Monday, May 2, 2011

The value of silver

The plant world is full of euphemisms,  how many times have you looked at a "blue" flower that was clearly not blue but purple?  Many times I'm sure.  The same is true for silver,  how many drab grey plants have passed for silver?

Four years ago we planted these Astelia nervosa in the front bed that flanks the driveway.  They have always been a delight.  The structure is beautiful, they are polite about their height and the color is radiant in the afternoon light.

The bed is punctuated with a Cupressus cashermiana that is maturing very nicely.

I hear a lot about the rise in the price of silver,  which of course has nothing to do with me. But I do know the value of silver in the garden.














5 comments:

  1. This is a favorite plant of mine...even though here we now have to grow it in containers to get it through the winter. Yours are gorgeous!

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  2. Well technically speaking it's not mine but my friends. I wish i could grow them at home like this.

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  3. Beautiful photos. I love the lighting.

    I killed my Astelia somehow, sigh. My favorite silver is Leucophyta brownii (fka Calocephalus brownii), more appropriate for my climate anyway.

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  4. HB, I think your Calocephalus brownii is a great silver but I think it looks like a mini tumbleweed...

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  5. Jeez, I don't check your blog for a few days and I'm way behind. Wonderful posts, Dustin. What a great time of year to get up north.

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