Several revisions have been made this spring to the earlier spring revisions of the side garden. That’s how it goes, not all the time, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with the outcome the first time around, so changes had to be made.

At this point, I hardly remember what was here that was torn out in late winter. I recall two panicled hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) were here because I cut them and left the stumps. One is sprouting, but I pull the leaves off and eventually, it’ll run out of steam. The hydrangeas were too shaded to flower, and the entire area near the garden’s border was an area I ignored because there was no reason to see it. I planned to change that.

In the first revision, I planted a skinny little Dove tree (Davidia involucrata) that I’ve had for a while in a pot. Immediately, I realized the mistake. It would take years to get up to an acceptable size, and even though I opened the tree canopy by removing a limb of the tulip poplar that spreads over the side garden, I thought it might need more sun. So, back it went into a pot, and in its place went a stocky ‘Little Woody’ redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Little Woody’, above). This is the right small tree for the spot and already it looks okay. In another year, it’ll be good and better after that.

I planted two small rhododendrons beside the redbud, and in a few weeks, I could see that one was too small and the other wasn’t happy in damper soil than I’d figured. So both were moved.

I wanted a bit more mass in place of the rhododendrons so in the garden center I picked a heavily budded smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens, above) and a narrow-leafed Funky Flow mahonia ( Mahonia ‘NCMH1’, below). I dislike the name, but it promises greater cold hardiness than similar narrow-leafed mahonias ‘Soft Caress’, ‘Narihira’, and ‘Beijing Beauty’ that have struggled mightily and proved to have less cold tolerance than promised. We’ll see, but under this tree canopy, it should be well-protected.

I also added a large fern that could end up being a favorite. I prefer tall upright ferns, so the Jurassic Velociraptor ribbon fern (Pteris cretica, below) could be perfect if it proves to be cold-hardy. It’s a high-elevation selection of a less cold hardy fern, and again I dislike the cornball marketing name so it’ll forever be Pteris cretica, or ribbon fern. A variegated ribbon fern nearby squeaks by every winter, so it’s worth a try.

In any case, with a few smaller perennials the latest revision is a keeper. No doubt, a few perennials are likely to be shoehorned in, but I think I like it.