Touring my garden with Pam

When I learned garden blogger and author Pam Penick was scheduled to speak in San Antonio, I emailed an invitation for her to drop by and visit my garden.  She graciously accepted.

Now what?  I had just invited Pam of Digging and Lawn Gone! book fame and her camera to our garden which is also home to numerous "works in progress".  Some might even be called "experiments" if you get my drift.  What do I do now?  As it turned out, I didn't do any more than I would if one of my local gardening friends was coming for a visit and all was just fine.

Rain measured in feet along with heat and humidity meant I could spend very little time in the garden last week so what Pam saw was the garden as it looks every day.  That's okay for some areas.  The front looks pretty much the same all the time from this angle.

Emerald Lace for May 2012 Foliage Follow-Up

For Foliage Follow-Up Sponsored by Pam Penick at Digging I'm featuring my favorite sweet potato vine (Ipomoea).  On the 16th of each month garden bloggers join Pam at Digging to follow up Garden Blogger's Bloom Day by illustrating the importance of foliage in our gardens.

The Illusion Emerald Lace sweet potato vine is a bright addition to my container garden.

I like the bright chartreuse color and the unique open pattern of the leaves.

I had seen a similar leaf pattern with the darker leaves, but not in this color until I spotted one in the blue adobe courtyard at The Antique Rose Emporium as seen here last year. 

Because of the deer problem in my yard, I do a lot of container gardening on the deck.  This way I can enjoy annuals that are also deer favorites.  I've mixed this Emerald Lace Potato Vine with 'Florida Sun' coleus, a bright polka dot plant (upper right), and pink firespike (middle).

Unlike most of my potato vine plants, 'Emerald Lace' did not make a tuber that I could winter over.  I've also found it doesn't propagate from cutting as easily as other types and I purchased a new one this spring so it will brighten up my deck all summer.

Join Pam at Digging to to see more Foliage Follow-up posts.