Foliage Follow-Up - January 2011

On the 16th of each month, Pam Penick at Digging hosts Foliage Follow-Up, where she invites us to share photos of our leafy, spiky and green things. January is one of those months in Central Texas where the foliage is infinitely more exciting than the blooms!

In the front yard, 'Bright Lights' yucca turns all shades of spectacular when temperatures cool. [EDIT: Pam nailed it: it's not 'Bright Lights', but rather 'Bright Edge' yucca -- purchased from Shoal Creek Nursery.]
'Bright Edge' yucca

The tiny yellow blossoms of damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana) are long gone, but its textured foliage adds interest to the winter garden.
Damianita

Cold temperatures turn the leaves of the 'Carefree Delight' rose from green to coppery red, a nice contrast to its grey-white thorns.
'Carefree Delight' rose

Bulbs are starting to pop up around the garden. Freesia is always the first to appear. These are a coral-pink variety from Easy to Grow Bulbs, which I planted last year. I also planted "blue' freesia, which turned out to be an obnoxious shade of purple that clashed with the delicate shade of these beauties, so I pulled them all up and tossed them at the end of last season. Hey, that's just how I roll.
Freesia foliage

I'm very excited to see this Sternbergia lutea foliage, also known as fall daffodil. I just planted these bulbs from Old House Gardens a few months ago.
Fall daffodil

First ranunculus sighting, from Easy To Grow Bulbs' 'Island Sunset' mix. Will it be red, yellow or orange?
First ranunculus

In the vegetable garden out back, a row of lettuces, including Simpson Elite and baby oakleaf, front a bed of Packman broccoli.
Broccoli & lettuces

Softneck garlic and Q's Mesclun Mix flourish happily in a cozy microclimate between the lime trees.
Mesclun mix, romaine, garlic

We've had several days of constant, gentle, soil-drenching rains, as this baby romaine happily testifies.
Baby romaine

What's a gardener to do when last year's dill reseeds itself in the midst of its worst garden companion, carrots? I'm treating it as an experiment and leaving it be.
Carrots

'Bright Lights' chard mix is not as hardy as my favorite, Fordhook Giant, but it is beautiful; I particularly like the orange.
'Bright Lights' chard

This colorful strawberry leaf is from either a Chandler or Sequoia variety from Dromgoole's Natural Gardener.
Strawberry leaf

The cabbages are finally starting to form heads.
Cabbage

Visit Pam's Foliage Follow-Up page to see what's happening in other gardens.

Words and photos © 2009-2011 Caroline Homer for "The Shovel-Ready Garden". Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Comments

  1. Wow, what a fabulous winter foliage post, Caroline! Your veggies are my faves, but I'm also starstruck by your 'Bright Lights' yucca. Just wondering though, did you mean 'Bright Edge'? I have one of those, although yours does look brighter and more colorful than mine. Thanks for celebrating foliage with me.

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  2. You may be right, Pam. I may have gotten it confused with the chard variety, ha! I'll take a look and see if I still have the container (wouldn't be surprised if I did) and will correct the post if it is.

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  3. I think its pretty cool that your letting the Dill go wild. Bet you'll be plenty popular with the swallowtail butterflies!

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  4. Such texture you have. I have been stomping around looking for my first ranunculus of the year to appear...a little jealous here...

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  5. Such a healthy looking crop of everything. Your veggies in particular. Did you grow them from seed or transplants? I think I have some dill seeds somewhere- must root them out and plant. I paid $1.99 for a few sprigs of dill recently. I can never understand why they charge so much for herbs when they are so easy to grow.

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  6. The Bright Lights chard, Packman broccoli, strawberries and cabbage are from transplants purchased at the Natural Gardener. All the lettuces and carrots are from seed and the garlic is from Gourmet Garlic Gardens.

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