From the moment years ago when I saw the dormant, yellow twigged ‘Bihou’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Bihou’, below) at a garden center tradeshow in January, I knew I had to have one. Unfortunately, our company did not work with this specialty maple grower, so I waited several years before finally accepting a mailorder tree much smaller than I would typically plant.

As you would expect, many plants in this thirty-six year old garden have grown quite large, so a small tree can look odd beside mature specimens. There is also the complication of finding space, and do I have enough years left to enjoy it, but obstacles are easily overcome with a plant that I can not live without.

In any case, coming into its third spring, ‘Bihou’ has quickly grown taller than six feet in a mounded bed of soil adjacent to the smaller of two rock gardens. This will be the year the maple blends acceptably beside its larger neighbors, but its yellow stems are already a highlight of the winter garden. ‘Bihou’ is unremarkable through the other seasons, but I don’t regret planting it for a moment.

With my colorblindness, yellow stems stand out while I can not fully appreciate the Coral Bark Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Sango kaku’, below) or several redtwigged dogwoods in the garden. My world is not viewed in black and white, but my wife tells me that the red stems are brightly colored and not the muted tone I see.

‘Sango kaku’ is one of several coral bark Japanese maples, and certainly the most common, though it is the most susceptible to root problems due to poorly drained soils. Of course, mine is planted in the ever damp, lower rear garden. So far, without an issue.

Due to my color vision problems, ornamental bark is not a primary consideration for plant selection in this garden, but the Japanese maples drop are worthy additions. I’ve planted a number of winter flowering shrubs and bulbs, and the colored bark is another reason to explore the garden on a snowy January afternoon.