Yarrow | My Gardener Says…

Spring has definitely sprung here in Austin and though blooms may be foremost for most garden lovers, foliage loveliness deserves a shout-out. Here are my foliage favorites for April.

The summer and fall blooming Gregg’s Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) sports deeply lobed foliage, giving rise to one of the common names for this hardy ground cover, Palmleaf Mistflower.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) has beautiful foliage year-round. It’s delicate, fern-like and spreads well (sometimes too well). Yarrow is evergreen, hardy and drought tolerant.

It brightens this shady spot.

A perennial favorite of mine and one I’ve profiled before, Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuisima) is at the zenith of beauty in the spring.

The lone green Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) in my back gardens apparently wasn’t decimated by butterfly larva last year.

With soft, graceful foliage, it’s a wonderful addition to the mixed perennial garden.

Globe Mallow (Spaeralcea ambigua) is such a show-stopper with its combination of orange blooms and arresting, pale gray-green, fuzzy leaves.

I like this combination of Pale-leaf Yucca (Yucca pallida), Heartleaf Skullcap (Scutellaria ovata) and the bright green Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii).

The Pale-leaf Yucca appears blue against the backdrop of the greener Skullcap ground cover and the Autumn Sage’s is a bright green punctuation situated further in that same ground cover.

The Wild Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) not only has beautiful blooms in spring, but interesting foliage year-round.

New growth from a young American Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus), promises more beauty as it matures.

Lastly, I can’t resist the photo of the Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea, who has visited my garden this past week as he rests on the green branch of Retama (Parkinsonia aculeata). Plumage and foliage–you can’t beat that!

Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting Foliage Follow-up for April.

As my gardens awake for spring and with a long growing season ahead, everyday unfolds more color and texture. All winter I’ve enjoyed the arresting combination of the soft, graceful Mexican Feathergrass (Nasella tenuissima) paired with the upright, sharp foliage of Iris (unknown variety).

The foliage of the Engelmann’s Daisy (Engelmannia peristenia), sports the deeply lobed habit which gives this plant another common name, Cutleaf Daisy.

I just love this combination of Mexican Feathergrass (front), Daylilies (just behind), Yarrow (Achillea, sp.)( top right), and Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha) (back left).

The hue of the foliage isn’t greatly varied, but I like the mix of Yarrow’s lacy foliage paired with the delicate, curling foliage of Daylilies, as they emerge from winter’s sleep, in advance of summer blooms. The slight blue tint and undulating form of the Columbine’s foliage contrasts with the fine, silvery foliage of the Mexican feathergrass.

The scalloped leaves of native-to-Texas Cedar Sage (Salvia roemariana) reminds me of the Geranium foliage.

Cedar Sage also blooms red, later in the spring.

Coral Honeysuckle vine (Lonicera sempervirens) foliage are mauve to burgundy when they first emerge,

and the colorful, ovate leaves hold the developing buds aloft.

I grow Bronze Fennel and Dill primarily host plants for the Black Swallowtail butterfly (it lays its eggs on the plant and the caterpillars eat, eat, eat the plants down).

I’m not above pinching some for my own salad interests, but since there are no butterflies yet, the Fennel and Dill have been beautiful and growing all winter.

Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting Foliage Follow-up for March.

My Gardener Says…

Yeah, it's work, but it's less work than grass and far more interesting.

Tag Archives: Yarrow

Foliage Follow-up, April 2014

Foliage Follow-up, March 2014