by Lydia Holley August 1, 2022
Most everyone wants flowers in their landscape, whether to bring inside to enjoy the sweet perfume, to attract butterflies, or for brilliant color. But there are certain times of the year that foliage can be the star. One of those times is in winter; the other is during the hottest days of summer.
A garden filled with foliage on a winter’s day keeps the landscape from looking so dead. Foliage also adds green to a summer garden, evoking a refreshing sense of coolness where they may be none. Whether viewed from indoors or out, a garden full of greenery in the summer will look fresh, and can delight even an overly warm visitor.
When you look for plants for your landscape, the appearance of its foliage should be as important as its other qualities. Is its foliage variegated? It is a dull green or bright and cheerful? Does it go dormant at certain times of the year? Does it brown in hot weather?
Does the plant have various issues with its foliage? Or can you count on it to stay green and pretty through almost any weather conditions?
Consider having one area of your garden be planted with a majority of evergreens. I have such an area outside my bedroom window. It is the first thing I see every morning, and the last thing I see at night. No matter what the rest of my garden looks like, I can count on it to be soothing and restful. It is a positive way to start the day, and an encouragement when the weather becomes challenging.
After so many years of only evergreens in that area, I planted a climbing rose to frolic along the top of a hedge. The rose’s stems and foliage are covered by the evergreen plants, but its flowers bloom along the top of the hedge, giving me the best of both worlds.
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