Hanging on through summer’s end: August Foliage Follow-Up
By mid-August this Texas gardener is looking for any shred of hope that summer’s heat will be waning soon. But even though I’m barely hanging on — along with this shed cicada skin — many of my plants are soldiering through, including yellow-striped ‘Color Guard’ yucca. It offers color that lasts summer through winter, no blooms required.
I also enjoy the cooler tones of this silver bed, which contains my new whale’s tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia) at top, surrounded by silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea); ‘Macho Mocha’ mangave in front, backed by ‘Frazzle Dazzle’ dyckia and a self-seeded datura; and, in a pot, blue torch cactus (Pilocereus azureus). Minimal water required for these silver belles.
This is my August 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.
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The rain I was hoping for today is now off the radar and it is going to be sunny and 80. But the early rain has kept the garden looking pretty good even in August this year. My foliage post is here: http://www.lindabrazill.com/each_little_world/2017/08/foliage-follow-up-8162017.html
omg, that Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’ – I gnash my teeth that it doesn’t thrive/grow here in SE Texas!
I am so with you!
Me too! It’s probably the first plant I’d buy if I ever moved to the Pacific NW. —Pam
It’s a cool 51 degrees here this morning with a predicted high of 76. Our heat wave is definitely over. I can’t imagine how oppressive summer must feel in your neck of the woods. That’s one big bug bug skin! Interestingly, we’ve featured some of the same plants in our Foliage Follow-Up posts. Mine’s here: https://outlawgarden.blogspot.com/2017/08/foliage-follow-upwednesday-vignette.html
Not going to lie, the summer heat is getting tiresome to me too. I may have gotten sweaty this morning wrestling my toddler into the car. I felt a little pitiful, until I glanced at the thermometer and it was already over 85 degrees.
Your garden looks beautiful, even if the weather is a little like living in a furnace. My foliage post is at: http://plantgeeksgarden.blogspot.com/2017/08/folliage-follow-up-august-2017.html
Have you ever tried growing Agave Attenuata in Austin? I was wondering if the lower humidity there helped. Love them, see them in southern California.
I am joining in on Foliage Follow-up for the first time (I think!). My post is at http://www.growingagardenindavis.com/2017/08/foliage-follow-up-august-2017.html
Moby Jr is looking great! I feel for you all, down in Texas. We had a taste of hellish temperatures here too, but by a lucky fluke, we had scheduled a trip north that exact week, so we didn’t have to experience it in person. I did worry about my garden while we were gone, but as you will see, quite needlessly. I had wonderful help! 😀
Duh – forgot the link: https://flutterandhum.wordpress.com/2017/08/16/blooms-and-foliage-august-2017/
Does your color guard yucca and agaves take the full sun (all day) or do they want some relief in the afternoon with a little shade? They are really beautiful. Seeing how well your silver ponyfoot looks has inspired me to use it more in my full sun sites. It seems that plants that are suitable to Austin’s full day of sun aren’t very many.
Hi Denise. ‘Color Guard’ yucca — and most yuccas in general — will take central Texas’s full-sun conditions in stride. Agaves are more of a mixed bag, in my experience. Whale’s tongue agave, for instance, can get a bit sun-bleached in all-day sun in the summer, so I think it really does better in half-day sun or dappled sun. But it’ll grow in full sun too.
Just fyi, my silver ponyfoot is growing in bright shade, not full sun. I’m not sure how much full sun it can take in our summers, but luckily starts of it are inexpensive, so you can experiment easily.
To find plants that love full sun, go visit the Wildflower Center gardens and independent nurseries to see what they’re growing in full sun. There’s more than you think. —Pam
I’ve never seen a cicada’s shell before. Do you have a lot of those just hanging about? They could make great no-cost Halloween decorations! Your silver collection does look cool even if your temperatures remain toasty. We’re currently enjoying a fall prequel but I’m trying not to get my hopes up that it’ll extend all the way into September. My Foliage follow-up is here: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2017/08/foliage-follow-up-august-2017.html
I love the silver bed with the gazing balls and new “Mobi”. The (Agave ovatifolia) and silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea) are a nice combination. Here is my Foliage Follow-Up for August with some very tropical looking Elephant Ear!
http://landscapedesignbylee.blogspot.com/2017/08/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-foliage.html#.WZTpZz6GOUk
Kudos to you for finding plants that look spectacular even as the humans wilt.
I’m back with a FFU post this time: http://bannersbyricki.com/archives/5853
Thanks, as always, for hosting.