Peony ‘Bowl of Beauty’
New Spring foliage is burgeoning forth all over the garden. It’s a great time of year.
![Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' 012 Wm[2]](https://i0.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Acer-palmatum-Osakazuki-012-Wm2.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’
The leaves look so vulnerable when they first appear but, like the wings of a butterfly, they’ll soon fill out. I really must try sowing some of its seed this year.
![Pieris 004 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Pieris-004-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Pieris
New foliage doesn’t come much more dramatic than Pieris. This is the one I chopped to the ground a couple of years back. It was a six footer at least: a cluster of leaves atop a tall bare trunk. Renovation pruning does sometimes work. The challenge now will be to keep it at this height. The geum in the foreground echoes the colour.
Those with long memories may remember the rather ostentatious azalea that stood out like a beacon in the middle of the terraces last year. That’s it in its new position, on the far right above. It’s only just started to open but it’ll look so much better lighting up that dark corner don’t you think?
![Cercidiphyllum japonicum 001 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Cercidiphyllum-japonicum-001-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Cercidiphyllum japonicum
This is the tree that has a delicious aroma in autumn, of burnt sugar. I love it just as much for the elegant heart shaped leaves. As they emerge in spring they have a reddish tone. But only, it seems, if planted in sun. When I bought it I had the bonus of a baby in the same pot. I carefully separated them and planted the offspring in a shadier location. Its emerging leaves are all green.
![Saxifraga stolonifera 002 Wm[1]](https://i1.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Saxifraga-stolonifera-002-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Saxifraga stolonifera
![Epimedium 004 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Epimedium-004-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Epimedium. NoID. Lost label. Doh.
![Fern 007 Wm[1] 1](https://i0.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Fern-007-Wm1-1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
The ferns are at various stages of opening, depending on how much sun they get.
This is the stage I love best I think.
![Asplenium scolopendrium 002 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Asplenium-scolopendrium-002-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Asplenium scolopendrium
The Hart’s tongue fern. Is it just me thinking meerkats?
![Arrhenatherum bulbosum variegata 001 Wm[1]](https://i1.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Arrhenatherum-bulbosum-variegata-001-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Arrhenatherum bulbosum variegata
The deciduous grasses are growing back too.
I have the label of this one beside me on the desk (the system does work sometimes..) Height 9″.
Ha! On the terraces it grew to not much short of 3′. I’ve moved it up on to the bank to provide a companion for Verbana bonariensis. What do you bet it stays at nine inches now?
![Libertia 'Gold Finger' 001 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Libertia-Gold-Finger-001-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Libertia ‘Gold Finger’
An evergreen (ever yellow?) It’s been this colour all winter, positively glowing in the sun.
![Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' 003 Wm[1]](https://i1.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Hakonechloa-macra-Aureola-003-Wm1.jpg?resize=533%2C800&ssl=1)
Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’
Containers don’t have to be reserved for flowers. A dramatic grass can be moved around to provide a vibrant backdrop to whatever might be in bloom.
![Leycesteria formosa aurea 'Goldleaf' 001 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Leycesteria-formosa-aurea-Goldleaf-001-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Leycesteria formosa aurea ‘Goldleaf’
![Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' 002 Wm[8]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Brunnera-macrophylla-Jack-Frost-002-Wm8.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
A serendipitous combo..
I love the foliage of Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’. But don’t the flowers look so much better against the darker leaves of Geranium phaeum alongside? Of course the geranium should be taller by now. It would be, had not the bunnies decided to give it a premature Chelsea Chop.
.
And finally.
From abundant foliage to no foliage at all.
With the risk of frost receding the ducks have returned from their winter quarters in the shed.
In their absence, things have changed…
![The Ducks & no foliage Wm[1]](https://i1.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Ducks-no-foliage-Wm1.jpg?resize=1000%2C666&ssl=1)
Linking up with Christina’s Garden of the Hesperides for Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Day.
Click through (here). This month Christina describes yet another threat to our beloved box plants. An essential read if you grow it.
Some wonderful photos and colours there Jessica. I particularly like Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ and that Epimedium. The Asplenium scolopendrium does look a little meerkatty 🙂
It’s a brilliant acer that one, literally in autumn. It’s supposed to be the one that turns the brightest red and I wouldn’t argue. Thanks Julieanne.
Beautiful photos Jessica, of an exciting time of the year when there’s so much fresh and vibrant growth going on!
It’s great to see isn’t it. Tempered a little this year because it has been such a dry month. We need rain! Never thought I’d say it. Especially in April.
Thanks for joining GBFD again this month Jessica. There is so much to enjoy in your post but I particularly like that you drew attention to using foliage plants like grasses in pots as a feature or to move around as you suggest; that’s a brilliant idea to highlight something that’s flowering but needs a little help to look outstanding.
