Okay...got the Quarter Acre Wood fairly well cleared ~ well, at least good enough to see what we have to work with. I don't think we're going to plant a lot down there this year...have enough projects going to for the time being. There is a natural pathway leading from the turnaround at the bottom of the drive into the wood which I lined with columbine (McKana giant ~ 30 plants AND they're making an appearance!). It gets quite a bit of all day sun with a wide open southern exposure.
BUT. . .I did discover a wonderful little place which immediately felt very special to me. This circle of trees is about 10' in diameter. The lovely moss covered trunk laying parallel to the ground was chainsawed at the distal end by DH and makes a great bench. The picture doesn't show it, but there's a really nice view of the duck pond from the circle. This is the faerie/gnome/dragon place. I want to put a hanging planter at the distal end of the trunk and a bench from which to view the pond. I want to plant "magic" plants, ones that, as the subject of the thread states, are shade loving, evergreen and with pretty flowers. But I also would LOVE for them to be unusual and interesting simply to look at. Any suggestions?
And the future gathering place. The ducks are returning rapidly to the pond and I've heard a frog or two in the evening. Last summer the frogs were so loud I had to close the bedroom window. LOVE IT! Little buggers are so cute, too!. They sit on the hydrangea leaves and smile as we walk by. Ahhhh...spring is upon us!
Okay, you want something 'magic' how about going for all of the plants that are called fairy bells. here is one of them - Kirengeshoma (spelling doesn't look quite right) - but here is the plant file
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=Kirengshoma&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search&searcher[genus]=Kirengeshoma
and another view - http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/825/821889.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Plants/Classification/Tracheophyta/Magnoliophyta/Magnoliopsida/Rosales/Hydrangeaceae/Kirengeshoma/Kirengeshoma-palmata/Kirengeshoma-palmata-1.html&h=768&w=512&sz=115&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=9Zlc0SJtLWCnVM:&tbnh=142&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkirengeshoma%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
these are wonderful shade lovers, and they spread gently. These areas are going to be sooooo much fun to dream up plantings - they look just enchanted!! Pix is going to have a lot to say about this.
This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 3:22 PM
This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 3:25 PM
And another one - toad lily - trycistus formosanas (Tils this might be one for your purple place) http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/56531/
and a lovely folliage plant with delicate up close flowers Peltoboykinia wantabe http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.robsplants.com/images/portrait/PeltoboykiniaWatanabei050423.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.robsplants.com/plants/PeltoWatan.php&h=300&w=383&sz=30&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=3N4O6ArnKmLzsM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3DPeltoboykinia%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
Oh, I'm going to enjoy this.
This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 3:34 PM
I have several very similar areas and want to do the same thing. My problem is finding plants for later in the summer when there is no rain. I don't want to have to irrigate these areas.
Gwen
Love your fairy areas-wonderful!!
There's some native Fairy Bells, too. It's deciduous, but cute. I think the botanical name may have changed, but look up Disporum Smithii or Disporum Hookeri in Pojar McKinnon.
You might want to consider loads of trilliums, too. That'll take a while, though.
Dicentra Formosa is the native bleeding heart. Unfortunately, It's also deciduous, but it has nice soft ferny foliage and pale pink little hearts-lots paler than the spectrabilis. It likes things fairly moist, though. And it does spread, which in a loose woodland is lovely but elsewhere maybe not so nice? Still, native means low maintenance and well-adapted.
Think about ferns, too-might as well plan on managing them and incorporating them as they will grow themselves in the right spots. Good foundations, and some are evergreen.
I've always thought that fairies would like vanilla leaf, Achlys triphylla, also in Pojar McKinnon, and one of my favorites is Vancouveria Hexandra, inside-out flower. http://www.rainyside.com/features/plant_gallery/nativeplants/Vancouveria_hexandra.html
For some reason, I'm only thinking of deciduous native things today, though...
Another place to play in, don't forget the Hellebore's I'm sure Laurie won't mind if I give you a couple of our babies, when it comes time to re pot them. And I have a few Hostas to for some of the shady spots.
