Growing Green

Emma Townshend at IndyBlogs has challenged gardening bloggers everywhere to show their green today, that is to look beyond all the showy blossoms blooming in our gardens right now to take a closer look at the most important color of all. I hadn't planned on doing a post today, but after looking at several green posts, I decided to join in the fun. That means no long-winded storyline today, just lots of photos of what is going green in my garden.

Taking a quick look around the garden this morning to capture a few photos in ten minutes, I realized the main flowerbed, the first planting I did when we moved here, is a riot of color. I think I went for "show" when I planned this bed. Instead I had to look to my containers and shade garden for some green. I seem to have gone for more foliage in my plantings this year--maybe that is a sign of my growth as a gardener? This first photo is of one of my favorites for containers, Persian Shield. It isn't even green, obviously, but the purple foliage is a nice counterpoint to the showy pink petunias and geraniums in several pots.

Coleus is one of those old-fashioned plants that I wasn't that fond of a few years ago, but growers have been coming up with some spectacular varieties in recent years. The introduction of the Kong series made me re-think coleus, and I usually include one in a couple containers.

This year, though, I saw so many new varieties of coleus that weren't even "Kongs," that I could have bought one of almost every kind I saw. I restrained myself, though, and just bought this "Glennis."

I don't think knowing the specific name even matters--just pick the one that strikes you! Next year I think there will be many more coleus here, not just in containers, but in the shade garden as well.

I love the showy foliage of caladiums, and I planted several bulbs in my shade garden, but I haven't seen any life from any of them. I think they may have gotten drowned when we had the torrential rains at the beginning of June. I consoled myself by buying one plant and putting it in a container.

An old standby for containers for the "spiller" effect is the sweet potato vine. This one is "Marguerite," and I have three of them in different places. I'm not sure what to call this color, but it is a lighter, brighter green than so many other plants and really creates a striking focal point for containers.

I have planted a couple of the darker, nearly black ipomoeas before, but decided I really didn't care for them. But this year when I saw this "Bewitched," I was won over by its shiny, velvety leaves. It really doesn't show up very well in this photo, but trust me, this is much prettier than "Blackie" or other dark sweet potato vines.

But this one--now, this one is a real beauty! It's called "Tricolor Impomoea batatas." (If you're impressed I know the names, it's because this year I actually saved all my tags!) Notice the young leaves begin as a dark pink and then mature to a variegated green with pink tinges on the edges.

Moving on to the shade garden area, there is a lot of green here, especially since hostas are the main planting in this area. But if you ignore the lovely pink blooms of the "Endless Summer" hydrangeas (supposed to be blue, but of course I always forget to add some acidic food until after they've started blooming), you'll see even the leaves are quite lovely.

I hope to eventually have a lot of ferns in this area, but the small bare-root plants I ordered from a mail-order company last fall didn't make it through the winter. So this Japanese painted fern is a bit lonely.

The lamium, "Silver Beacon," I think, is a plant I've shown before. It is growing profusely through the shade garden--a word of caution if you've never grown it before: plant it where you want something to spread.

Heucheras have certainly grown in popularity the last few years, and I'm becoming a big fan. This is a new acquisition this spring, "Dolce Creme Brulee." Not a very good picture--it actually has more of a bronze tint--but it was hiding behind some other plantings in a container. It will be moved to the shade garden this fall.

The "Plum Puddings" I bought on a whim and planted last fall are doing very well.

I've mentioned before that I expanded my small shade garden last fall, nearly doubling its size. It's a work in progress with lots of empty spaces yet--the plant budget got shot before I got to this area. I did buy some inexpensive hostas from a mail-order company last year, including a "grab bag" of unnamed varieties. They're all doing quite well, but as to be expected they're still quite small.

But here's the show-stopper of the shady ladies--my Sum and Substance hosta. This one, I think, is only four years old and has really taken off this year--must have been all that rain this spring. I didn't get out a tape measure, but just "eyeballing" it, the leaves are about 10-12 inches wide! Next spring I'm going to have to move everything next to it to give it some more room to grow.

But the best green of all is nothing I've planted. This magnificent old oak tree stands as a sentinel at the front of our yard. At one time there were several large trees on the property but many of them succumbed to lightning and storms. This one, though, has survived, living for generations before me, and I hope it will stand for many generations to come.

Well, it's been fun looking at the garden with a different perspective! Unfortunately, I've spent my usual blog-reading time doing this post instead, so I apologize--I will try to visit everyone tonight. Despite some nice rainshowers this weekend, there is still a lot of watering to do or I will have nothing green left!

For other "green" posts, be sure to check out Emma's blog.