Pots have to earn their keep here, I spend enough time watering as it is. But I’ve had the hakone grass in a pot for three or four years now, so it must be worth it!
A glorious time of year, especially in your garden, so much interest. Love the ferns. Julie x
Hi Julie! Great to see you back. I’m so very behind with blog reading, but I’ll pop over and catch up with you soon. Promise!
This is my favourite time of year, everything is so zingy. Cercidiphyllum japonicum has been on my wish list for a while, interesting that its greener in shade. Love the pot with the Hakonechloa in too, it looks wonderful.
It’s a fabulous tree to get. The scent in autumn is wonderful. I’m a bit worried about ultimate size, but it seems to be relatively slow growing here. If it gets too tall I’ll start trimming it.
It’s such a wonderful time of year when everything is just emerging, I think the fresh colours are something to behold. Glad to see the ducks back though they must be wondering what’s happened in their absence.
It’s good to have the ducks back. They are going to be even more surprised when the tree fellers arrive.
Definitely Meerkats!!! 🙂
Simples.
Beautiful! Everything’s so colorful, I hadn’t realized it was all about foliage. I had forgotten it was GBFD.
I was surprised at how much spring foliage has red tints. Red, green, red. The cycle of the seasons.
Fab post. It’s so exciting venturing into the garden at this time of the year. It changes from day to day. X
It certainly does. I’ve taken to doing a tour of the garden each morning, just to see how much has changed.
Your beautiful urn of grasses is classy and fabulous, and your saxifrage will be lovely. My ‘bowl of beauty’, so lovingly planted last year, didn’t make it (I find peonies challenging) but I shall live vicariously through yours.
They do take a while to settle. And don’t like to be moved. Difficult here.. if a plant is not mobile it won’t last long. Today I have divided a sanguisorba. Very woody roots. It may not survive the night..
This is my favorite time of year with everything coming to life again. My hellebores which were so bedraggled after our long winter are now full of flowers and new leaves. Your beautiful photos always brighten the day.
Thanks Cheryl. It’s great to see the garden coming back after winter. I’ve just spotted the first dahlia shoots. I couldn’t be bothered to lift them so it’s a relief they’ve survived!
As you know, I’m thinking cobras, but yes, it could be meerkats! Wonderful photos of beautiful new shoots, this is a wonderful time of year for foliage as well as flowers. I’m so glad rain is forecast for Friday, the garden really needs it.
We so badly need rain. I was looking at the primroses today, all wilting. There is only so much watering you can do. Who’d have thought it.. in April?
What brilliant foliage…so much greening although your foliage is multi colored and just beautiful especially the grasses.
I’m very fond of grasses, as long as they don’t seed all over the place. So many of them do!
I struggle with Peonies, which is a shame because they are one of my all time faves. Love the unfurling ferns and glad to see the ducks are back too :o)
They can be a struggle. The ‘Bowl of Beauty’ seems finally to be putting on more growth this year.. I’ve only had it three years! They sulk, I think, if their roots are disturbed. On the wildlife front, it seems we have real ducks on the river this year, now that is a bonus.
Dear Jessica, all the new foliage in your garden looks absolutely gorgeous! My top favorites are the saxifraga stolonifera and the combination of the brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ and the geranium phaeum. I tried to grow brunnera in my garden, but it died briefly after I had planted it. Your photo makes me think that maybe I should give it a second try…
Warm regards,
Christina
You may well do better with the brunnera than me.. our abundant slug population seem to have found it.
Young Peony foliage is very attractive. ‘Bowl of Beauty’ is a stunning Peony when in flower.
It certainly is. I’m hoping it’s finally settled enough to start expanding. There seem to be more shoots this year.
I used to have Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ and grew it in a pot as my garden soil was cold, claggy clay. After about 15 years of soil improvement with mostly home-made compost and several re-pottings (I have a lovely collection of very dark-blue glazed pots in ascending sizes) I decided to release it into the garden. And to my regret (it had been a first wedding anniversary present from my husband) it died! When I dug it out I saw that its roots had continued going round in circles and hadn’t made any contact with the soil. But a few years ago I collected Osakazuki seed from Winkworth Arboretum and I now have a foot high little tree just potted on into the smallest of my glazed pots. I just love all your bronzey/rusty foliage Jessica and am in awe of your photographic skills.
Mine has a very similar history. It started out in a pot and stayed that way while we were renting a house. It wasn’t until we got here it was finally planted. It was so root bound that we had to smash the pot to get it out. It’s also lost its leading shoot so seems very flat on top and never gets any higher. So I have a ‘bonsai’ tree planted in the ground! I hope your new tree fares better.
You’ve so many wonderful touches of bronze in your foliage. I love that Libertia – it’s too bad it likes regular watering.
It isn’t too demanding of water, it survives in a very dry spot here. This April must have broken all records, even we badly need rain. It’s forecast for the weekend so I hope it arrives.
