Daily Dose Blogger Bios
A Touch of Grey
A garden doesn't have to be big or expensive to be great - just check out this little grey garden by Michael Kirchman, Jr. (not to be confused with Grey Gardens, the awesome documentary by the Mayles brothers, and now a Broadway musical!). Michael is the undisputed King of Grey, and he shows it by making it the predominant color of this simple container planting. Before Michael came to work at Elysian Landscapes, I have to admit I had a thing against grey plants, for some arbitrary reason. They made me want to cough. I thought they looked dusty and dry - but it's all about using the right plants in the right way. Michael uses contrast all over the place here - The grey and white striped agave and the filigreed artemisia are similarly colored, but the textural difference provides a satisfying relief. The major contrast is the fabulous play of colors between the deep, lush green of the hedge, the cool river of silver below, and the eye searing hit of the orange Sedum nussbaumeranum in the concrete bowl. All this in a 4x4 corner and a few containers. Feel free to steal this idea from Michael. I did!
For a list of the best of the grey, read on...
The color grey is usually means the plant likes to be in the sun - but there are exceptions. Often, green and white variegation can give a silvery impression, so I'll include some of those, too. Sometimes, going grey isn't bad ...
Artemisia 'Powis Castle' - is my go-to grey plant. I love her. The filigree texture of the leaves, the reflective quality - tough as nails, too.
Agave medio-picta 'Alba' - is so beautiful, it can capture the heart of the most ardent succulent-hater. It stays small, too- around 2-1/2 feet, which is always a plus.
Plectrathus argentatus - this baby is as sturdy as they come, and pretty to boot. Like Rizzo in "Grease".
Astelia 'Silver Spear' - this is not false advertising, it is truly silverish. And it doesn't need full sun to shine, so it can brighten up a dim corner. Best in a container, because it really needs good drainage.
Beschornia yuccoudes - definitely one of my 10 favorite plants. Sexy, curvy grey-green leaves - somewhat like a soft agave. Then comes the flower spike! A big pink/yellow bud rises up from the center and grows tall, then bursts into extravagant flower. I'm spent just thinking about it.
Lavandula 'Grosso' - not only is this the prettiest, shiniest lavender, it is the most fragrant; in fact, the oil from this lavender is the mainstay of the french perfume industry. I read that somewhere.
Cerastium tomentosum - this is a low, groundcover type plant, with tiny fresh white flowers twinkling on top like stars in a silver sky ... did I really just write that?.
Elaeagnus pungens 'Fruilandii' - Shrubby and shiny - a total winner. It would make a devastatingly beautiful hedge, if a hedge could be devastatingly beautiful.
Perovska 'Blue Mist'- Blue mist is the perfect name for this soft grey puff - it's flowers float above the foliage in the most fetching way (okay, the alliteration is getting a little thick in here...).
Verbascum bombyciferum - wow. This is an amazing plant. It starts out as a huge furry cabbage of leaves sitting on the ground, and then, the next year, it shoots up like some kind of beanstalk or giant candleabra. For the bold of garden.
Lamium 'White Nancy' - Nancy here is a creeper. Plant her in one spot and she'll send her stems in all directions to sensuously tangle herself up in her neighbor's business. Each leaf has a spot of - you guessed it - grey- in the center.
Hi Ivette,
I'm enjoying your blog and writing style immensely! Thanks for telling me about it.
I, too, was a lover of grey plants but they don't seem to do well in the tropics. I think that in addition to being sun-loving plants, grey plants, in general, are also dry climate-loving.
We are lucky enough to have some white variegated plants here in Honduras that will have to do.
Thanks for your kind comments about my blog.
Gringa dear, I am going to make it my mission to find a grey plant you gan grow in Honduras. There has to be at least one!
Hey Germinatrix,
Thanks for the blog on gray gardens. I am an avid lover of the gray foliage in the garden. I cannot design a garden without Artemisia 'Powis Castle'. I would like offer some other gray plants I admire:
Salvia chamaedryoides
Westringia 'Smokey'
Teucrium fruticans
Convolvulus cneorum
Keep up the good work!