Home of the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox and other native plants for pollinators

Monday, June 30, 2008

... Just A few Of My Favorite Greens

I want to jump on the Green Wagon. No, we're not talking about the Green movement we're talking about green leaves and plants moving about in the garden. Frances at Faire Garden had a great post and Emma at A Nice Green Leaf is hosting the event.

There is no lack of green at Clay and Limestone during this in between time. That indeed is my lament...too much green and not enough of the other stuff! So when I heard about Emma's celebration of the green leaf, I knew it was time for me to look kindly toward my green... So for your amusement here are just a few of my favorite greens...most photos enlarge with a click!


Bluestar/Amsonia hubrechtii ---This is a first...who knew those seed pods where there? Not me! Bluestar is a sweet plant in the spring, a pleasant fellow during the summer and then king of the garden each fall when he erupts into a golden splendor.


Salvia/Sage 'Berggarten'-- Not your common garden sage, but a big leaved plant that is a fabulous ornamental in the border.


Salvia azurea with simple green leaves and squared stems. Check out the blue stems...and then think azure blue flowers! ...Yes, that is indeed a shower head directly to the left of the Salvia. Recycled from our bath re-do!


Blackberry Lily/Belemcanda chinensis leaves. I love the crinkly seersucker look and the 'hidden' flower emerging from the leaves.


Witch Hazel/Hamamelis intermedia 'Diana' I can't explain it but I love this tree/shrub and its leaves, especially in the fall when they are a brilliant orange!


Sedum ternatum a native of Tennessee gone to seed....in a good way.


Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl' with Verbascum thapsis...these two were made for each other, but the big mullein is a thug...we aren't sure of their fate! Sometimes love isn't enough....I love the mullein. It is indeed difficult having an eco-conscience!


Coral bell/Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride' If you live in the south, this hybridized native coral bell is perfect for your garden. Evergreen and fall blooming. I can't help it, this flower seems all male to me...well, bride he is!




Hellebore ericsmithii 'Silver Moon'-- First year in the Clay and Limestone hit parade...let's see if this guy can make it over the winter....



Cup Plant/Siphium perfoliatum....the leaves cup the stem.


Tartan Aster/Aster tataricus possibly 'Jindai'-- The basal leaves make me think of a tobacco plant!


Tiarella cordifolia sps. The heart shaped leaves are sweet....

The big bad boy Woolly Mullein/Verbascum thapsis. The lower leaves are 18 inches long and if he were not considered a noxious weed by the State of Tennessee we would continue to go steady. Isn't he gorgeous? The bad boys always are!


Green Dragon/ Arisaema dracontium with Heuchera, Phlox and a passion vine to the right. He may look short but he is actually a bout 2 foot tall.


Green Spice Heuchera. You can't beat the Heucheras for color and spicing up a shady spot.


Foam Flower/Tiarella cordifolia "Iron Butterfly'


Autumn Fern...this is a spectacular fern.


To educate my kind readers...the plant below is highly invasive, has shown up all over Tennessee and other parts of the known gardening world and unfortunately in my garden! If he is in yours...remove immediately and under no circumstances should you allow it to go to seed. It is poised to take over the world.



Japanese Stilt Grass/Microstigium viminium...shallow rooted and pulls up easily!

Thank you for hanging around and looking at the greenery. You've helped me appreciate them all the more!

Gail

“The fall of a leaf is a whisper to the living” Russian proverb

35 comments:

  1. You have a nice collection of "greens". I rely on foliage more than flowers particularly in the shadier parts of the yard. People who garden in the South, or anywhere with a long summer, need foliage to carry them through the season, or plant annuals.

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  2. les,

    You are so right and it took me a long time to learn that lesson! I am still adding the more colorful shade lovers and Heucheras are a mainstay! any you particularly like to recommend?

    Gail

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  3. Your greens are beautiful--I'm hoping this means you did get some rain? The two salvias look interesting; I don't know that I've seen either one, and I'd like to see the azure flowers of the one when it blooms.
    You can't go wrong with the green of heucheras and ferns!