You always have such lovely plants! Sarah x
Thanks Sarah. This time of year is the easiest to find stuff to photograph!
You have been busy – is that a tree I can see down in the background of the ducks? I love the litle bright dots of colour among the dark foliage.
Well spotted. Yes, there are a number of trees down below the lawn. When we have the two beech trees felled the guys are going to take away the fallen stuff too. It should look a lot tidier after that.
The foliage is at its most beautiful at this time of the year. Yours all looks gorgeous. Peonies are a delight from the moment when their plump red buds first appear. I wonder if acers come true from seed. I have some seedlings from a beautiful red Acer just emerging. I can’ t wait to see how they turn out.
That’s a good point. I think if I get as far as germination I’ll be happy. But it will be interesting to see what emerges.
I’m getting meerkats too. Beautiful photos, especially the ferns, I love that unfurling stage as well, everything is so fresh and new and delicate. CJ xx
After the rain that’s forecast for the weekend it should look even fresher. Watering is eternal at the moment. Thanks CJ.
Is this spring better than ever? Everything seems to be appearing at such a rapid rate. Love your description for the Asplenium scolopendrium.
At first it seemed as though Spring would be very late, now it’s rushing to catch up. Every morning I see something new. The best time of year.
The garden looks so lovely. The grasses are looking so fresh and translucent. I really like Hakonechloa in the pot – that actually takes care of two problems – displaying it at its best and stopping any invasive tendencies! I do love that border with pieris – the azalea, pieris and guem all work so well together 🙂
Yes, the Hakonechloa does spread a bit. I remember when I bought the first one.. expensive.. and now I have it in abundance. It’s in a plastic pot inside the terracotta one. The trouble with those narrow necked pots is that when roots fill it it’s impossible to get the plant out without smashing the pot.
Is that Epimedium by chance ‘Rubrum’? I added it to my garden last year and I think it has that red-trimmed look. (Mine is just emerging now.) We will have a hard freeze tonight, so I’ve covered many of my just-emerging and flowering plants. The native woodland plants are on their own. I do hope they’ll be OK. Good luck with your frosty night, too. Beautiful foliage examples!
It could well be, I wish I could find the label. I hope the frost was not too bad. I dread a late frost. I’ve just been looking at the forecast and the nights are getting cooler here too.
Spring is such a wonderful time in your garden! All of that new foliage so full of promise. How can one not be excited? Welcome back ducks!
The ducks’ run down the lawn may be short lived.. it is getting colder again! They would probably be OK, even in a frost, but I’m not taking chances. Thanks Peter.
All your work on that border is clearly paying off. We rarely get that lovely fall fragrance from our Katsura; too cool and rainy I am guessing. And thanks for the suggestion of the Hakonechloa in a pot. I do Hostas and Heuceras that way and a grass would be perfect that way.
Later in the season the grass will start to arch its leaves gracefully over the edges of the pot. And after that we get the seedheads and red tints. It’s a beautiful plant.
The next few weeks have to be my favourite time in the garden with so much growth, so much colour, so much anticipation of what each plant will bring. Now if only it would stop the snow showers and I could get outside with my camera.
It really must feel as if winter will never end. But it will of course, and Spring will arrive in all its glory. Enjoy!
In all the years I’ve grown japanese Acers, I’ve never been lucky enough to see one flower. My oldest and still with me in this garden is 17 years old this year and each year I say, maybe next year!
What a wonderful array of foliage all shapes, colours and textures. It’s a wonderful time of year isn’t. We are desperate for rain here and I am slowly working my way around with the watering can topping up those that are pretty exhausted already! I hesitate at praying for rain, just in case it doesn’t stop!
Oh, I know exactly what you mean. It wouldn’t be the first time summer has been in April would it. I have a handkerchief tree (Davidia) and I’ve been waiting for years to see the first bloom. Looks like I will be unlucky again.
Good to see the ducks out of hibernation. Such beautiful, beautiful plants. Things are looking a BIT better here after my earthworks but nothing as lovely as your patch! X
It feels good to get a little control back doesn’t it. Less lovely here at the moment with the top terrace dug up.. I have declared war on the Lily of the Valley.
Wonderful colours! It’s such an exciting time of year – even in our small garden!
It is. But we desperately need rain, the lack of it is starting to hold back growth now. Hopefully this weekend.
I have made a note of some of those glowing grasses – very nice
Thanks Cathy. Doing a bit of a tally up the other day it could be that I have too many grasses.. the bank is becoming a prairie.
You have such wonderful variety in your gardening. I love grasses too. I have two kinds in the front yard, one is a hair-type grass and the other is a broader-bladed one that grows in thick clumps. I don’t know the name of either kind, but they are so hardy and they come back beautifully every year. I’m planning to buy some annuals this weekend to plant in my half-barrel on the back patio. Geraniums seem to do best there, so I’ll probably load it up with several different colors.
