This February I’m glad that my garden has enough interesting foliage to grace a gloomier-than-normal garden space. The Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei),

remains a rich green, even with a thin coat of ice on the leaves.

I’ve fallen in love with ‘Sparkler’ Sedge  (Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler‘), a new addition to my gardens.

I planted  three in the fall and they’ve performed well this winter.  I hope ‘Sparkler’ can handle the upcoming heat and accompanying dry summer without much babying from this gardener.

A favorite of mine all year round, the Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima), is always graceful.

A trio of nice foliage plants.  The two larger shrubs, ‘Nana’ Nandina, display a remarkable mosaic of winter color.

The ‘Nana’ are combined here with Yellow ‘Hinckley’ columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinckleyana) to the right and Berkeley sedge (Carex divulsa) on the left, at the bottom of the photo.

A closer look at the foliage of the ‘Nana’ Nandina, first on a cloudy day,

then on a bright, shiny day.

Either way, it  cheers up the winter garden.

Lastly, the Pale-leaf yucca (Yucca pallida),

always lends texture to the garden.  I especially love the yellow/orange-yellow strips bordering the leaves.  And the grey-blue of those leaves is striking all year-long.

Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting the tribute to foliage.