Lovely Leaves

Although it's now June and the garden is full of flowers, often it's the foliage on certain plants, both alone and in combination that is drawing my eye. For instance, the young leaves on Hydrangea serrata,

... or the bronze-tipped ones of Rhododendron schlippenbachii.

 I find myself admiring the purple veins of Heuchera 'Green Spice'...

 ...and the lacy layers of Cornus alternifolia 'Argentea'...

 ... or the grey foliage of Rosa glauca overlaid on another Hydrangea serrata.

 Sometimes it's a combination of two different leaf forms or colours, like the emerging pale-grey leaves of a small willow, Salix helvetica, against a backdrop of Joe-Pye weed, Eupatorium 'Chocolate'.

 Sometimes it's a flower and leaf combination, such as a crimson peony leaning over Ligularia dentata 'Othello'.

 Or little Clematis ochroleuca, sprawling over the leaves of Brunnera 'Looking Glass'

Or icy blue Hosta 'Halcyon' under the feathery foliage of Nandina 'Plum Passion' with a dark-leafed heuchera behind, all punctuated by the red-stemmed white flowers of a saxifrage.