There is great variety with foliage in the garden. Flowers may be the real eye-catchers, but a closer look shows leaf color, shape, and texture providing interest too. A good example is the new growth on these nandinas, seen in the top picture.

The new growth on this gardinia is a beautiful bright green, and hides the buds that will have wonderful blossoms next month.

These yellow and green variagated leaves are from a euonymous shrub. It’s my husband’s favorite in the yard, probably because it’s slow-growing and doesn’t need much pruning. Actually, he loves the yellow color. We have several shrubs because they’re so easy to propagate. I’ve broken off limbs, stuck them in the ground, and voila, there’s a new plant.

The two pictures above are hypoestes, or polka dot plants. I’ve started using them as a perennial filler in various spots in the beds. The flowers are insignificant, but the foliage is great, isn’t it?

Finally, tall gingers, with their strappy leaves add some variety to the clumpy other shrubs. They seem to be free of pests and are disease resistant. I’ve grown them for about twenty years and have to thin them out from time to time. The flowers bloom in late summer when the garden becomes sort of boring.

Enjoy your week, my friends. The Lord bless and keep you.

Shalom, Dottie