Foliage Follow-Up in Zilker's Japanese Garden

November 16, 2015


It’s a little early for fall color, such as we get here in Austin. But this Japanese maple at Zilker Botanical Garden is getting a jump on the season.

Red leaves mingle with green

Shades of green still predominate in the Taniguchi Japanese Garden.

I’ve always liked this octopus-limbed pittosporum that clings to a cliff’s edge. It must be really old.

This tiny fern growing out of a hole in a rock has a tenacious power of its own, doesn’t it?
This is my November post for Foliage Follow-Up. Fellow bloggers, what leafy loveliness is going on in your garden, or one you’ve visited, 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 really appreciate it if you’ll also link to my post in your own — sharing link love! If you can’t post so soon after Bloom Day, no worries. Just leave your link when you get to it. I look forward to seeing your foliage faves.
All material © 2006-2015 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

19 responses to “Foliage Follow-Up in Zilker's Japanese Garden”

  1. Anna K says:

    That is one huge Pittosporum! Wow… From me, you will get a combo post this month. Happy fall, Pam! https://flutterandhum.wordpress.com/2015/11/16/november-in-the-garden/

  2. Terrific foliage in your post and more impressive than what’s happening here. Still, we’re having a great fall and there is more to see in my garden than some Novembers. Here it is: http://eachlittleworld.typepad.com/each_little_world/2015/11/foliage-follow-up-111615.html

  3. November is a great month to highlight foliage, Pam — there are no blooms in my garden this month. Love that pittosporum, too! My link: http://pamsenglishcottagegarden.blogspot.com/2015/11/finding-beauty-in-november-garden.html
    Thanks for hosting. P. x

  4. Peter/Outlaw says:

    Wow, that octopus pittosporum is way cool! It’s interesting that your foliage is just starting to turn while ours is almost finished. My FFU post is here: http://outlawgarden.blogspot.com/2015/11/in-vase-on-monday-foliage-follow-up.html

  5. I love ferns that plant themselves in interesting places like that. Right now the drive out to Sauvie Island (and Cistus) is a fern wonderland.
    I completely spaced that today is Foliage Follow-up! However after reading Peter’s post, and being reminded, I amended my Monday vase post to include a link to Foliage Follow-up, because after all foliage in a vase can be just as powerful as a flower!
    http://www.thedangergarden.com/2015/11/in-vase-on-monday-one-big-leaf.html

  6. I have not been to Zilker botanical garden yet. I love Japanese gardens. We will put it on our list for next visit. The fern in growing in the hole in the rock is amazing. We have a tiny sycamore growing in a crevice of our big rock out front. Hard to believe!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Laurin, Zilker Garden is beloved by Austinites for what it once was — and what it can be again. But I have to say it is hurting for money and maintenance right now, and has been for the past 5 or so years. The city has practically defunded it, and while there are 6 dedicated staff members who devote their time to it (and I don’t mean to detract from their heroic efforts to keep things going), it needs a cash infusion for basic repairs to the ponds and pathways in the Japanese garden and general planting spruce-ups throughout.
      That said, the Prehistoric Garden is looking really fantastic, so definitely make time for that the next time you’re in town. —Pam

      • peter schaar says:

        Lauren, when you’re here, also visit the Japanese garden at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. It’s magnificent.

  7. Helen says:

    I have to admit to not being a huge fan of Japanese gardens, all a but controlled for me, but I did enjoy your atmospheric photos.
    Here is link to my foliage post this month. https://patientgardener.wordpress.com/2015/11/16/foliage-follow-up-november-2015/

  8. I find the mixed colors with green the most arresting combinations of all. Thanks, again, for hosting, Pam. Here’s my November post: http://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2015/11/notable-november-blooms-and-foliage.html

  9. Alison says:

    Love the fern growing in the rock. I’m also sharing the last of my deciduous foliage in my FF post: http://bonneylassie.blogspot.com/2015/11/foliage-followup-november-2016.html

    • Pam/Digging says:

      I love Foliage Follow-Up at this time of year because I get to vicariously enjoy other bloggers’ autumn colors. Too bad about the cypress though. Stinking drought! —Pam

  10. rickii says:

    This is the land of ferns and they pop up in the darndest places (always welcome, even if only to be transplanted to a more ideal spot). That twisty trunk has some well-earned presence and personality.
    http://bannersbyricki.com/archives/5128

  11. Evan says:

    It’s about mid-late season for fall color here, though much of it has been blown or rained off in recent weather. That Pittosporum is absolutely breath-taking. It’s so wonderful to see plants with unique forms like that, in contrast to the cookie cutter trees selected and grown for uniformity and ease of shipping. I want plenty of twisted trees in my garden. Here’s my contribution: http://practicalplantgeek.blogspot.com/2015/11/foliage-follow-up-november-2015.html

  12. Gorgeous color on that Japanese Maple! Here is some foliage from the northeast for November. Thanks for sharing and hosting too!
    http://landscapedesignbylee.blogspot.com/2015/11/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-foliage.html#.VktAfXo8KrU

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Your fall foliage pics are wonderful, Lee, and what a scenic destination that pond must be. Thanks for joining in for November Foliage Follow-Up! —Pam

  13. Kris P says:

    I didn’t know there was a Pittosporum species that got that big – it’s incredible! There’s no fall color here either to speak of but I did manage to find some foliage highlights: http://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2015/11/foliage-follow-up-november-2015.html

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Kris, I’m so glad you found the process of photographing for Foliage Follow-Up to be a pick-me-up. Photography is a great way of forcing oneself to notice, anew, the beauty of the garden. —Pam