Panicum Shenandoah Red Switchgrass Planted - October 2021

Last month, I created a new bed, down by the sidewalk that has historically been turf that has ALWAYS gone dormant in a big way during the Summer.  Currently, it is small - like about 24" wide and spans the space between our driveway and the large Hackberry tree in the corner of our property.  I knew that I had to think about some drought-resistant plantings down there due to the history of the site and upon excavation, I now know why:  there was a half-inch or so of topsoil standing on top of gravel.  

My plan started by transplanting some of the Lemon Coral Sedum that we had in our front porch bed down there in late September.  Doing so, checked a big part of the box for #3 on my 2021 to-do list to work the 'in between two driveways' section.  

I also wanted to add something else to the bed before things went dormant for the year, so on one of my trips to the Home Depot, I came across an ornamental grass that sounded interesting.  At 50% off, this Panicum Shenandoah Red Switch Grass seemed to be something that would fit down there.  Here's a look at the grass in the container:

And, here's a closer look at the container: 

This grass is a switchgrass - which is interesting me as I mostly have fountain and reed grasses.  When I looked around for some info, I found this listing from Hoffman Nursery that described the Shanandoah Switchgrass like this:

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ is a spectacular red switchgrass. Its upright foliage becomes red tinted during the growing season, culminating in a dazzling red-leaved show in fall. Panicum are renowned for being drought tolerant and easy to maintain.

Emphasis, mine.  

"Renown for being drought tolerant".  Love that.  Also, it puts on a 'red-leaved' Fall show?  Love that, too.  I brought it home and tucked it in along the sidewalk, right in between one of the Sedum and the large Hackberry tree.  You can see the location below:

I have a couple more things to do to this bed before dormancy including transplanting a flowering perennial (a bee balm) that I have on hand and tucking in some tulip bulbs.  More on those in the coming days.  I also am thinking of adding a tiny tree to the 'ib2dw' area to start the final shape by connecting this bed with the larger one closer to our garage.