Right from the start of my cut-flower growing journey, I wanted to specialise in foliage. It’s not that I don’t love a peony, of course I do. But I’m drawn to the subtlety of the leaf shapes, blossoms and berries of trees and shrubs. It is often the graceful arch of a stem that gets me.
Whether you’re a serious cut-flower grower or you pick the odd stem for vases, the benefits of adding foliage plants to your garden are many. Foliage gives you a greater palette to work with and material with which to frame your flowers. Without foliage, a bouquet (and a garden) is a different creature. Adding foliage with flowers is a bit like adding cream to your strawberries – the pair are stronger together. Real foliage tells stories, it gives you scent, it leads you from one part of a branch, with its grey-blush colouring, can make your flowers sing.