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  4. Hi Gail, you are so funny, those bad boys of TN are appealing in a scary way. We have several of the same plants, Diane witch hazel, amsonia with seed pods, I have high hopes for babies, blackberry lilies, mine are just opening too. Love them. Love is not enough, the best line ever! Thanks for the link, my friend.
    Frances

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  5. Lots of green for sure. The mullein in my garden was a big hit on the tour. I will be posting a few pictures about it later this week. Isn't that funny? No one knew what it was and if they did, they couldn't believe how big it was. ttyl

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  6. Rose,

    We had a wee bit and then they temps dropped, so we are now enjoying a much needed respite from the heat. I wore jeans on a walk this morning!

    I can't praise the Salvia Azurea enough. It is a lovely color and blooms in late summer into fall...last year the frost took it out! You can find it at Niche gardens...
    http://www.nichegardens.com/catalog/item.php?id=1888 or go to Mobot to see...It's happy in Missouri so it would be happy in Illinois!

    I only get joy from referring you to Niche!

    gail

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  7. Gorgeous! I am really taken with that big-leaved Salvia especially.... must find out if it would grow as nicely here in London as it clearly does in Tennessee. Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures and thoughts about your plants.. interesting how our ideas about our gardens do have to evolve... (re your comment about learning lessons of green!)

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  8. Frances,


    Glad to make you smile!

    Yes the babies shall be a nice reward...have you had success with the Bluestar seeding?

    Does your Diane shed her leaves or hold on to them during the winter? These wonderful flowers have been blocked by the big brown leaves the last two winters. Don't know why!

    gail

    ps
    I am a gardener, but also a therapist. After exhaustive study I have concluded that in matters of love, it is often Not enough;)

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  9. Tina,

    I love the big lug and think he is spectacular...great minds must think alike I have a post about him scheduled, too! It's going up tomorrow...I am liking the blogger scheduled posts feature. Let me know if you are going up tomorrow and I will link to you!

    gail

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  10. Emma,

    Welcome to Clay and Limestone...Thank you for creating this half year meme. It has been fun and is also giving me the nudge I need to look at more greenery for this garden.

    Both Salvias ought to grow in England. Chiltern hasn't either, that is a surprise!

    gail

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  11. Lots of green for sure! It looks like a good posting idea. I know I have lots of green to display. I like that big leaved sage you have!

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  12. Dave,

    it is a fine sage...are you going to post your greens?

    gail

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  13. If it weren’t for green, I would have no color at all in the yard at times!

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  14. Hurray for the green that ties it all together. I like the little stars hovering above the sedum foliage. The green spice heuchera looks very good.

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  15. skeeter,

    Ain't that the truth! I look around at the sea of green and wonder about it! Lots of trees and not much sun! Is that your garden too?

    gail

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  16. northern shade,

    I did too! So glad you said what I meant to say in the caption... thank you for filling in the blanks.

    It's a sweet sedum and likes the shade.

    Gail

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  17. Hi Gail, Diane is deciduous here, so there are no leaves when the flowers bloom. Last fall was when the amsonia was purchased, no flowers, so the seeds are new to us. I will save some when the pod opens to try for more.

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  18. I think my favorite green is the sage. The leaves look so intricate and lovely.

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  19. We have a ton of trees but a lot of sun on the West side of the house where I have the main flower garden. Some clay dirt over there also and tough to dig in. Just noticed this evening I am loosing several things due to late planting and this hot drought. argggg

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  20. Gail: Very nice display of all things green... I like your title too. Especially intriguing were the Foam flower and Heuchera.. I also really liked the heart shaped leaves of Tiarella cordifolia sps.

    Great post... I had a lot of fun doing this project and now viewing all the other cool (not slang)greenery at other gardens.
    Meems@Hoe&Shovel

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  21. Gail, as always a great post. Makes me think I need more foliage interest in my gardens. The tiarella's heart shaped leaves are so pretty and I like the salvias. Looking forward to seeing their blooms.

