I think today’s post has been the hardest foliage post I’ve written since starting this meme in September 2011.
Why was it hard? Because the garden is a jungle of growth this year. July has never been so wet. Yesterday there were showers during the day and heavy rain in the night and more is forecast for today and tomorrow! IT NEVER RAINS IN JULY!
Not just has there been rain but the temperatures are much lower too, some days probably 10° C lower. The garden loves it! I’m loving it! The flowers think it’s early June, there are roses. In photographing the garden today it was really hard to keep the blooms from making an appearance. But that said without the structure given by the foliage the garden wouldn’t be as enjoyable as it is.
Looking down the drive, green definitely rules the day
Looking up the drive from the gate Euphorbia myrsinites and prostrate rosemary are doing a great job
Weigela is usually looking very sorry for itself by this time of year
Weigela is usually looking very sorry for itself by this time of year, it might even grow a bit – in all honesty this shrub should go, when I have some more Cistus to plant I will replace it.
The upper Drive border doesn’t have any flowers vying for attention
Well not many!
The large Island has some Eschscholzia but mostly it is the foliage that is its main feature
But beyond in the upper slope border roses, Hemerocallis and Kniphofia all shout for attention.
Looking across the Large Island to the Circular rose bed and beyond to the Upper slope flowers are impossible to exclude
Purple and silver my favourite combination for foliage
Purple and silver my favourite combination for foliage
Miscanthus are looking fabulous this year, I think this will be their best year ever here!
The walnut has put on masses of growth, I hardly recognise it. The Perovskia won’t stay out of the picture
The trimmed box with a Pepperino stone block add structure to the billowing lavender and Perovskia
I hope you will have some foliage you would like to share this month. If it is only in a minor supporting role, that isn’t a problem, or maybe you have a particular plant whose foliage is looking fabulous now, then simply post as usual linking back to this post and then leave a comment with the link to your post, I every much look forward to reading them.
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
I agree, it was difficult this month trying not to include flowers, they seemed to creep in without me noticing them! I am envious of your rain, they keep promising us rain, but it doesn’t often arrive and the garden is starting to look dry, more forecast for tomorrow night, we’ll just have to wait and see if it comes.
Your silvers and purples look very good together and I do like your pillar of clipped box, lovely contrast with the lavender and perovskia.
My link is http://leadupthegardenpath.com
It doesn’t matter about flowers creeping in as the idea is to show how important foliage is in supporting the flowers as well as being important in its own right when there are no flowers. I always look forward to reading your posts Pauline, thank you for supporting this meme every month.
Beautiful garden …I love the stone and the box mirroring the shape …clever… 🙂
I have to admit that is more by accident than design but maybe I was influenced byt he shape of the stone when I decided on the shape for the box.
good choice …
Great contrast, and nice artistic touch in that boxwood and stone.
Well, I failed totally in keeping flowers out so I was pleased to read your comment about the supporting role. That was the theme I took for my debut post, here:
http://wp.me/p2yz5S-1Gd
The purple/silver combo does work really well, I must do more of that.
Welcome to GBFD Jessica, its great that you could join in this month. Purple and silver works really well together especially in bright sunlight but it also works in dull light. There are lots of possibilities, I can’t do them all here but you could do more where you are.
Hi, I love ‘visiting’ your garden. I’d love to add more purple foliage to my Algarve garden (already have plenty of silver), Could you name some of the purple plants you have for me, please. I should be able to find them in garden centers here.
Hi Mara. Today I showed Cotinus and sedum ‘Purple Emperor’, there are also other sedums that are purple. There is pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Tom Thumb’ which is tough and shouldn’t need much water, I haven’t found it here but you might. If you have shade all of the dark Huecheras are good. I also have Diabolo which need summer irrigation but is doing well this year and The purple Elder, again this is better in semi shade with some irrigation. Hope those help.
I’ll start with the sedums, which funnily enough are easier to buy in northern Portugal’s markets. Shade and space is lacking so I can only try 1 or 2 of your suggestions. Thank you. I look forward to posting garden photos with more purple in the future.
Fabulous lush garden for July…much like ours. We are currently in a bit of a dry spell as the storms keep going around where I live….we get in these vortexes sometimes but the dry weather has brought a few butterflies our way.
Here is my link from last week:
thanks for joining in this month Donna, a vortex sounds very scary!
It certainly is looking green! We have had similar weather here. A few hot days and then cooler with rain, so bearable. Your garden seems to love it as much as mine! 🙂
The garden has never looked like this in July, Cathy! Long may it last. Although today’s storm was accompanied by hail in some places, we miraculously missed it!
