Post date: May 14, 2016 12:30:06 AM
I started with trees and am working down to the smaller plants. I had four Piñons, four Junipers, and four Spruce planted for me as starters. They are basically on the perimeter of the lot.
I have planted seven Aspen that will eventually replace some of the Siberian Elm that invaded in the past. I also planted five Aspen seedlings that I got for helping with Arbor Day. [I am not counting the dwarf spruce and the prostrate juniper as trees.]
I had planted seedlings of Cornus sericea ‘Arctic Fire’ — small (3-4’ high) red twig dogwood — but the next night the temperature dropped to 12°F and all (except possibly two) froze. So I just took delivery of eight replacements, and these are somewhat larger. Planted those today. I also have a couple of larger red twig dogwood ‘Cardinal’ that are not under windows, so they can get 6-8’ high.
Among the flowering shrubs (these dogwood are not primarily for flowers) are several species of plums. I have Cistena, a purple-leaf Prunus cross; creeping western sand-cherry Prunus besseyi 'Pawnee Buttes’, which have flowers now, even though the plants are very small; Serviceberry, which will get pretty big and are just starting to leaf; Holodiscus dumosus, “Rock Spirea”, which will bloom later.
There is a story behind the Holodiscus. No local vendor sells them or even recognized the name. I could only find them on one web site, but that vendor is in Colorado Springs. I sent him a message and he ordered them for me. Last Saturday I drove 470 miles (8+ hours) to get these two shrubs. It is a pretty trip (except for the rampant suburbia that Colorado Springs has become). While I was there I also found some nice dwarf spruce.
I had been having trouble getting dwarf spruce, too. There are many shapes of dwarf spruce, and I could not tell what was going to be available locally. So when I saw four varieties in Colorado, I bought three little trees. When I got home I realized that I had ordered a globular dwarf spruce from a vendor in Kelso, Washington. So I called him and had that order reduced from three to one. The globular shape will be better in the front of the house. Many of the dwarf spruce still get 25’ tall, but the ones I have max out at about four feet (supposedly). I put the three that I have into the back yard.
The master plan calls for a prostrate spruce in the back yard. I could find nothing like that, but there are plenty of prostrate junipers, so I have one in the ground out back.
I also planted seven Karl Foerster ornamental grass. The Blue Avena grass were also special order, and I have to drive to Santa Fe to pick them up. The ornamental grasses go on the north and east side, while the prairie grasses are mostly on the south and west berms — with the smallest berm on the north between the front porch and the road.
None of this is so easy as driving out to Woodinville from Seattle to pick up plants from the beautifully arrayed displays at Molbak’s Nursery. Sigh.