2018 -- Let's get this party started with some clove currant!

Hello and a belated happy 2018 to all you cheerful chipmunks out there!  🐹

Sorry for the radio silence recently. The garden was relatively dormant. The weather was chilly and/or windy and/or rainy. And I had a busted camera that kept me from documenting the winter landscape.

(Don't worry... you didn't miss much.)

So now I'm back with a new and improved camera in hand.

So come along for the ride. I've got a feeling this will be the Best Year Ever for the Garden of Aaron.

To kick things off...

You've gotta love clove currant (Ribes aureum) leafing out in mid-February! This is reliably the first deciduous plant to leaf out in my garden. And are these copper-tinged new leaves beauties or what!

Another shot of these stunning new clove currant leaves. 

Stay tuned... in a couple of weeks, clove currant will probably look like this.

15 Great Foliage Plants: Arrowwood Viburnum, Hidcote Lavender, Japanese Painted Fern, Gro-Low Sumac and More!

Viburnum dentatum, Arrowwood Viburnum, I believe this is the Chicago Lustre variety

Everyone loves flowers, but I'll go out on a limb (pun intended!) and state that only gardeners go gaga over foliage.

Think about it - no one buys their love a bouquet of leaves on Valentine's Day. (Well, except maybe a valentine from one gardener to another.)

Why does foliage matter so much to me? Perhaps because flowers are transient - first a dream, then a brief vision, finally a cherished memory. On the other hand, you can enjoy foliage for months and months -- all-year round in some cases.

In addition to the Viburnum dentatum shown above, here are 14 more of my favorite foliage plants as of mid-May in the Garden of Aaron:

Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree) leaves

Sedum Vera Jameson, I believe

Russian Sage, nicely recovered from its sorry state just a few weeks ago

Hibiscus syriacus, Rose of Sharon foliage

Redbud leaves

Platycodon grandiflorus, Balloon Flower foliage 

Oakleaf hydrangea foliage

Brassica juncea, Mustard Green foliage

Lemon Queen hybrid perennial sunflower foliage

Lavandula officinalis "Hidcote" foliage

Eupatorium dubium "Baby Joe" foliage

Athyrium nipponicum, Japanese Painted Fern "Pictum"

Hibiscus moscheutos, Hardy Hibiscus foliage

Rhus aromatica, Fragrant Sumac "Gro-Low" foliage

Stay tuned for more great foliage plants later this week!!