these steps if Mother Nature hadn ’ t put an end to that sweet gum . The new area is now my favorite place in the garden !
More recently , a windstorm blew limbs from a massive silver willow ( Salix alba ) onto an arbor by the front door , snapping off its posts . I had the willow removed just before a snowstorm , which would have flung it onto the house . Once again , what was shade was now full sun .
After giving a replacement plant much thought , I chose a form of ‘ Shoal Creek ’ chaste tree ( Vitex agnus-castus ), which can be grown as a large shrub or trained to become a small tree . Spikes of lavender flowers bloom in late summer , attracting butterflies and bees , and decorative seed heads last into fall . In time , it will shade the existing hostas and ferns , providing them with dappled light .
‘ Grace ’ smoke tree and ‘ Bowles ’ golden sedge show the long-lasting value of foliage color .
I were relaxing in the shade of my 50-foot-tall sweet gum tree when we heard a loud crack and jumped up , just in time to miss getting hit by a massive branch . That limb was the first of several to break off the trunk . The 70-year-old sweet gum ’ s time had come .
Weeks later , after the tree was cut down , the wood was removed , and the stump ground out , the upper back yard looked like a logging site . A shriveled , tan lawn remained in blazing sunlight . I was bereft .
I rescued shade-loving perennials , potting them up for relocation . As the shock and sadness receded , I daydreamed about renewing the space . I pictured a patio where I could sit and look out on the long vista . An overhead arbor and a large standing umbrella would provide some shade . A new border of dwarf conifers and drought-tolerant perennials would separate the patio from the lawn , and a new colorful island bed — just south of the patio — would add pizzazz .
With the help of a landscape architect and his crew , the dream came true . I ’ d never have taken
Changing My Taste In my early years of gardening , I favored pastel flowers , thinking they ’ d be more compatible with each other than more saturated colors . Roses and perennials in shades of pink , blue , lavender and creamy yellow blended well together . More interested in color and fragrance , I paid little attention to foliage .
With time , more vivid , brighter and saturated colors caught my eye . Red and burgundy daylilies , brilliant-orange pokers and butterfly weed ( Asclepias tuberosa ), coral and red roses , purple salvias and lily of the Nile ( Agapanthus ) replaced the more subdued pastels of my past .
Also , I became aware of the more lasting beauty of foliage and began collecting hostas , ferns and epimediums with shapely
‘ Niobe ’ is one of a handful of clematis that I ’ m happy to train up a trellis .
6 v Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin