This February I’m glad that my garden has enough interesting foliage to grace a gloomier-than-normal garden space. The Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei),
remains a rich green, even with a thin coat of ice on the leaves.
I’ve fallen in love with ‘Sparkler’ Sedge (Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler‘), a new addition to my gardens.
I planted three in the fall and they’ve performed well this winter. I hope ‘Sparkler’ can handle the upcoming heat and accompanying dry summer without much babying from this gardener.
A favorite of mine all year round, the Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima), is always graceful.
A trio of nice foliage plants. The two larger shrubs, ‘Nana’ Nandina, display a remarkable mosaic of winter color.
The ‘Nana’ are combined here with Yellow ‘Hinckley’ columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinckleyana) to the right and Berkeley sedge (Carex divulsa) on the left, at the bottom of the photo.
A closer look at the foliage of the ‘Nana’ Nandina, first on a cloudy day,
then on a bright, shiny day.
Either way, it cheers up the winter garden.
Lastly, the Pale-leaf yucca (Yucca pallida),
always lends texture to the garden. I especially love the yellow/orange-yellow strips bordering the leaves. And the grey-blue of those leaves is striking all year-long.
Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting the tribute to foliage.
My Gardener Says... 
One of these days I’ll get with the program and join in on the monthly check-ins. In the meantime I sure enjoy that you are keeping up. (I appreciate how you got double duty blogwise out of your Mahonia – foliage and flowers – well played!)
I struggle to keep the berries off my Nandina so they don’t function too invasively. I’ve taken some out but love their color too much to get rid of them all. My sedge aren’t in quite enough sun to thrive, though they don’t die, either.
I’m noting that is a theme for me – not quite enough sunny spots – at least not for the plants I seem to want. Isn’t that always the way? Gardeners are dissatisfied a bit by nature – pun intended!
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You’re such a great blog follower! Thanks for reading. I know what you mean though about the nandina berries–they’re so insidious. I chose the ‘Nana’ nandina precisely because they don’t berry. I have so much shade in the front garden and the nandinas, while nondescript most of the year, are so pretty in the winter after my perennials are pruned back. And yes, gardeners are always looking at their gardens to improve and re-garden.
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I love that sparkler sedge. I will have to find a space for some.
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Yeah, it’s a pretty one. I’ve read Pam at “Digging” rave about them. I was needing something for a particular spot, was walking along the aisles at BSN and saw this great plant. It was exactly what I wanted and it was the ‘Sparkler’.
I hope they do well this summer!
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I like your pale leaf Yucca! I followed your link from Pam – I always enjoy discovering new blogs that way!
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Thanks for stopping by, Renee. I like the Pale-leaf Yucca too. The one in the photo is my oldest, but I have several others. I love the name of your blog, btw and it does look like you can grow in your zone 11!
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It’s a good thing that I have yuccas and cactus or I don’t think there would be any green in my garden at all. Oops I forgot about the cestrum sage. I can’t do with out it. I got it from Vickey at Playing Outside. I like that sparkler sedge as well.
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It’s been a tricky year, no doubt. Your garden will soon be leafing out with green-ness, though, take heart! Thanks for stopping by.
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I hope the ‘Sparkler’ sedge does well for you, Tina. It’s one of my shade-loving favorites. I find it does quite well even in the more-roots-than-soil surrounding live oaks.
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I’ve certainly been happy with it so far. It was the perfect plant for the original spot where I was looking for something that I don’t already have, then I added two more. So, I’m glad that I was familiar with it through your posts, Pam.
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