So far this year, we have been looking at colors in the
garden, focusing mainly on flower color and foliage with similar colors. We've investigated whites,
clear yellows, the blues, pinks and mauves, strong reds, and hot colors, and
developed a palette of plants that are suitable for our San Francisco Bay Area
gardens (whether native or Mediterranean). This time we're focusing on green foliage,
with Penelope Hobhouse and her book, Color in Your Garden, as our guide.
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| Sculptured green shapes of the Hayward Japanese Garden |
Foliage is the structural base of the garden design. Whole
gardens have been designed around shades of green - relying on plant shape,
texture, light and shade, and the many shades of green. Foliage can range from
the bright green of new growth to shades of gray, residing between black and
white.
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| Greens and grays of the former Sunset specimen garden |
Green is on the spectral color wheel between yellow and
blue. The eye receives green light rays almost exactly on the retina, with no
need to focus and adjust. Green represents tranquility and restfulness. In the
plant world, chlorophyll is the green "pigment" that generates nutrition
for the plant, and the beautiful shades of green and gray we enjoy in the
garden. The following gallery provides a few examples placed in arbitrary categories.
Shapes and Form
Plants vary in shape and form, from ground hugging to sky
reaching. Foliage can be dense, making it possible to shape into hedges and
borders. It can be sparse, causing a dappled affect of light and shade. Shrubs, hedges, ground coverings, and individual
trees help define the shape and form of the garden.
Light
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| New growth on Dawn Redwood |
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| Veins visible in the light |
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| Dramatic backlit grasses |
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| Spiky leaves in the light |
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Leaf surfaces vary as well, reflecting or absorbing light,
and varying how green appears in the landscape. Leaves may be glabrous, fuzzy,
shiny, oily, and so forth, also influencing the green that appears. Leaves take
different shapes - some broad and expansive, some small and compact to conserve water, others quaking on long petioles.
Textures and Surfaces
Seasonal change is another consideration for foliage in the
landscape. New growth is often a bright spring green, maturing to deeper shades
of green as the season progresses. Edible plants, such as such as lettuces, kale, broccoli, and other, are sometimes worked into the summer and fall landscape. Some deciduous trees produce magnificent yellows,
reds, and oranges as hormonal changes signal the change of seasons. See Fall Colors in the Bay Area for examples of the burnished reds, golds, coppers, and maroons that we experience in the fall.
Edibles and Grays
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| Frilly lettuces |
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| Handsome broccoli |
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| Lacy gray |
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| Shades of gray |
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Hobhouse also includes tree bark in the category of foliage.
The colors and textures and patterns of bark and branches also help define the
structure of the landscape. In late fall and winter, the structure and pattern
of branches against a dramatic gray sky or covered with fresh snow or hoar
frost are a dramatic part of the landscape design.
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