Foliage - The Living Palette - Part 1

If someone asks you to think of a beautiful garden, what image pops into your mind first? I'll wager it's beds and borders full of flowers. Flowers are beautiful. There's no doubt about it.

A well planned and planted border of sufficient size, can be a kaleidoscope of color throughout the growing season; if you have the space and time to devote to it.

But what if you don't have sufficient space in the sun? Or the time needed to deadhead, cut back, lift and divide as needed to ensure that each plant is always at its peak? Or the time and resources needed to plant large numbers of annuals? Or what if your climate isn't conducive to prolonged flowering? Most blossoms go over quickly when temperatures soar.

In the right climates and conditions, many perennials will be able to flower all season, as advertised. But, for most perennials and woody plants, flowers are ephemeral, and that's as it should be, too. Part of the beauty of a flower is in the anticipation; watching the buds expand, day after day, waiting for them to burst open and display their glory. The show reaches a crescendo and then fades away until next season.

Before and after the flower show, what is the predominant living element in the garden? Yes, you guessed right, it's -- Ta Da! --Foliage. Plant foliage creates the form and texture of the garden. True, many plants also have stems and branches that contribute mightily to form and texture, but during the growing season, foliage is King.

Contrasts and Echoes

What makes a garden worth a second look will depend a great deal on the viewer. To my mind, it is the juxtaposition of plants of varying foliage, creating contrasts and echoes of color and texture that make a garden interesting all during the year.

Color

Foliage gives us a vast array of color contrasts and echoes for our gardening palette.

As you can see from the little foliage color wheel I made, the basic colors are all there for us to work with, including near white and almost black. The shades, tints and nuances in between these basics are almost unending. And what makes it even more interesting -- and challenging -- is that the leaf colors can vary on one plant as the season progresses. Cultural conditions will also make a difference. Some of the golds, yellows and purples will develop a green tinge (which can also be singularly attractive) on their shady sides or if they are in an area where shade increases as the season progresses. The leaf or needle coloration on some plants takes on an entirely different hue as cold weather approaches. Junipers and heathers are noted for this, but as I mentioned last week, it happens to certain Euphorbia, too.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic