Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Said I Wouldn't, Did it Anyway

That "said I wouldn't" would be to add yellow foliage to my garden. I've never enjoyed the look of yellow foliaged plants and the main reason is because here in southern Idaho when the summer sun gets going plants can tend to look a bit "over-baked." To me, yellow foliage has always tended to appear sickly in our heat and strong sunlight.

Well, my friend Teresa at Seasonal Wisdom has been busy adding yellow foliaged plants to her garden. And I've been watching. Watching with skepticism. But watching. And thinking.

And then here's what I remembered. We already have at least one yellow foliaged plant in our garden and I love it.

This is Sambucus Nigra 'Madonna', a shrub that grows to about five feet. We moved it last year into partial shade and it seems more in control and has put on its first blooms.










I love this shrub in its semi-shady spot.















So I took a leap of faith this year and added four (that's right FOUR) Heucherella 'Gold Zebra'. I planted them among Heuchera 'Prince'.

I like the way it lightens up the area. (How many times have I read that sentence when gardeners are talking about yellow foliaged plants?)

Planted behind these heuchera/ellas are some large hostas.





Then I went absolutely crazy and bought three of these. Adriatic Bellflower 'Dickson's Gold'.



They are planted at the edge of a bed between Carpathian harebell 'Blue Clips.'

How could I resist these pretty little flowers?



And besides, all together now, "I like the way it lightens up the area."

Some things I've come to realize.
1. The trees we planted along the way in our garden are putting out some nice shade.
2. Yellow foliaged plants can look exceptional in that shade.

Any "Aha's" been coming at you lately?

11 comments:

Becca's Dirt said...

Love the heuchera. I will be adding it to my shade gardens. I am loving yellows more and more now.

Are you making noises when you get up and down. ME TOO. I thought I was hearing me but that was you screaming! LOL

Rosemary said...

Aha's happen here too... Love your new babies!

GRACE PETERSON said...

Great post! Your Sambucus is gorgeous and now that you've started looking at yellow foliaged plants there's no end to the possibilities.

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Good for you!!! I like variegated foliage, using it more and more. I will have to look into that Heuchera, have a bed of multiple varieties.

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

I love yellow and the lime green in a shade garden.
There will be no stopping you now you have a taste of how lovely these colors can be.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

I came from the same camp as you: Yellow is not my favorite color. But, I have yellow daylilies, calendula, nasturtium and some others. This year, I added gold barberry bushes to my garden, and they look great!
Love your post!

Kate said...

When it comes to gardening, I love having my opinions change because when they do....watch out! Fun that you can change your mind about yellow foliage and enjoy yet another thing about gardening. (For me, it was succulents. I couldn't stand them until one day, I was in love!)

karenandjeff said...

I am a recent convert to yellow foliage as well. Just planted some dwarf sungold japanese barberry. It looks amazing against our bark mulch and sets off our purple lupin.

Kathleen said...

oh my goodness ~ you've taken the plunge my friend! They all look like great additions to me. I agree as you get more shade, it's good to have some "brighter" foliage. Something harder to appreciate with a new garden. Have you seen 'Sun Power' hosta?? I just saw it on Jennifers blog (three dogs in a garden) and I'm thinking it would look good in your garden (and mine too!!) ;-)

Priscilla @ Homegrown Delight said...

Nice addition to your garden! I love the purple flowers. Yellow looks great with purple, it complements. Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I can see why you waited on the yellow foliage in our hot, dry summer climate AND I can see why you added it! I love your Dicksons's Gold and the 'Madonna' elderberry. Both look very beautiful! I usually add alot of limey green/yellow foliage to a garden but since my current garden is just three years new there is not much shade yet. One shrub I have planted is Cotinus 'Gold Spirit'. I have been very happy with it. Thanks for the additional suggestions!