Flowers are often the focus when we think about gardens, and when we photograph them too. Leaves, seeds, grasses and bark, although beautiful, interesting and photogenic, are neglected by comparison.
So today I thought I’d share a random selection of photographs taken of the leaves of indigenous plants in our garden.
I decided to have no captions and no names of plants in this post.
These photos were taken across all seasons.
One of the first posts on naturebackin.com celebrates leaves. You can find it here: The garden’s magic carpet
Leaves are most noticed when brightly coloured or large or if they have exceptional form, but many subtle pleasures can be found in less flamboyant leaves.
Green is not one colour, and leaves are infinitely varied.
Even the most everyday plant can be fascinating when looked at anew and even when it is not flowering.
Leaves bring warmth in autumn and winter, and coolness and shade even in a heatwave.
Leaves are a source of nourishment and can have a significant affect on our emotions and sense of well-being
Often overlooked in the garden, leaves are vital to a plants survival. They provide food and shelter for many creatures, and that can include us humans. Sometimes the obvious is worth stating?
Leaves are important in human culture and history and play their part in myths, legends and folklore.
Leaves are part of the cycle of life and without them nothing would flourish or even survive. They are a crucial factor in building and protecting the soil that sustains everything that grows.
Leaves are simple and complex and delightful.
Great forests are sustained by rich deposits of fallen leaves, and so why in the garden do we rake them, burn them, dispose of them? I choose to leave them where they fall. Perhaps that is why they are called leaves?
Posted by Carol
July 30, 2018 at 5:44 am
Loved every one, but the textures and variety in the first image were magnificent! Such a great paean to the often overlooked leaves. 🌿
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August 1, 2018 at 3:01 pm
Thanks Gunta. I also particularly liked the first image. Paean is a word with such lovely resonances and I am flattered that my post managed to convey at least something of that character.
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July 27, 2018 at 8:04 pm
What a lovely post. My father always preferred the foliage to the flowers …. I love both but it is wonderful to see a post devoted to the joy of leaves 🍁
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August 1, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Thanks Osyth. Interesting that your father preferred foliage. Like you I also enjoy both.
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July 27, 2018 at 5:59 pm
Foliage isn’t as celebrated as flowers, however, I’d be lost without all that textured foliage, especially in the shade garden with its lower light.
To my mind, foliage’s greatest contribution is as a natural air cleaner and lowering of ambient temps. Forests are nature’s air conditioners, which I appreciate esp. during the hot summer.
Great post and pics – my favorite is the pebbled, textured gray leaves (Salvia?).
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August 1, 2018 at 2:50 pm
Yes, shade and air conditioning too 🙂 The leaves you mention that are salvia-like are of the Buddleja salvifolia – so named because the leaves resemble salvia leaves! The common name is Sagewood. I gather that Buddlejas are of the Wild Elder family.
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July 27, 2018 at 5:48 am
A wonderfully celebratory post with a great variety of images to enjoy.
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July 29, 2018 at 6:32 am
Thanks Margaret. It is nice to celebrate the ‘ordinary’.
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July 26, 2018 at 11:30 pm
Yes, leaves don’t receive near the attention they deserve.
Composting leaves makes great fertilizer for the garden we have found.
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July 29, 2018 at 6:20 am
Yes and they make a good natural mulch too.
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July 26, 2018 at 10:29 pm
Leave them where they are! Yes that’s delightful, Carol! Such an enjoyable post 🙂
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July 29, 2018 at 6:18 am
Thank you Liz.
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July 29, 2018 at 6:31 am
Can’t recall if I let you know the ‘woven’ images are online at https://exploringcolour.wordpress.com/2018/07/28/theme-woven/ Many thanks!
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