
Apparently, it takes a major illness for this household to make any major home improvements. Allow me to explain.
In 2006, as we were making plans for a major home renovation, Jen was diagnosed with breast cancer. It didn't take us very long to come to the decision that we should go ahead with our plans, working and living through the renovation as Jen was living and working through her chemotherapy and radiation treatments. It turned out to be a very good decision. The project was a terrific diversion for us both and helped to put a positive spin on what could have been a very negative time.
Four years later, after years of talking about it, we decided this was the summer we'd rip out the horrid deck that dominates the yard, fix the grading and amend the soil, and completely redo the backyard--and my diagnosis of breast cancer wasn't about to stand in our way.
We've been talking with a landscape architect and have come up with a plan. We're at the plant selection/pricing stage. Jen and I spent a few hours last weekend scoping out plants that are in contention to be included in the final plan. For years, I've been secretly making lists of plants I'd want to include in my own dream backyard, so to walk through the garden center with real intention was great fun.
Here are some of the ideas we're kicking around.

Smokebush: I love the color of the smokebush leaves, green to dark purple in summer and then changing bright red in the fall. And the blooms that give this plant its smokey name are fantastic, wispy and beautiful in the breeze. The entire plant is a wonderful contrast element. I was leery to incorporate this plant, until I learned that you can cut it way down every three years and have it come back in flower again without it getting out of control.
Prairie dropseed grass: I love grasses that flower, and this one in mass plantings will be a great low level, drought-tolerant ground cover. I currently have a purple moor grass that has fantastic, tall plumes that are starting to bloom now and will last well into winter. It will be replanted in the new garden.

Serviceberry Tree: I can't wait to finally put a tree in our backyard. The yard isn't huge and, stuck as it is between the house and the garage, the roughly 15'x25' space can't support just any sized tree. For years, I've gone back and forth about what tree I'd like to have, but the service berry has always been in the top three. My requirements for a tree are simple, I want it all: spring flowers, attractive branch structure, good fall color, berries for the birds, and winter interest. Serviceberry fits the bill, but is usually found in a multi-stem variety, which is nice but might prove too wide for the spot we've chosen in the yard.
Recently I discovered this tree variety of the serviceberry and when I learned the it's called Robin Hill, I felt it was horticultural destiny. (Robin Hill is a direct reference to one of my favorite books, The Forsyte Saga.)

I've always had it in my mind to incorporate a water feature in the garden, both for the burbling sounds and as a water source for the birds. Nothing formal and this fountain, in a mossy stone tone, is just perfect to smooth out the angles in the design.

Lucerne blue-eyed grass: This plant catches my eye every time I'm at the garden center. It did it again. I could see this iris-like grass around the water fountain.

Echinacea: I already have a bunch of purple coneflower that will be reincorporated in the new plan. I'd never seen this new "tomato soup" variety and when I did, it blew me away. Wow, what color. I love the vibrant red combined with the shape of the echinacea flower.
Other plants that are in contention for the final plan include a dwarf variety of lilac, hydrangea (including a climbing hydrangea on the fence), velvet boxwood, Japanese loose cap yew, astilbe, and perhaps a prairie fire crab apple as an espalier on one of the fences.
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