When you come out to get the cardboard all give you some.
Yes Laurie, I love it, just the right color, but no shade their.
Working with mine, I'm taking baby steps, adding little at a time and moving towards the back. Have a feint idea in mind and that keeps changing as I go along.
Okay - I started to type, but Susy and I are on the same track. There are so many natives that you'd be smart to get started. I have dicentra formosa naturalized in one section of my back beds and have been waiting for my one trillium to spread for 5 years now. I will add some more trillium this year.
Add some fawn lily (erythronium) and some camassia quamash. And don't forget to seed with aquilegia formosa where there's a little sun.
Meant to say that I heard the first frogs last night, too. In another couple of weeks they'll be literally deafening at my place. I love it, too, though I don't see them often.
They are so loud that sometimes I think I'm in the middle of a B horror flick and a great huge one will come out of the woods to devour us. LOL
Don't forget some plants don't do well under cedar trees.
Are the trees Western Red Cedars (Thuja placata)? You will need to provide water to anything you plant there unless you plant things that don't mind a drier site. WRC's suck up lots of water/nutrients, so be prepared to give extra to anything you plant there because the WRCs will compete for anything available..
Most things flower better with some sun - how much light is present there, and what time of day? How high are they limbed up?
There are some shrubs, such as Sarcococca (evergreen, fragrant - late winter); Corylopsis (spring); Hammemelis (summer); Enkianthus (late spring); Vaccinium, and others that would do well there, especially if there is a few hours of morning sun. Perennials - you've got a much wider variety, and some of the grasses would work there, too.
Right, WW. Years ago my brother lamented the fact that they couldn't get anything to grow under their cedar tree. My other brother told him that vinca would grow there and he didn't believe it. Well, 15 years later, my brother is trying to get rid of the vinca minor under the cedar tree. He also has lots of hypericum perforatum under the nearby by cedar tree and is tired of that, too. Best laid plans . . . LOL
Why not a couple of hydrangeas? Lots too choose from, big and showy and like the shade. Or a couple of bush camelias and get a lOOOng hose!
This group is such fertile grounds for ideas!! (I know, it was an obvious pun - but it just slipped out soooo easssiiiilllly) - Susybell, I love the vancouveria - I'll have to try and find some of that. wonderful plant - tills by all means spread the Hellebores around! We know how to make more! And Katie, the idea of Cammassia is great - along with the list you have offered - and NW's hydrangeas! Tick! They are all in my wish list now. And it isn't even my area we are talking about - how good is that!!
Susybell - are you growing either the achlys triphylla or the vancouveria? I would love some seed for either/both of these.
Just found them at Crug Farm Nursery - I'll order them.
And just incase you need a bit of plant top-up, this is our version of H=====nw----d. I believe they are actually friends of Dan Hinkley, at least I know he has done talks at their nursery. enjoy their catalogue http://www.mailorder.crug-farm.co.uk/default.aspx particularly those of you with a taste for the exotics.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2008 4:29 PM
Jusy checked out crugs.I want some paris now! But would look smashing with the jack-in-th-pulpits and cobra lilies. I need a bigger shade garden! Do you know if they ship across the pond, Laurie? That's a plant that I know will make my mil envious!
The stuff they carrry is amazing.
Hi NWGordon there is a guy in your neck of the woods his name is Arlen and he owns keeping it green nursery. He has cool shade plant and sells at a farmers market by you I bet he would have them. If you go to the specialty nursery guide .com and look up keeping it green you can get his info. He has hardy ladies slippers etc. Also pixy got some Paris at the flower and garden show. I don't think they ship here. I have heard that the crugs are great people with very cool things.
Okay...I have a HUGE list of plants to consider...I am particularly fond of "sarcococca" simply because it seems really fun to say (and it seems like it's something the doctors for whom I work might say ~ "I've got good news and bad news...the bad news is you have sarcococca. The good news is, we can treat it!" Can you say it three times fast?
Katye...don't know what kind of cedar trees they are, simply cedars. And yes, in this faerie circle they are all cedars. There is one maple and several alders, but predominantly cedar. And the fern, what I believe is sword fern? Y'all can correct me if needed.
NW...I LOVE hydrangeas and there are two camellia trees at work which are blooming now. I love them. I would like a scented one, however, and the ones at work are not. I don't have a problem with providing water to anything there.
To all ~ what about fuchsias as well? There are so many great ideas here I don't know where to begin!
AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH! *deep sigh*
Outta - we have two predominant types of cedars.
According to Trees & Shrubs of Washington by C.P. Lyons, Yellow Cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) has scale-like leaves, cones and the little leaves or needles can be characterized as "prickly". Redcedar (Thuja plicata) has scale-like leaves and cones, but the needles or leaves are smooth. Rub your fingers against the grain of a twig to determine the difference.
They say that, in general, Yellow Cedar is a slower grower than Redcedar and is found at higher elevations. It may have a drooping leader, like Western Hemlock and branches hanging almost vertically.
He describes Western Redcedar like this: Massive, fluted trunks, often hollow, culminate in a spike-like dead top. Frond-like branches are a distinctivfe yellowish-green color. Seed cones are small and woody.
I still have trouble telling them apart.
Love your sarcacocca characterization. Katye has a bunch of it growing along a walkway on the east (?) side of her house. It's completely taken off with dark, waxy camellia-like leaves. I can only imagine how fragrant it must have been this last month. The plant is truly a must have.
Hardy fuschias do well here. Your only challenge with these shade and part-shade lovers will be similar to mine - how do I keep them moist under cedars that own that whole area. Add some soil (of course you don't want to pile it up against the tree, but the roots grow and head upward, so you have some room to play with) and keep them well-watered. I've always understood that the oils in cedars make it hard for things to grow under them - I'm inclined to think it's their water-hogging ways that is the bigger challenge. Don't know.
Here are some threads I found from a google search. And there's more out there:
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29450
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13156
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydra/msg0711152830288.html
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/gaalan/Hydrangeas/100_9824.jpg
I'll make you some starts off my hardy Fuchsia
Looks like Thuja to me from the pictures.
The only reason I asked, is that true cedars(Cedrus) are not hoggish as are the Western Red Cedar (Thuja).
If you are willing and able to water in that area, the realm of possibilities for planting is wide open. The plants I listed would do well in that setting, and provide flowers over a long period of time. However, they are all shrubs, so their size might overwhelm a small area.
I thought you might want the fragrance, though. The Sarcococca has been blooming since January, and still going strong. That is the first place the Bees show up; I love these so I bought a few more...a good woodland plant.
Gordon - glad Heidi found you a source locally, as I have just taken a look at the Crug order form, and it doesn't come up with shipping outside UK - best bet is to email Sue at Crug and ask. So glad all of you liked the list - I just find it so intoxicating, I could get pretty close to just sending them their list and say '1 of each please, and 3 of the following, and 17 of these few' - and then remortgage the farm! Argggggg, I am never going to be able to give up work - my plant lust is insatiable! I was sooooooooooooooooooooo restrained yesterday, only ordered 2 plants.
What did you order?
Laurie ~ Congrats on your ability to say "no." My guess is there was quite a bit of whimpering mixed in with the very firm negations. . .I know sad noises arise voluntarily from my throat every time I walk away.
Tills ~ If that's your fuchsia, I would LOVE some. My mom's gentleman friend was an avid fuchsia grower and said whenever I'm ready to let him know and he would go fuchsia shopping with me. I have always adored them. My great-grandparents had them along with passiflora and it's always been one of my adult desires to have them both in abundance. I have 4 passiflora which did quite well last year (we'll see this year...seems my "boys" like them, too. I used to love to pop fuchsias open as a kid (but promise I know better now!)
Katye ~ I vote for Thuja because of the literature that says "When crushed, leaves have pleasant cedar smell, unlike yellow cedar which smells like mildew." These DEFINITELY smell good. I don't have any problem watering if there if needed. They will be limbed up probably between 15-20 feet which will help with the light, but it's still a predominantly shady area.
