Keeping it Going and Lessons Along the Way
Effort Required for Establishment
Spring to mid-summer 2024 was unusually wet, which greatly helped plant establishment. We still needed occasional watering, but the natural rainfall carried much of the load. Weekly weeding was crucial during this period to keep invasive species in check while the natives established their roots. Each weeding session took about 15 minutes.
By late summer 2024, the weather turned very dry. Watering became more frequent—about once a week, or every 3–4 days during hot spells—until fall arrived.
Season 2 - Minimal Maintenance
Spring and summer 2025 were extremely wet. We only watered once or twice through mid-August. Weeding became an occasional task, done only when there was time. There was a slight increase in cool-season weed growth, but it was minimal compared to the maintenance demands of my backyard garden beds.
When replanting the rain garden, I selected species better suited to these conditions: fox sedge and blue flag iris—both tolerant of wet soils and partial shade beneath the pergola dogwood tree.
Risks in Planting a Rain Garden
We lost many garden plants in the backyard due to an unusually dry winter. However, the native plantings in the front yard proved their resilience, returning with vigorous growth.
Choosing the Wrong Type of Sumac
I selected cutleaf staghorn sumac, not realizing at the time that it has separate male and female plants—a detail not mentioned on the nursery’s website. I suspected ours were all male, as we’ve never seen fruit. Unfortunately, they turned out to be extremely aggressive spreaders, quickly outcompeting other plants. Looking back, I wish I had chosen the Tiger Eyes cultivar, whose bright yellow-green foliage would have created a striking contrast with the rest of the planting.
I’ve decided not to correct it this year, but in spring 2026, I plan to remove the current sumacs and replace them with my preferred Tiger Eyes.
Warm Season Grasses Take a Long Time to Mature
By the second season, the grasses had grown larger, but not until mid-July. By that time, the other perennials had already filled out and begun shading the grass. My original vision—flowers emerging gracefully from a backdrop of grasses—never fully materialized.
In hindsight, knowing how slowly warm-season grasses mature, I would have started with one-gallon-size plants to give them a stronger early presence and create a better balance with the faster-growing perennials.
Plants Too Close to the Balance Beam
To restore the intended experience, we may relocate some plants to open up the pathway. This adjustment will likely become a spring 2026 project—stay tuned.
2 Understanding the Site
3 Revealing the Flow of Rain
4 Designing with Repurposed Materials
5 How It All Came Together
6 Tasty Natives We Love
7 Planting and Establishment Process
8 What It All Cost
9 Lessons Learned
Curious about Ping and what inspires our projects? Come explore more at ping-la.com
Saint Paul, MN