Until I began my post for ‘In a vase on Monday’ this morning I hadn’t realised that it was 22nd of the month already – where does time go?
It is that time when I write about foliage in my garden. Having walked around the garden to take some photographs the thing I really notice is how much the evergreens have grown during the winter. Coming from a different climate I am still surprised that the main growing period for evergreens here is from the end of September to December and from mid-February to the end of April. Those are the periods when it is usually quite mild and often there is some rain or at least humidity.
This winter has actually remained mild up until now with only a few days of winter cold so that the new foliage is very noticeable and shrubs have filled out to make good strong shapes in the borders.
Acanthus mollis foliage looks at its best at this time of year, although I can see that something has been nibbling it!
The bare trunk and branches of the white Mulberry are shown to advantage against the bay hedge and with its skirt of Acanthus
The bay hedge has grown tall without me noticing, I don’t want it any taller than this so must keep up with cutting it
New foliage is appearing all around the garden; in some ways this is more a sign of spring than the bulbs flowering.
The ghostly stems of Perovskia against the bay hedge add sparkle when the sun is shining
I clip all the cistus in the garden to keep good tight forms.
Nandina domestica with its bright berries is one of the only shrubs in this border that I don’t prune to shape
Looking across the drive border
The Elaeagnus has put on masses of new growth; I’m happy for it to be taller than the Cistus; now it has finished flowering and filling the garden with its perfume it can be pruned to a strong shape (I’m thinking of a cube) to add variety to the forms.
What foliage do you have in your garden this month? If you would like to join GBFD please just leave a link to and from this post. Have a great week, Christina
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Pingback: Right on Time | My Gardener Says…
Even with the munching, the Acanthus mollis is attractive–especially with the tree trunk emerging from its top. That last photo is beautiful, it’s a nice combination of plants you have there. Thanks for hosting! I have a contribution for this month: http://mygardenersays.com/2016/02/22/right-on-time
Hi Tina, the garden is beginning to look the way I want it to; I hope it will be as good in summer. Thanks for joining GBFD.
Shiny acanthus looks wonderful, but fills me with dread because I know I’ll be hacking the patch in half at least twice during the year. Your pruned cistus look very attractive.
Yes, the Acanthus does spread, I pull out tiny seedlings as soon as they appear; I never manage to cut the flowers down before they set seed!
I really like the textural contrast between the Acanthus leaves and the White Mulberry Bark Christina. A Bay hedge sounds unusual but lovely, do you let that flower? This month seems to be flying by, March soon and then hopefully Spring will here!
Yes the bay often flowers and I’m always pulling out little bay seedlings around the garden; it needs pruning once a year so sometimes I loose the flowers if I don’t think about when I’m pruning.
When is the best time to trim the cistus? I have a couple now. They aren’t as lush as yours, but perhaps by clipping them a bit I can reduce some of the legginess.
It’s still so sodden here, restricting my access to the garden beyond the paths, so I will be struggling to join in this month. I’m more than ready for some dry days now!
Hi Jessica, you can trim the Cistus any time after flowering, mine were done in early autumn last year but maybe earlier would have been better as then they would have had less foliage when it was hot. The leaves curl up slightly when it is hot and dry for a long time.
Hi Christina, It’s been a while since I joined GBFD. You have so much life in your garden! It’s just wonderful to see! Acanthus under the Mulberry is beautiful. Wishing you a happy GBFD!
Nice to hear from you Sally.
Hi Christina, Thank you for visiting “me” 🙂 . I was wondering if you or another blogger reading this,could tell this computer illiterate how to add your url to my post so that it’s live…..I actually knew at one time but have forgotten. Thank you!
Hi Sally, you hover over the tittle of the post, right hand mouse, a dropdown box appears choose “copy hyper link” then just paste into your post.
We have actually had a few dry days so I was able to get round the garden to photograph the foliage on offer. It has made me realise how much tidying I still have to do!
Love all your evergreens with their different textures.
My link is http://leadupthegardenpath.com
I’m glad your rain has relented a little. I felt the same when I was taking my photographs yesterday, new weeds are appearing and need to be dealt with before they set seed.
I like the contrast of the unpruned Nandina with the other trimmed shapes and shades of green. And the Mulberry trunk stands out so well with the green acanthus at its base.
The Acanthus planted themselves where you see them, they were in the bed at the back of the Mulberry, I have to keep my eyes open for seedlings in places I don’t want them otherwise they would take over the garden, I may allow more in the new woodland path until I can find some suitable ferns.
Good to see your lovely corner with the mulberry and the acanthus again, Christina. I think I agree about the foliage being more of a precursor to spring than the early bulbs, which almost have a season of their own. Although my post is very concise it is on the same wavelength as this. Thanks for hosting.
https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/tension-mounts/
Clever to combine the different memes in one post. I admire your ability to relate the different elements into poetry.
I love the backdrop of the bay hedge, it really does make for a beautiful contrast to the mulberry trunk. I would never had considered mulberry as an attractive subject!
I managed to cobble together a post. Not much going on here, but without snow covering the ground I was able to get out and about without too much grumbling. Quite a feat for February!
https://katob427.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/gbfd-february/
Hi Frank, thanks for joining with GBFD when your garden has had snow for a while, good to hear that its melted for now.
That’s a lovely section with your Nandina domestica and the Acanthus looks great. My foliage is uninspiring today but there are a few signs things will pick up soon.
I wonder if you can see your influence in my driveway border: http://bannersbyricki.com/archives/5246
I’m sure your driveway border was already evergreen before my foliage posts but maybe there’s something I have too, I’ll let you know if I spot it. Thanks for joining in this month.
You are wise to have clipped the Cistus. I left ours unclipped and it went horrendously leggy in no time at all. Lovely post – I do so value evergreens, especially Acanthus. It provides welcome cover for wildlife too – last year a duck hatched 11 ducklings under the leaves of one Acanthus in a very busy corner of our garden.
Yes, definitely worth pruning the Cistus. how lovely to have ducklings in the garden.
It was a delight to see these views with all the green….I love the bay hedge. Fabulous!
Bay is a common hedging plant here in central Italy, it doesn’t grow too quickly so doesn’t need pruning more than once a year and forms a close hedge that protects from the wind.
I love that last shot Christina, it really demonstrate the beauty of well selected and combined shrubs. I need to prune my bay tree, it has grown enormously since I first tamed it.
More and more I enjoy simple clipped forms more than flowers.