Sometimes grasses come back too well, a lot of them seed themselves around so much. I remember your barrel from last year, it looked good!
I don’t seem to be able to get a comment on your blog-lap top is doing something strange! If this goes through-I love the combination of pieris and geum and the ferns unrolling.
The ferns are stunning aren’t they? Quite primeval. Which of course they are.
I love seeing the ferns begin to unwind, you have such a gorgeous variety of plants in your garden! I have only just begun to use and appreciate grasses, but I think I could be getting addicted! Katie x
http://www.long-may-she-rain.blogspot.co.uk/
Slippery slope.. Grasses are very addictive. They provide a good backdrop for so many other perennials and add texture and movement. I wouldn’t be without them.
I do so love this time in the spring when the earth starts to come to life again…Your photo series is such great fun.
It’s my favourite time of year. Wish I could stop the clock for a bit right now!
The azalea is looking good in its new position and is in harmony with the colour of the pieris and the geum. The lime green of new leaves contrasting with the yellow/orange grasses is very attractive. Nice to see the ducks back in place.
I was a bit worried that the azalea might not survive, always risky moving an established shrub and it lost a few roots along the way. It’s good to see it thriving and even flowering!
It is all looking good in the spring sunshine 🙂
Thanks Cherie. Some rain due today which the garden will welcome. Just as long as it gets mixed in with some sunshine too.
Bursting is a great description, love the bursting going on in your place.
Every day looks greener at the moment, especially this week with the trees now coming into leaf.
I saw you mentioning on Sue Garrett’s blog that you were interested in finding black insect netting… They have it at Harrod Horticultural here: http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/black-insect-mesh-netting-pid9426.html
Hi Mark and welcome to rusty duck.
Many thanks for the link. It looks perfect, but would it be dense enough to keep out whitefly do you think?
this post has come at the right moment for me as I am planning some grasses for my garden and you have given me inspiration and ideas – thank you for sharing, Jessica.
They’ll look perfect in your garden, look at miscanthus too.. quite tall but wafty and fade to a lovely silvery colour, a real seaside feel!
Fabulous foliage Jessica. The unfurling ferns always remind me of friendly aliens. I imagine that those ducks are pleased to be out out again 🙂
The ferns do have an other-worldly feel at this stage, quite primeval.
I didn’t think meerkats until you mentioned it, but now… XD …love it! As well, I think the new position of the azalea is a wonderful choice; I can just imagine the glow from those flowers! The pieris is marvelous too… Kind regards to the ducks 😉
I’m really pleased with the new position for the azalea, it fits in well now. Even happier that it managed to survive the move!
This year I can join you in saying “Look! There’s my peony!” The bareroot I planted last year did nothing, I thought it had rotted in the rain. But no, here it is, hiding behind the quince tree. I’m looking forward to big fat pink blossom this year (also have ‘Bowl of Beauty’) and now have to have a bit of a pink theme going on in that bed. There was a Cercidiphyllum outside the studio when I studied at Capel – I could see it’s leaves through the second floor window – gorgeous yellow colours in autumn, like sunshine!
It is a wonderful tree that one. Second floor? I’m hoping it doesn’t become enormous but seems quite well behaved so far.
You have some lovely foliage plants Jessica – so vibrant and fresh too
Thanks Elaine, that’s what I love so much about this time of year.
Some really cool pictures there rd, I love this time of the year as there is so much more to look forward to, just hope the weather holds although the garden has gone from being partially flooded a few weeks ago to bone dry.
It is amazing how things change. The clay soil here has been sodden all over winter and I haven’t been able to get out on it at all. Now it’s cracking up!
Great photos! Your image of Hart’s tongue fern is wonderful. I agree that the stage when all the new leaves are emerging is best. Rejuvenation pruning may seem severe, but what a difference it can make!
Thanks! It’s given me the confidence to launch into more severe pruning. There are a lot of shrubs here that have outgrown their space. Nothing to lose really.
I love your garden. Ii’s waking up beautifully, everything is looking so good, I particularly like the Pieris, and the grasses, they look stunning.
We’ve been so lucky with the weather, that’s been the key to it. Spring has suddenly caught up in a rush. Thanks Polly.
Definitely meercats! Love the way you have the geum echoing the colour of the newly emerging pieris leaves, even though I loathe pieris with a passion almost equal to my loathing for spotted laurels 😉 Gorgeous photos as ever.
I would agree with you totally on spotted laurels. Pieris not so bad for me, although I inherited this one. As it happens I’ve just bought another but it’s more subtle. Tints of red in the new leaves rather than the sock you between the eyes version. Speaking of which, as I never managed to palm the lipstick azalea off on to you last year (there was some excuse about alkaline soil?) I’m pleased it’s thriving in its new corner 😉