Adding to The Woodland Garden

Woodland Garden Before

The area behind my garage was an section of my yard that I wasn't sure what to do with at first when I first bought my house. It was a huge mess and went unmanned so as such with spaces like that around here Mulberry and honeysuckle invaded. I spent much time getting rid of the Honeysuckle and other weeds, then I hired a tree removal company to remove 6 Mulberries there were growing in the fence line. After that was all removed I was still left with a very shady area with sunlight that only comes in during the middle of the day. So I decided a woodland themed garden was the best idea for this space.

Woodland Garden After

Woodland plants

I knew from the beginning that my plant choices were going to be mostly natives because they are made for the shade! Their genetics are literally integrated for fully shaded spaces. So I chose plants such as wild ginger, May apples and Pennsylvania Sedge which is one of my personal favorites. Woodland Violets also do very well in dark places but this space already had a large amount of violets I was able to leave them and they really make a nice-low groundcover. I also added Hostas and to keep the natural look I just planted those right in with the violets. For the pathways I didn't have a huge budget so I put down flagstone for the part of the path that leads to my garage door which I use very often and I did a rock-lined mulch path for the rest which makes for a nice look.

Understory Trees

 You would think if I spent all the time and funds on removing trees that I would not surely by planting more but actually trees a huge part of a woodland garden for obvious reasons but also because they finish off the ecosystem and create a wooded look. I needed a few understory trees which are short shade-tolerant trees that grow under tall trees. I had a part-sun area in the back so I chose a multi stemmed Serviceberry and a single stemmed Redbud. I also have a Crabapple back there not pictured as well as a Southern Magnolia which is an out-of zone trial tree I'm trying. These trees will eventually grow up and fill out the middle layer of my "woodland" which became pretty void when I removed the invasive. Fallen tree limbs and logs just like in a real-woodland get left in place to naturally rot away, I also leave any leaf-litter that falls. This makes for a very-low maintenance space

Little Lucky in the Woodland Garden

What you can also find in the woodland garden is the 8' metal T-Rex Little Lucky which I've introduced in previous posts. I've done alot of work on this since it was placed it earlier this summer. I drilled some much-needed holes for drainage and treated all the rust spots before finishing off with 4 coats of gloss clear-coat to insure its ready for the winter. This should insure Little Lucky will continue to tower over the woodland garden for many years to come!

Late season flowers

Goldenrod 9/15/19

For most gardeners, were heading towards an end of the season leaving gardens looking tired and colorless. This time of year is extra important for pollinators looking to get ready for winter hibernation. Having flowers that bloom late will help them accomplish this and it will give you more excitement and color to enjoy for that extra month or two and the end of the season! As you already know I prefer native plants in my garden. This is the season of Goldenrod & Asters so I find plenty of both blooming throughout this week. Native plants are very rare in my neighborhood so this time of year bees flock to my yard, I found at least 8 bumblebees on this one Goldenrod flower above. The wildlife has been enjoying this late season heatwave we have been having. It's been near 90 off and on that past few days. Rainfall has been extremely plentiful all season.

New England Aster 9/15/19

Smooth Blue Aster 9/15/19

Asters are one of my all time favorite flowers for that needed late season color. I have several types of Aster, unfortunately rabbits like them as well, especially in the spring as new growth begins. Due to this reason I have to cage all my Asters until summer when growth becomes sour tasting to them. It doesn't look good early on but the color now really does make it worth the work. Left is strait New England Aster which easily gets 4' tall 4' wide. I have Purple Dome as well and like this type a bit more because it only gets 2-3' fall and wide. Right side is Smooth Blue Aster which is tolerant of part shade. This one gets 4' tall but it only gets 1' wide.

Goldenrod 9/15/19

Not exactly sure what type of Goldenrod this is but I really enjoy the fully lush flowers is has. It doesn't get very tall unlike some Goldrods, this one for the past couple of years has remained about 2' tall 2' wide and has not been aggressive. Some wild types can spread quite a bit in the garden but if you choose the right varieties you can find many that are really tame and actually quite showy.

Turtlehead 9/15/19

 I've been getting quite a few questions about this one and people wondering what it is. This is a native plant called Turtlehead variety is hot lips. This plant is late season bloomer in part shade

Bottle Gentian

Here is another one of the more interesting late season color flowers that I have. This is another native plant called Bottle Gentian. The plant remains low and for me crawls along the ground. The flowers are naturally shaped like bottles and always look like their closed. Bees have to work extra hard to get to the pollen of these plants having to force themselves inside the blooms which then close behind the bees. After they collect the pollen inside they open the flower and crawl out. I also have a natural cultivar called cream gentian which has whitish flowers.