Summer Views from 2016 Quick Garden Tour and Update

I don't intend to recap every single thing that happened to my yard this year, but I will post a collection of photos in case I want to look back at them during the winter, or have them to compare to future photos. Here are some of the major events:

1. My epic battle with the rabbits continued for months, and I'm trying to make peace with the fact that they will eat some of my plants, and that's okay. (trying to convince myself).

2. My hardy pampas grass grew to record heights, I can't wait to cut it down this winter and get the official measurement.

3. My emerald green arborvitae in the back yard got a weird disease and partially died, had black fronds, then grew back, and actually put on some good growth.

4. I had 2 out of 15 or so Surprise Lillies bloom this year, which was a surprise indeed, I heard they don't like being transplanted.

5. I had a short Japanese beetle scare a few months ago and had to spray my birch trees. The spray seemed to take care of them, I only had to use 1 bottle. 

6. My mail order purple coneflower 'Magnus' came back to life and actually flowered!

Front yard Summer 2016

Emerald green fighting off a disease, it seems to be winning. The mail order phlox around the base is taking well and should be nice in the Spring.

Late summer back bed, not much blooming but things are definitely getting bigger. I'm liking the idea of a back bed that is more filled in with plants touching or overlapping and blooming at different times.

Back bed island earlier this summer. Birch trees put on a lot of healthy growth, can't wait for them to do it again next year, they are super healthy in spite of a Japanese beetle scare a few months ago.

Back bed late summer 2016 - Purple Dome is about to flower, blue fescue is looking good against the pink rock.

Early summer view of the utility box bed, Shasta daisy did great this summer, but the Russian sage is getting a little unruly, I cut a bunch out and replaced it with my first try at Gaura 'Dark Pink' which I'm hoping is hardy in this zone. I moved the PowWow Wildberry cone flower to the back because it's really too short to hide the boxes anyway.

Ruby Falls Weeping Redbud in Winter

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ my maroon weeping redbud has finally dropped all its leaves and now I have this crooked walking stick profile with little black buds all over it next to my front walk. I was thinking about wrapping it in Christmas lights, but I was too afraid to damage the buds.

These are really important to keep intact, because that's where the purple flowers will appear this Spring. I can't wait to see the flowers for a nice Spring effect. I remember driving down the highway in March/April and being able to pick out redbud from the road because they produce wisps of purple against the drab backdrop.

This will be a fun mini tree to watch throughout the seasons.

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ little black buds in winter

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ - young weeping redbud in winter

And It Was All Yellow...

I have that Coldplay song Yellow stuck in my head as I look at all my plants turning yellow and ugly and getting ready for winter. Yuck. I'm fine with my plants in winter, especially looking forward to my Northwind switch grass contrasting against the snow - but the slow transition is not so great. Most of my plants don't have a good fall color, at least this year. It's all sort of yellow brown.

Ruby Falls weeping redbud -  Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’

Hosta 'Sum and Substance'

Annabelle hydrangea

River birch

Northwind switch grass - Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'

Liriope muscari 'Variegata'

My fall yard leaves something to be desired...

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ Weeping Redbud

I saw a mature Ruby Falls weeping redbud in Metamora, IL while visiting family. It must have been 6-7 feet tall! Quite a nice specimen out by the side of the road in a river rock drainage ditch.

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ Weeping Redbud mature specimen, has been there for about 7 years

Let's compare this one to the one in front of my house. Mine is supposed to be 4 years old or so, and it's only a little more than 3 feet tall at the moment. Very cool tree, I'm glad I got it. It also looks great next to river rock, probably not a coincidence.

4 year old specimen Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ Weeping Redbud

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ Weeping Redbud in Indiana

I'm giving the Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ weeping redbud a try here in Zone 6a Noblesville, Indiana. Online I see a mix of 5-6 hardiness, and I haven't seen a review anywhere about Ruby Falls here in Indiana, so let's go for it!

Ruby Falls is a mix from parents 'Covey' (weeping with green leaves) and 'Forest Pansy' (upright with maroon leaves), and I read that 'Covey' is thriving at the Chicago Botanical Gardens protected from wind, and even as far north as Wisconsin.

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ weeping redbud - 4 yr old specimen from Sooner Plant Farms

Mine is on the north side of the house tucked into the L shape by the front door and protected from NW winds and afternoon sun by my garage. After my Japanese maple died, I did some work amending the soil and re-directing the downspout. My best guess is the maple died from drowning in a clay bathtub (what a way to go!).

It spent 3 days in the box going UPS ground from Oklahoma. I ordered from Sooner Plant Farms after I drove to 2 local nurseries here in Indiana. I actually used a vacation day from work because I called a nursery 40 minutes away and they said they had it in stock. After driving there in the rain, it wasn't there. So much for calling ahead! I ordered online that night (Monday) it shipped Tuesday and was on my doorstep on Friday. It arrived standing upright and I tipped it sideways to open it.

One broken branch but otherwise in great shape. The soil was still moist because they used water retention gel.

I was excited to get it in the ground, but first things first, I had to get the dead Japanese maple out of the way first. As I was cutting it down, I noticed just the faintest remnants of green tissue on the bottom branches. I'm not going to wait around 10 years for this tree to possibly rebound. When I dug up the roots, it validated my decision. The roots were rotten except for one tiny section that still had finer root structure intact.

Next, I wanted to extend the downspout out past the redbud so that rain water would run downhill away from the tree instead of pooling around the roots. I dug a trench following the curve of the gravel/mulch boundary. The plastic tubing didn't extend all the way into the yard, which is fine. I ended the tube with a 8 inch deep gravel pit. Then I connected the pit to a trench I dug along the front of the rock bed, like a moat around the rocks connecting all the way to the concrete walk, then I filled the moat with rocks.

I covered the plastic tube with more rocks and tested it out by spraying my roof with water. The water ran all the way down to the edge of the bed and following the moat around the front. They clay soil actually helps out with this because you can send the water where you want it. In this case, I'm just trying to spread it out as it spills into the grass and away from the redbud location.

What a mess! I think creating order from chaos is one of the appealing things about landscaping

Next, I dug down further than necessary to get the root ball in the ground. I probably went down 2 full feet, then filled the bottom 6 inches with rocks and pea gravel. Then I added a small bag of topsoil, set the root ball on top of that, and added another bag around the top creating a mound that came up to the base of the trunk.

I added back some of the rocks I had moved, but left a good portion bare below the tree to let the roots get some air. I might add the rocks back once the tree gets established, or I might try moss or mulch. I want to see how the moisture works out now that the rain spout completely circumvents the redbud.

Without the downspout catcher, I actually have more room. I might move the rocks around a bit, or try a Liriope or two among the rocks.

Just my luck! As soon as I got the tree in the ground a thunderstorm rolled in and I got to see the new downspout extension in action. No flooding, and good wind protection - I'm feeling pretty optimistic!