In winter the Mediterranean herbaceous perennial, Mandragora autumnalis (autumn mandrake) grows a rosette of glossy green, wrinkled leaves on the ground. Then large groups of purple flowers bloom followed in summer by poisonous tomato-like fruit which contain alkaloids. These plants thrive in alkaline, deep, sandy, moist soil in some shade.
Still looking great in winter the fluffy inflorescences of Calamagrostis brachytricha (Korean feather reed grass). This clump-forming, upright grass will thrive in sun and partial shade.The gently arching grey-green foliage takes on yellow shades in autumn. Two of the keys to using grasses in design is to find those that survive the winter weather by remaining upright, so retaining their display, as well as remaining in clumps rather than being invasive.
The flowers of Hydrangeaarborescens ‘Annabelle’ (hydrangea) are a mixture of tiny fertile florets and larger more showy sterile ones in place of petals. The flowers are initially fresh green, turning white and finally the parchment coloured flower heads of the winter. This plant produces a small, deciduous shrub with broadly oval leaves; the size of the plant can easily be be controlled by pruning in the early spring before the buds burst.
The winter light catches the feathery of inflorescences Miscanthus sinensis ‘Flamingo’ (eulalia, Japanese silver grass). This deciduous grass continues to produce winter interest after a spring of arching, green leaves with prominent white midribs, and in late summer pink-tinged and later silvery inflorescences. In early spring the old foliage will be cut down just before the new shoots emerge and could be damaged.
The winter flowering Mahonia × media ‘Lionel Fortescue’ (Oregon grape) fills the air with scent. This upright, evergreen shrub has superb green pinnate leaves which are excellent for a woodland setting as the plant can cope with partial or full shade. The hybrid comes from a cross between the slightly tender Mahonia lomariifolia from China and Burma and the reliable, hardy Mahonia japonica from China.
Even in the winter the dynamic, twisted stems of the deciduous climber Wisteria floribunda ‘Burford’ (Japanese wisteria) add to the interest of this garden. This cultivar has the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Award of Garden Merit (AGM) as it is a reliable grower and produces masses of highly scented, lilac-blue, pea-shaped flowers in pendulous racemes that are popular with bees and other insects. The flowers can be followed by pods which create a further display.
![victoriousvocabulary:
“skull-heads:
“Here’s to 2019.
Thank you for all the love and support this year, guys.🖤
”
BASIATION
[noun]
the act of kissing.
Etymology: Latin bāsiātus.
”](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f21b9c2f3d5a5c4f3722742eff8902ea/tumblr_pkm36fbWK51tdpe7jo1_500.gifv)
