on the right.
It has dawned on me that all my foliage so far has been in the shade or in the bog garden, so now into the light with a little sempervivum in one of my alpine troughs, this one has such beautiful maroon leaves or what would pass for leaves.
Such a lovely blue, Elymus magellanicus, in a pot at the moment, has been for years, but soon to be released into a border where it will contrast beautifully with a golden leaved fuchsia.
Carex comans Bronze is in a border right by the house, not the best place for it, but it put itself there! It seeds around but is quite easy to remove if in the wrong place. It should be on the other side of the house in the gravel garden, that was where I first planted it, but obviously it likes travelling, it contrasts with anything it lands beside.
Thanks to Christina at Creating my own garden of the Hesperides for hosting this foliage day, please visit to see more foliage round the world.
Hi Pauline,
Lovely photos 🙂 I can whole-heartedly agree re: comments about large foliage. It feels like we’re living somewhere tropical with the size of leaves this year – just a shame we don’t have the heat to go with it! Although, I’m grateful not to have high humidity…
(Shhh, I’d imagine mice and rats also help keep your slug/snail numbers down! Not that I’m saying you have them, although we all know we’re never more than a few metres from one.) I use organic pellets generally in spring when plants are more vulnerable. Strangely this year even with all the rain I haven’t got any marks on my hosta, at all and I’ve never once used pellets near it…
Actually sunny at the moment Liz, but I think more torrential rain tonight! I know we have mice and voles, which I’m quite happy about, got to keep our tawny owl happy so that he/she will keep coming back! Probably have rats living in the countryside, but haven’t seen evidence of any, thank goodness. Whatever is eating all the slugs and snails, they’re doing a wonderful job.
I always love to come across plants lit up by sunlight; they look so beautiful and green but are incredibly difficult to photograph. You’ve done a great job with your fern, the photo is wonderful. Lovely post Pauline, very nice to see how well your garden is doing. Let’s hope for some sunshine soon to bring the flowers on!
I was so lucky Caro, to catch a bit of sunshine, it has been in very short supply for the past weeks, although having said that, it is shining at the moment. Not for long though, more torrential rain due tonight! All the rain has done wonders for the bog garden, will have to make that my next post.
You’ve captured the foliage in your garden beautifully, especially the fern. I agree about being doubtful about some Huechera colours but they do give a special kind of focal point; I like the one you have. Thanks for joining in again this month. Christina
I was lucky with the fern Christina, one of our few moments of sunshine! It’s a pleasure to join in with GBFD, Beth Chatto’s book, The Green Tapestry, was the first gardening book that I ever bought and has been such an influence in the way I have planted the garden here.
Lovely garden foliage and you’ve captured it so well.
Thank you pbm,I love contrasting foliage in the garden, we have it far longer than flowers so it is just as important. Thank you for stopping by, will now come and visit your blog.
Lovely leaves. Ostrich fern used to be called M. pensylvanica, which I think is more user friendly since I am from Pennsylvania so I continue to call it that. Every ‘Wide Brim’ that I planted has died so I don’t know what it looks like and didn’t think it was a good hosta. ‘Sagae is a very large hosta, taller than ‘Sum and Substance’ but not as wide. I was surprised to see it dwarfed. Your garden looks beautiful in greens.
Carolyn, if only plant names didn’t change, your name for the fern is much easier! Maybe my hosta isn’t Wide Brim as it just gets better each year, do wish I hadn’t lost its label. Sagae is only 2 yrs old so that is why it is still small, but if it is going to get bigger than Sum and Substance, then something will have to be moved!
You make me want a bog garden! I love all of your great foliage combinations, but the plant grouping in your first photo is maybe my favorite.
Everyone should have a bog garden Deb, we are so lucky to have this border that is permanently moist because of an underground stream. The plants that grow there have such fabulous leaves. I like the plant combinations in the first photo best too, can’t take all the credit, nature put the crocosmia and pulmonaria there!
Very beautiful, Pauline and your slug control is amazing. I’m having such a hard time of it this year with (admittedly) newly planted stuff just being devoured overnight. If I lived at the Priory I could at least go out with a torch at night and pick off the biggest slug critters. Dave
Thanks David, I leave slug hunting to my merry band of workers while I am asleep! Sorry to hear that you are having such problems, not surprising in view of all the rain we are all having. I have a friend who goes out at night armed with a torch and a pair of scissors, me , I’m too squeamish!!
I love your garden, Pauline. Every time I see some part of it, you give me new ideas for plant combinations (not always the same plants, as many of yours aren’t suited to my conditions, but the shapes and colours and textures). I really like that first photo.
Thanks Lyn, I love trying to make foliage into tapestries, especially in the shady parts of the garden where flowers are not so numerous. The bog garden is another area where the plants have super leaves, we are so lucky to have that in the garden.
dear Pauline, these photos are totally divine. I could have them framed and stuck all over my walls and I would feel happy and peaceful whenever I looked at them. The garden groupings are divine, but so is your camera technique to capture the pics. Congrats on a wonderful post. cheers, catmint (and I promise anyone reading this that no money has changed hands and that this is my objective unbiased opinion!)
Thanks you so much Catmint for your lovely unsolicited comments!! I agree with you that various shades of green are restful and peaceful and when planting, mainly in the shade, I always try to contrast colour, shape and texture of the leaves, as flowers in shade are in short supply in the summer.
Lovely images, I particularly admire your Rodgersia pinnata superba, it is something that has been on my wish list for some time. All your foliage looks so healthy and the hostas are wonderfully large clumps
K
The Rodgersia is super when it first comes through Karen, the bronze effect stays for a couple of months but then it goes green, lovely plant, it will like your shady damp area which you wrote about some time ago. Some of my hostas are quite old now, over 10 yrs, and forming huge clumps, have even moved a path rather than disturb the hostas either side when we couldn’t get through! I usually buy the ones that have very thick leaves, the slugs and snails don’t seem to like them as much!
Hi Pauline! Your hostas look great, and ferns too. I love matteuccia too, which also grow as a native in our woodlands here. That hosta Devon green is the best one to me. I like the dark green glossy leaves. That carex is very interesting, here comans bronze always look dead or in the verge of dying, yours looks good and healthy indeed!
Devon green hosta Alberto, is only small but so shiny, it really shows up amongst the other plants, I like it too! I think my Carex comans bronze is enjoying all our lovely rain !!