Many plants have leaves with distinctive shapes that, whether large or small, make a statement of their own. Some of them are best used as accents, and some work equally well as specimen plants, in small groups or even masses.
Texture
Individual leaves all have texture. Some are smooth, even shiny; some are puckered and gathered (Hosta 'Gold Drop' — I think),
or deeply corrugated [pinnate] like (Viburnum plicatum var plicatum),
or fuzzy and pettable like Stachys byzantina which isn't called "lamb's ears" for nothing.
Glaucus leaves, like Sedum 'Autumn Joy' are completely different with their waxy bloom.
Sometimes the fuzzy texture is fleeting, like that on the newly unfolding leaves of Hydrangea quercifolia. This is one of my all-time favorite plants whose foliage is a delight all season, iced with huge snowy flowerheads in summer.
Texture can also refer to the effect of a mass of tiny leaves. Lawn grass or boxwood (Buxus spp. ) give overall fine texture. With grass, the texture is created by hundreds of plants growing tightly together; with box, it's the hundreds of tiny leaves on one plant. Variance in leaf size comes into focus when you compare boxwood to a large leaf Hosta like H. montana aureo-marginata!
Conifers have various needle, awl or scale-like leaf shapes. Needles are small and meld together to create a generally fine or dense texture. Pictured clockwise from upper left: Juniperus chinensis 'Pfitzeriana aurea', Pinus strobus 'Pendula' (Weeping white pine), Cryptomeria japonica — witch's broom and Tsuga canadensis 'Pendula' (Weeping hemlock).
Well, I get so excited about the incredible variety and beauty of voliage that I could rave on and on here, but I'll stop for now. Next time we'll look at some foliage combinations in the garden. See ya' later.
MORE LINKS
- Leaf Parts — a glossary of terms with links to black and white drawings of, I think, sections through the pertinent part of the leaf.
- The anatomy of a leaf — A page developed for grades 8-10 but the explanation is clear, concise and easily grasped, for those of us who are not particularly botanically savvy.
- Understanding Botanical Plant Names — In addition to good definitions of genus, species, variety, cultivar and hybrid, there's an explanation of the correct way to write a plant name followed by a list of some commonly used names, many of which are used to describe a plant's leaves.
