Report From the East

The ranch's gardening staff has reported in for the season. They had some good results this summer on the east side of the house and some distressing news too.

First, the good: the fall anemone 'September Charm' has finally bulked up and is blooming beautifully. The  tall nodding flowers are seen from inside the east facing window. I love the view looking out from our dining room table.

They are spreading, as anemones do, aggressively. My perennial flower staff will pull the runners to keep it tidy, and since it is bounded by the house on one side and gravel in front of it, I hope to keep it in bounds. But as with all charmers, it will use its pretty self to keep me enamored and I'll probably have too much of it in the end.

My staff had some other news from the east side. Maximillian sunflowers have opened at the corner of the garage. Pure sunshine in a patch of sandy dirt, hugging a stucco wall. A fine September view.

The forestry department reported in with the exciting update that a new tree has been planted next to Big Red the rain barrel. 

It's a serviceberry, Amelanchier 'Autumn Brilliance'. It looks like a stick there, and in fact it is. A stick, a little droopy from transplant. But time and imagination are the two elements needed for tree planting and I have both.

It's in a narrow spot and will be kept limbed up to clear the juniper below and allow me to get to the rain barrel. Eventually it will be tall enough to shade the east side of the house, and with time and imagination it will begin to look something like this in spring and fall:

The tree report included an update on the Japanese maple that sits under the cottonwood on the east side.

It looks good now, starting to turn color for fall. It was healthy and growing all season, but looked sort of open and "thready" all summer. I can't describe it any other way. The leaves are finely dissected, but even so, it just didn't look right. It seemed skimpy.

But it's fine.

It's sharing the stage with the new tree just planted by the rain barrel. Eventually they will both be full and tall and shade that east facing window.

Next to both little trees is the monster cottonwood that looms over all. And there is a problem. 

My staff reported a weeping wound in the trunk of this tree two years ago: it is slime flux, a bacterial infection of the sapwood that causes wood to rot. This summer it has gotten way, way worse, dripping down the trunk and smelling quite bad. 

The wet seep constantly drips onto the gravel below and fallen leaves stick to it. I tried to pick up these leaves and they were stuck as if glued with a strong epoxy. Don't step in the wet area.

The dripping ooze is actually a good sign -- it's the tree draining the infection from its tissue as a wound would drain an infection on your skin. But ugh.

This tree has to go. 

That's why I've planted the Japanese maple and the new little serviceberry in front of the windows. I want shade from the eastern sun on the house, and when the cottonwood finally gets taken down, I'll have some smaller, tidier, nicer trees going. 

But what a loss it will be! The shade, the dappled light filtering into the house on sunny mornings, the stateliness of this big tree -- my two little sapling trees won't do much. 

I'll need to replace the cottonwood I think with a large shade tree in the same spot. I'm in discussion with my gardening staff about that. Weigh in if you have opinions.

That's the report of how things are going on the east side of the ranch --- some highlights, some new stuff, and one big awful problem.