![\"A](\"http:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/blog-colour-1.jpg\")
<\/a>A stormy sky added drama to the scene.<\/p><\/div>\n
Colour remains, but you have to look more closely to find it. The hydrangea bushes by the front door don’t shout like the linden tree; instead they glow, softly pink.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The pink tones of a hydrangea blossom are in sharp contrast with its yellow and green leaves. This is not a colour combination I would normally favour, but here it looks just right.<\/p><\/div>\n
Carpeting the ground at the feet of the hydrangea are the brilliant red leaves\u00a0of Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba.’<\/p>\n
<\/a>The matted leaves shine in a light rain.<\/p><\/div>\n
More subtle are the colours of the Siberian cypress (Microbiota decussata<\/em>), a wonderful evergreen that grows\u00a0well in filtered shade.<\/p>\n Water droplets accentuate the purple and bronze tones of Siberian cypress.<\/p><\/div>\n The older\u00a0leathery leaves\u00a0of Bergenia cordifolia are an intense red, in sharp contrast to newer green leaves and to the Italian parsley running wild in the planter box beside it.<\/p>\n Some people call this plant pigsqueak , others called it elephant’s ear. I prefer its proper name, Bergenia.<\/p><\/div>\n Ornamental grasses come into their own in autumn. I’ve used three of them around The Aqueduct. Most colourful now is the switchgrass (\u00a0Panicum virgatum<\/em> ‘Shenandoah.’)<\/p>\n I chose this variety of Panicum because its varietal name reminded me of Virginia’s Shenandoah valley, where my grandparents had a farm.<\/p><\/div>\n The plumes\u00a0of Korean feather reed grass (Calamagrostis brachytricha<\/em>) are fading from silvery-pink to creamy white. This stately grass isn’t as strongly upright as Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ but I like its relaxed look.<\/p>\n Calamagrostis brachytricha blooms well in light shade.<\/p><\/div>\n Prairie dropseed (Sporabolus heterolopsis) grows slowly here in Quebec, but I’m prepared to give it time in order to see here what I saw at Le jardin plume in Normandy: a mass of golden-orange hues that shone so brightly in the sunshine that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The colour on the plants at Glen Villa are beginning to show, toning in beautifully with the rusty steel plate that provides a backdrop.<\/p>\n Rusted steel combines with gold: if it looks this good now, it will be amazing when the grass has grown to full size.<\/p><\/div>\n Along with the ornamental grasses, sedum planted atop the gabion wall adds colour to The Aqueduct. I used three types, S. rupestre ‘Angelina,’ S. reflexum ‘Blue Spruce,’ and S. spurium ‘Red Carpet.’ The contrast between them provides colour from spring to fall.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>