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Turn Over Some New Leaves

For 2021, Great Plant Picks focuses on fashion-forward foliage.

Fashion-forward foliage has historical roots in the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden, where “Betty,” as she’s known to most regional plantspeople, chose plants for their performance throughout the year, not just the few weeks when they were in bloom. So, it’s only natural that Great Plant Picks (GPP), the Garden’s primary educational program, reprise the theme with another round of exceptional foliage plants for 2021.

 When Richie Steffen, Miller Garden Curator, began working at the Garden 20 years ago, he found “an amazing example of textures and colors and combinations of leaves in the garden.” Which raises a very good point. Actually seeing a garden built on a framework of remarkable foliage, removed from the distraction of flowers—say in winter, for instance, is an excellent introduction to the power of foliage to carry a garden from season to season. “It's not foliage or flowers—it’s [foliage] and flowers,” Steffen instructs. 

Read the entire story in the link below

GROW in The Seattle Times