The glorious show of azaleas has ended with only a few rain-soaked blooms dangling from branches. The garden’s few rhododendrons, now flowering, make a more modest display of purple, though two variegated leaf ‘Silver Edge’ (Rhododendron ponticum ‘Silver Edge’, below) stand out with the contrast of flower and foliage.

The path from the driveway to the rear garden has never been better, but with azaleas and the fringetree fading, what’s next? Redbuds, of course, are scattered through the upper half of the rear garden, but with five of various foliage colors concentrated in this partially sunny border. While flowering of redbuds is splendid, I grow a variety to enjoy their foliage.

Indisputably, the favorite must be the one-of-a-kind, variegated mutation of ‘Rising Sun’ (above). I’ll spare the boring and too often repeated details about obtaining the redbud, but I’m most pleased that the combination of green, yellow, and mottled leaves appears to be stable with no color predominating. The mutated redbud is a curiosity only and certainly not destined for the marketplace.

I anxiously await the mottled foliage of the weeping ‘Whitewater’. While emerging leaves of ‘Silver Cloud’ (above) are variegated, first leaves of ‘Whitewater’ (below) are green with variegation coming in as leaves mature. While a small fraction of leaves were variegated a year ago (soon after planting), I expect more color in the foliage this year.

A densely branched ‘Carolina Sweetheart’ was planted in autumn after leaf drop. I am an impatient gardener, so I rarely start with small sizes that barely register in this mature garden. I’ve seen no evidence to support the popular notion that a small tree soon catches up to a larger one. In any case, leaves of ‘Carolina Sweetheart’ emerge in the purple typical of ‘Forest Pansy’, but within days, the color begins to change. Soon, the foliage will display a range of colors (below).

Sadly, the small ‘Flame Thrower’ redbud did not survive in damp ground in the lower, rear garden. Replacements available in the garden center were absurdly small and costly, so I wisely opted to plant a Japanese maple instead, always an excellent alternative. ‘Flame Thrower’ deserves a spot in the garden, but open spaces for trees are very limited. But, if a good-sized tree becomes available, room to plant can be found.

Two weeping redbuds complete the five along the border (with several others scattered through the garden). The purple leafed ‘Ruby Falls’  (above) and yellow ‘Golden Falls’ (below) display splendid color and vigorous growth. As the brilliantly colored azaleas have faded, the redbuds are hardly a step behind, but instead of color that lasts a few weeks, this color will hold until November.