I love your purple and silver combinations – your perovskia is looking amazing too. I am glad it wouldn’t stay out of the picture. Mine is almost in flower……
Ciao Christina, subito dopo aver pubblicato l’articolo sul GBFD volevo scrivere il commento al tuo blog con relativo link, ma ha cominciato a fare temporale e ho preferito staccare il PC. Anche in questo momento sta piovendo. Non ti sembra di essere in Inghilterra quest’anno con questo clima estivo anomalo? Ieri ho scoperto che un’iris è rifiorita e oggi ho visto addirittura due boccioli in una rosa che dovrebbe avere un’unica fioritura: Albertine! Sono contenta di tutto questo, ma è troppo strano. Anche se mi hai fatto vedere una volta io non ricordo come si inserisce il link. Ora ci provo:
gbfd-garden-bloggers-foliage-day-luglio
Ciao Anna Maria, sono contento che hai partecipato questo mese. Sono d’accordo con tutto quello che hai detto. Hai ragione mi sembra di essere in Inghilterra, solo che li non ci sono quasi mai le grandine! Controllerò il link, e se non funzionasse lo farò io.
I love your combinations. So well thought out. See what’s going on here in North Carolina at http://johnsviccellio.wordpress.com
Thanks for joining in again this month, John, I look forward to reading your post.
It’s all looking utterly fabulous Christina, and you are right, the lush – and spiky – foliage really does hold it all together and makes a wonderful display without the roses etc. But how wonderful to have a respite from the baking heat that I know sometimes gets you down by this point in the year. I am joining in again too, with some similar combinations! http://plantaliscious.janetbruten.co.uk/2014/07/fabulous-foliage-and-rescue-flowers/
I’m beginning to call this my English summer Janet; some of my Italian friends are quite shocked to think that summer can have so much rain. Even if it does get hot soon, it can’t last too long, the autumn always brings morning dew even without rain and the night temperatures will be lower. Thanks for joining in this month.
Hello Christina, I am joining in ‘questo mese’ too..
How strange that you are getting all the rain this summer. Apart from a couple of thunder storms we haven’t had any rain for ages. I love your combination of silver and red foliage. In fact foliage is such a great feature of your garden.
The matching box and stone are a lovely touch.
My link is http://thebloominggarden.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/garden-bloggers-foliage-day/
Hi Chloris, thank you for joining in this month, I’m looking forward to reading your post. The weather has been so strange this year maybe it won’t be so hot for when you visit.
What a difference the rains make Christina. You sound joyful and I would be to have such lovely spaces. The photo of the Perovskia and the walnut tree is gorgeous. Foliage Day crept up on me this month–I hope to have something to share next time.
It is sometimes difficult to accept just how hard it is to garden here in summer, but now I think I will water with a hose pipe those plants that really need it and are also plants I don’t want to be without and just eliminate others.
I’m sooo envious of the rain, although we’ve enjoyed cooler than normal temperatures thus far this July as well. Your garden looks very happy.
Yes, the garden is happy and I’m even happier. I hope you get some rain soon Kris.
Well, it’s a funny year but I’m also glad that the heavens do most of the watering this summer. Your garden looks fab – I like the grey-burgundy combination. Do you find red sedum less long-lived as the others?
Rain is certainly better for the garden, as well as it being less work! I haven’t found any problems with S. ‘Purple Emperor’ but some of the smaller ones seem more choosy about conditions.
I like your purple and silver combinations very much. And that clump of Miscanthus is magnificent!
I just love Miscanthus, Jason!
Your garden really shows how beneficial grasses are, Christina – they pull everything together so well. No GBFD from me this month, first time since I joined in, as I was oblivious to the date yesterday and we are away now.
I should have reminded everyone in an earlier post but don’t want to sound pushy! I look forward to reading about your foliage next month and all that you write about in between. Have a nice break away from Rambling!
some lovely combinations Christina, I love silver, grey and blue foliage plants with plum and purple, yours look beautiful, glad you have your cooler and damper weather, here amazingly it turned dry and ‘hot’ today hitting the low 20’sC,
I finally got my act together and have done a foliage post,
only one small area of the garden though, I think my lack of writing posts and reading blogs is partly due to the wet weather and not being able to get around the garden,
sorry I’m late, thanks for hosting, Frances
You don’t need to apologise for being late Frances, I really appreciate you joining in. I also think it’s good sometimes to just focus on one or two small areas, my post this month was unusual in that I showed more different parts of the garden.
The foliage combinations look great, and I much prefer the green lush look to the summer drought, I bet it’s a nice change.
I thought the poppy extravaganza was nice, but I have to say the mix of greens, grays and purples is also exceptional.
It’s nice that things change, even if that means there are moments when there is a lull. Foliage often bridges the time between the flowering of different things.
Lovely and so interesting for me as a lot of things will work for me too. I have a Weigelia taken as a cutting from my sister’s garden many years ago. It is not a happy plant in my garden but this year was its best yet. Amelia
The Weigelia usually looks like it will die here, you have a little more water so may do better for you.
I particularly like the box echoing the shape of the stone, and both contrasting with the billowing perovskia, lovely.