About to start this thread up again. I have finished clearing out the brush in this bed and have resumed planting this spring. Will post some pics in the next few days.
Well it's winter time and the first snow here in VA so that means everyone suddenly becomes obsessed with spring and maples. LOL My Facebook feed has been full of photos from this past spring and it has everyone salivating over nice weather and trees. So, with that in mind, I thought I would recap my 2016 with my Big Dream and discuss my plans for 2017 and hopefully get some updates and ideas from everyone else. I read back through this post that is now almost two years old and I have definitely changed my mind on a lot of things. I guess I can only answer that by saying I want more maples and I have no choice but to move them around and make room for new plants. Below are some updated photos of the area I mentioned before and then I will update on other projects. This is the corner of the bed along my property line and it has been filled in quite a bit. I have an Emerald Lace on the right of this photo and a A.S. Moonrise in front of a large Beni Shichihenge I purchased last spring. The Beni Shichihenge is almost 13' tall and really anchored this bed while all of the other plants grow and catch up. You can see a small Saiho in the left of this photo. Hosta, Heuchera, Azalea, Pieris, Monkey Grass, Japanese Forest Grass, and Hydrangea are also in this part of the bed. This part of the bed is directly to the left of the prior photo. You can see Waterfall, a small Hippy Fin Mo, Aka Shigitatsu Sawa, Kamagata, and a larger Purple Ghost. I've added a few filler plants to this part of the bed over the summer. This is the corner of the side bed and this photo shows some of the trees already planted and a few I added over the summer. The anchor tree is a large Nuresagi from Mike Francis' nursery in Atlanta. Mike passed away last year and the Nuresagi was kind of his signature tree. I'm fortunate to have one he grafted in my landscape. I also have Elmwood, Mr. Sun, and a very new cultivar called Kristin's Star plated is this part of the bed. This bed used to be completely filled and shaded by a large Bradford Pear that had to be cut down early last year. Given the opportunity to start over in this bed I wanted to make a great statement with this prominent location. I had always heard if I had the room that a Germaine's Gyration is a "can't miss" for a large weeping maple so I put this GG at the front of the bed and also now the entire yard. It's already quite a striking tree at over 7' tall but it will only get larger. Since this bed now has more sun I added some juniper and a Hinoki Cypress. There is a small Ojishi in the bed and I found an awesome deal on a 4' Mikawa Yatsubusa that I put in the corner late in the summer. This is now on the opposite side of my front yard looking all the way across to the area I just described. In the bed to the left I have the existing Crimson Queen and have added, Koyasan, Otaha, Viridis, and Chiri Hime which is a new rare dwarf. The bed to the right in the photo is anchored by a Seiryu and I've added Aratama, Goshiki Kotohime, Corallinum, and Murasaki Kiyohime. This is the right side of my back yard that I have began to work on. I have a few maples back here with plans to add more. Cultivars in this part of the yard include Osakazuki, Orido Nishiki, Red Pygmy, Sango Kaku, Aconitifolium, Felice, Kokyo, Filifera Purpurea, Ever Red, Sekka Yatsubusa, Tamukeyama, Shishigashira, Orange Dream and Bloodgood. I also have Hinoki, Cedar, Juniper, Azalea, and Hosta back here with more to add in time. I don't have a photo of the left side of my back yard but it will be more of a natural space with no lined beds or formal planting. The large top canopy trees create a forest feel and the maples I have planted will provide a secondary canopy. In that space I have already plated larger Asahi Zuru, Aoyagi, Green Cascade, Baby Ghost, Hefner's Red, Oregon Fern, and Toyama Nishiki. I have Trompenburg, Villa Taranto, Hiryu, Kotobuki, Aratama, and Kashima to add to this area. These last couple of photos are of my overall front yard. I feel great with how much I have cleaned everything up and there is still so much work to do. I have 34 new maples planted last year that will be in much better form this spring so I am really looking forward to seeing the yard. This summer will be less purchasing and more hard work as I have many projects that need to be completed. I will post photos of work as it progresses in 2017. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing your work as well.
