Grassy scrims and yucca color for Foliage Follow-Up

January 16, 2018


As I write this, an icy wind is flinging plastic pots and flapping draped sheets that are supposed to be sheltering certain freeze-tender plants in my garden. All I will say about that is that this is not the winter I signed up for. Happily, most of my garden is winter tough, including lovely native grasses like pine muhly (Muhlenbergia dubia) and colorful golden yuccas (Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’). Even frothy silver ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia holds up decently for most of the winter.


Pine muhly closeup


‘Color Guard’ yucca offers lemon-lime color all winter long.


And check out those cool thread-like filaments along the leaf edges.


Texas sotol (Dasylirion texana) is also a winter workhorse, remaining evergreen and beautiful no matter the weather.

This is my January post for Foliage Follow-Up. Fellow bloggers, what leafy loveliness is happening in your garden this month? Please join me in giving foliage its due on the day after Bloom Day. Leave a link to your post in a comment below. I’d appreciate it if you’ll also link to my post in your own — sharing link love! I look forward to seeing your foliage faves.

I welcome your comments; please scroll to the end of this post to leave one. If you’re reading this in a subscription email, click here to visit Digging and find the comment box at the end of each post.
_______________________

Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events

Calling all garden bloggers! You’re invited to register for the annual Garden Bloggers Fling tour and meetup, which will be held in Austin this May 3rd-6th! Click this link for information about registering, and you can see our itinerary here. Space is limited, so don’t delay. The 2018 Fling will be the event’s 10th anniversary, which started in Austin in 2008.

Join the mailing list for Garden Spark Talks! Inspired by the idea of house concerts, I’m hosting a series of garden talks by inspiring designers and authors out of my home. Talks are limited-attendance events and generally sell out within just a few days, so join the Garden Spark email list for early notifications. Simply click this link and ask to be added.

All material © 2006-2018 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

20 responses to “Grassy scrims and yucca color for Foliage Follow-Up”

  1. Your garden never looks sad to me Pam. You have orchestrated the plantings so you have color all year. I am working toward that. I actually have a Foliage Follow Up this month. Pictures aren’t so hot but with the minus temps of this winter it makes me happy to have a few greens to share.
    http://greenbowgardens.blogspot.com/2018/01/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-and-garden.html

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Thanks, Lisa. I do have a lot of evergreens, so it doesn’t ever feel sad to me either, even when we get a winter that’s much harsher than I would prefer (for us). —Pam

  2. Our lack of snow (until yesterday) means that foliage has been starring in the garden all winter so far. I wish I got enough sun to grow that Yucca. What a statement plant that is. My post is here: http://www.lindabrazill.com/each_little_world/2018/01/foliage-follow-up-1162018.html

  3. Peter says:

    We’ve been having warmer than usual temperatures (64 degrees yesterday) here lately which are causing us to think that spring has arrived. Sorry that winter is not treating you quite so well. One could never tell from your glorious foliage! My post is here: https://outlawgarden.blogspot.com/2018/01/foliage-follow-up-january-2018.html

  4. Pam-your garden always looks beautiful, even in winter and your foliage combinations are perfect! I hope the cold temperatures you have been getting don’t do any harm. It has been unusually cold here as well, with temperatures in the single digits for weeks with slight warming trends here and there. Here is my Foliage Follow-Up for January:
    http://landscapedesignbylee.blogspot.com/2018/01/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-foliage.html#.Wl4bEeZOmhA

  5. Anna K says:

    It sounds like you got hit with the kind of winter we suffered last year. Like yours, my Yuccas and grasses emerged unscathed, but I agree with you. That kind of extended cold, when not part of your expectations, totally suck! On a positive note – that Muhlenbergia dubia is such a great grass – I absolutely love how it echoes the form of the yuccas, and how tough it is. Super elegant! Small progress in my garden this month. https://flutterandhum.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/foliage-follow-up-day-january-2018/

  6. Helen says:

    Hi Pam
    Compared to my garden your garden has loads of interest for January. Here is my Foliage Follow-Up post which is a little thin as I have combined it with Wordless Wednesday
    https://patientgardener.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/wordless-wednesday-foliage-follow-up/

  7. Kris P says:

    I heard that Texas was getting hit with a nasty wintry mix. Stay safe Pam! My winter is MUCH milder, although sadly lacking in rain. The succulents don’t care much, though: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2018/01/foliage-follow-up-mostly-succulents.html

    • Pam/Digging says:

      We got whammied for the 3rd time this winter. Ay yi yi — this is SO not the winter I wanted before the Fling, but it is what it is, and I know that spring will be all the sweeter for it. —Pam

  8. Alison says:

    It took me a couple of days, but I finally got a FF post up. We’ve had a few really nice days — dry and sunny and temps in the 50s, so I’ve been working in the garden as much as I can. You probably think that’s cold, but to me it’s balmy. Sorry you’ve been hit with some cold and wintry weather. My FF post is here: http://bonneylassie.blogspot.com/2018/01/wednesday-vignettefoliage-followup.html

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Temps in the 50s, especially if sunny, sounds like perfect gardening weather to me. Lucky you to be enjoying lovely dry weather in the PNW. I don’t know whose weather we’ve had lately, with temps in the teens, but I want our normal winter back! Anyway, thanks for joining in with FFU. 🙂 —Pam

  9. Brian Skeys says:

    Colour guard yucca is a striking plant to enhance a border at anytime of year.

  10. Jenni says:

    It’s hard to imagine Texas getting such frigid weather! I hope your gardens pull through. Your hardier selections provide a nice pop of color in the winter garden. The muhlenbergia dubia is so striking despite the weather.