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  22. Hi Gail,
    What a great posting o'the green! What you may currently lack in flowers is more than compensated by the fascinating textures of foliage. I was surprised to see you didn't have a Ligularia in there with your shade plants ... that's fast become one of our favorite plants for shade.

    I wonder if that sedum is hardy this far north? It's a great one I wouldn't mind having around, but we're not hurting for the two we do have, lol. Shat Salvia Azurea looks a lot like one we always plant (it's only annual here, alas), but isn't the easiest to find. Up here it's called "Black and Blue Salvia" due to the blue stems that get very dark, but the flowers are splendid!

    So much great stuff in this post, I'll shut up now, lol. :-)

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  23. OMG, preview is your friend! Previous should read: "THAT salvia...." I think overworking lately has rotted my brain, lol.

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  24. goodness,
    I stepped away from the computer and you wonderful people came by. Too bad we couldn't all meet on the porch.. the temps are perfect... for coffee, tea and a few scones.

    Gail

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  25. Frances,

    Diane is deciduous here, too, but for some reason she drops her brown leaves after she blooms. Very strange...

    Gail

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  26. meems,

    I enjoyed your post...very intriguing to have to plant for all year. We ought to do that as well...using evergreen plantings and plants with multi-season interest. It's just different.

    The kind of native plants we can grow are beautiful...like the Heuchera and Tiarellas. Iron Butterfly is very striking, almost Coleus in appearance.

    It's so much fun to talk plants!

    Gail

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  27. IVG,

    Salvia azurea is a perennial here...grows in Missouri, it might grow where you garden...here is a link to check it out
    http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?Code=F430

    Black and Blue is a different Salvia...aren't we lucky that there are so many to choose from! I grow it here as well..it is iffy as to hardiness to zone 6a/b!

    Gail

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  28. You are brave to grow Cup Plant. Those Silphiums get huge. I've had to restrain my Aster tartaricus. It's a big, bad beastie in my garden. I really like Green Dragon. It's such a neat little plant.

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  29. Gail, it's a green celebration in your yard. I was thinking of you today and the fun we all had @ the Spring Fling. Now, it's summer, and the livin' is mostly easy.~~Dee

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  30. Hi Gail,
    Thanks for the distinction on that salvia! Don't you just love MObot.org? They have such a wealth of great information and I link there frequently. I'm far from an expert on Salvias (there are so many of them!) I know a lot about S. nemerosa and S. officinalis, but beyond that it's just a blur, lol.

    I meant to mention last night that I had never seen a Witch Hazel plant before, so that was cool to see you have one! Do you use it medicinally at all? When I was a kid, that was the go-to lotion when I got in poison ivy, lol. Always thought it was a cool, if funny name, hehe.

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  31. IVG,

    No I don't use it medicinally...I do admire the tree, it's leaves and the flowers...it is hardy to zone 5...are you zone 4b?

    gail

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  32. dee,

    I think of SF and wish we were all able to get together sooner...doesn't fall 2009 seem very far away!

    If I were a garden writer I would go to the meeting...has it already happened...that way I could see some of the flingers.

    gail

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  33. mmd,

    yes the Aster is big and I noticed it is moving into a new region...we will have to nip that in the leaf bud...soon! I do like the Jacks and his cousins the Dragons. They are cool and mine are now beginning to develop their seed heads. Are yours?

    Gail

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  34. beckie,

    You are way too kind...but it was a fun post to work on! I will post the salvia as soon as it blooms...this fall. I know you IL gardeners can grow it, it is happy in MO.

    gail

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  35. Hi there Gail :-D

    What lovely calming greens. I loved the Green Spice Heuchera. It is a serious winner for me being green and a heuchera :-D

    Thanks for leavin a comment on my blog. Have a great weeknd :-D

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"Insects are the little things that run the world." Dr. E O Wilson