Azaleas - Again!

For the past two or three weeks, the azaleas in the front island have been blooming.  Again.

It looks like there are a couple of different "brands" of reblooming azaleas: Encore Azaleas, Bloom-a-thon, and Bloom 'N Again.  I haven't been able to identify ours (yet).

As you can see in the wider picture above, these azaleas are getting pretty leggy.  According to the Encore azalea website, they do not need much pruning...which made me think these are possibly not Encore azaleas.  Does this plant look familiar to you?

The bigger question is, when should I prune these azaleas?  From what I've read, you should prune regular azaleas when they're done blooming in the spring.  I'm going to prune these when they're done blooming this fall.  It's possible I'll lose some spring flowers, but with the show that goes on in my front yard, no one will even notice.   I'd almost prefer to get them on a late summer/fall schedule.

How do you feel about plants designed to bloom "out of season"?

A plant I fancy: Oxydendrum arboreum

*Updated to ensure pictures are properly credited
Scientific name: Oxydendrum arboreum
Common name(s): Sourwood, sorrel tree
Height x Width: 25-30' x 20'
Growth rate: slow
Hardiness: Zones 5-9
Soil: Prefers acidic, well-drained soil that is high in organic matter
Light: Full sun to partial shade



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

 Reasons I like it:

• It's a native plant and although it normally appears in more mountainous areas, sourwood is local to Maryland
• It provides multi-season interest with flowers midsummer, bright red foliage in the fall, and interesting fruit capsules and bark during winter
• It has a fairly narrow canopy



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

 Where would I put it?
In the front yard, either in the island or along the left property line


Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

I've been considering a combination of serviceberries and a redbud for the front yard island bed, but now I'm leaning towards a sourwood instead of the redbud.  It's a more slow-growing tree, so it probably wouldn't outgrow the space any time soon.  Furthermore, it has a much more narrow canopy, so it wouldn't shade out all of the grass my husband is working so diligently to grow.  Finally, it's a little more unique and a little less showy than a redbud. 

We have so many other flowering shrubs in the front yard, a redbud that flowers pinkish purple at the exact same time wouldn't make as much of an impact as a tree that blooms when everything has finished and then has really brilliant fall color.  Since it has similar soil preferences to azaleas, it should do well in a bed with them.  I've also see the suggestion to plant it with pieris japonica and lily of the valley which would echo the delicate urn-shaped flowers. 

Although it is a native tree, I can't remember ever seeing it and I'm not even sure it's available in the local nurseries.  Have you ever see a sourwood tree?  How do you think it holds up against a redbud?

A plant I fancy: Amelanchier canadensis

*Updated to ensure pictures are properly credited



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder



Scientific name: Amelanchier canadensis

Common name(s): serviceberry, juneberry, shadblow
Height x Width: 25-30' x 15-20'
Growth rate: Unknown
Hardiness: Zones 4-8
Soil: Tolerant of a wide-range of soils
Light: Full sun to partial shade



Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder



Reasons I like it:
 - Flowering tree
 - Native
 - Attracts birds
 - Showy, edible fruit
 - Has fall color
 - Multi-stemmed trunks provide winter interest 

Where would I put it?
 - In the front island

Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder

I admit it - I've fallen for all of the latest gardening trends like native plants, edible landscaping, and winter interest.  The serviceberry covers all of these in one fell swoop. 

The species that I'm interested in, Amelanchier canadensis, is native to Maryland and is really more of a multi-stemmed shrub.  It produces delicate white flowers in early spring, which eventually turn into small berries very similar to blueberries in the early summer.  The serviceberry is known for its bright fall foliage, which seems to span a range of colors from gold to red.  In the winter time, the multi stemmed trunks and smooth bark provide some interest and structure in the garden.

Do you think that serviceberries and other native plants will seem dated one day?

Garden Parts: The Island

I've been in this house for close to ten months and I still haven't gotten a garden plan down on paper.  The yard is too big and there are too many plants for me to document everything all at once.  I decided I'll just do it piece by piece, starting with "the island".

The island sits in the middle of the front yard and hides our well.  It is made up of three Japanese holly (ilex crenata, variety undetermined) on the left and three azaleas (I think...variety also undetermined) on the right.  There are a few bulbs that are coming up around the bed and I think I found Virginia bluebells behind the holly bushes.  Pretty plain, but the shrubs are evergreen and it looks like the azalea is about to flower and...

Oh wait...


???

I forgot about those.  There are also two boxwoods (buxus, species undetermined) on the far right. 


We're watching you!

On one hand, the shrubs were spaced appropriately.  Often, you see shrubs this size placed fairly close together.  It looks better at first, but the bushes end up being crowded.  Also -- I like boxwood.  I think they have pleasing habit and can look really nice in the right setting.

This is not the right setting. 

There is a reason garden designers tell you to plant shrubs in odd numbers (the exception is formal foundation plantings, where you would an equal number of plants on each side of an entrance or window).  If you look carefully above, you can see there is a third shrub!  I thought it was some sort of crape myrtle, but I need to do more investigation.  Even though there are three shrubs, since only two are evergreen, this "design" still looks pretty strange.

While this doesn't look strange at all...

I need to find something better than mspaint, because the plan I came up with looks vaguely medical and a little disturbing.

Basically, I want to make the bed a little bigger.  I want to make it curvier: kidney shaped rather than oblong.  I want to remove the boxwoods and mystery bush.  I want to add one largish tree (the pink one, most likely a redbud of some sort) and two smaller trees (I'm leaning towards serviceberries).  Although the plan doesn't show it, I would then add some perennials in front of the japanese holly and azaleas.  Of the top of my head, I'm thinking heuchera, since the red or chartreuse varieties would really pop in front of the solid green of the bushes.  I'd also plant more bulbs and might try to put hostas* under the trees.

Right now, redesigning this bed is my number one priority.  It's in front of our house and I cringe every time I look at those two boxwoods.

What would you do to change this bed?  Do you have any suggestions for trees/perennials?

*I still don't have a great idea of how well hostas last in our deer infested neighborhood.  I love hostas, but I need to be realistic about whether I'd be able to stay on top of spraying them.