Katie ~ I LOVE the picture of the hydrangea in the trees. I can easily picture that in the faerie garden, maybe with some fuchsia thrown in.
A coworker lives in Oak Bay and dug up a bunch of stuff from her forest. She presented me with a box lid of plants and said ... "okay...this is - - -, and I think this is - - -, and this has the prettiest little bluish flower - - -" I'm going to pot them up tomorrow and will bring them to the swap for ID purposes, hoping someone there can be a little more specific! I am really looking forward to Saturday ~ can't wait to meet everyone! And now it's off to the eye doc, then off to workwork for my FRIDAY! WOOHOO!
This message was edited Feb 28, 2008 7:44 AM
achlys triphylla and vancouveria hexandra. Susybell MADE ME DO IT.
LOL!
Well, in that case, I guess you DON'T want the V. Hex seeds that I was going to dmail you about? I did post that I had them last fall, actually....I just had to look to see if I had any left before I promised. ;)
Heeheee. Sue, you're so cruel.
I was just looking at the vancouveria and saw a tiarella. It was really CUTE! Would this do well in the faerie garden along with the many other plants listed above?
http://www.theprimrosepath.com/Featured_Plants/Tiarella/tiarella.htm
Hi outta tirella would be great. It spreads and has pretty flowers and comes in some variegated forms and it is also called piggy back plant because some varieties another baby plant is on ones back. I would just check some plants watering needs because cedars will suck it dry in the summer. Even if you add tons of compost cedar roots will go up and take everything. I had a old whiskey barrel and the bottom rotted out and the whole barrel filled with roots.
I started that Fuchsia from a broken branch from a dear friend of mine, as soon as it gives me something to work with I will make some starts, the mother plant is the old fashion verity and about 20 years old, mine is 3 now.
This was taken last year. I hope that was the good pic!
I thought Piggyback plant was Tolmiea menziesii?
Tiarella is very neat, both the native and the newer cultivars. Some even have pink flowers. :)
(When your sun area is ready, you're probably going to want Echinacea 'Hope' It's kind of special... :) )
I have the Piggy back grows wild here.
That is really a beautiful little fuchsia.
Outta - Tiarella would be great, as would Heuchera. And Heuchera x Tiarella are Heucherella - very sweet. That reminds me - Brunera is a must have for shade and it's supposed to be deer proof. Jack Frost is a neat variety and now there's a Dawson White that I see I must have:
http://www.joycreek.com/667-003.htm
http://www.diggingdog.com/pages2/brunnera.php
I also see that there's a new 'Dawson's White' that I absolutely must have . . . or maybe the Hadspen cream. Eeeek.
Echinacea 'Hope' - plant for the cure, with donations to Susan B. Komen. Very special is right, Susy. Thanks for mentioning this.
So weird...I swore I posted on this last night. I must've been dreaming. Pretty scary when I'm DG'ing in my dreams, huh? Wow ~ anyway;
What I thought I said was Tills ~ I would be THRILLED to have a piece of your beautiful fuchsia. I was perusing a fuchsia page and see that I am again in trouble. I SO love them...always have.
Sue ~ I have a special place in my heart for anything breast cancer related but didn't know about the Echinacea. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Funny ~ I received seeds in the mail from Rachel and distantkin and guess what happened to be in there? A package of E. "purpura." Is this the same or is the "Hope" a further hybridization? They will be sown today to be sure. I will prepare a special sunny place specifically for it ~ perhaps an entirely pink bed!
OUtta, if you have a pink bed, you'll lose track of all your pink tools (or at least those of us covetting them will convince you of that).
Outta, Don't worry, some of my all-time best posts, clever, funny, awesome, never existed either, sigh.....
the Echinacea 'Hope' is a further hybridization. I'm pretty sure that E. purpurea is the species. It's flowers are a darker plum-ish pink. It's a very nice plant as well! Definitely garden-worthy! :)
Hope is a registered hybrid from Terra Nova Nurseries, so you'll have to buy that one already potted up, probably gallon-sized. It's really nice as a flower even if it wasn't a breast cancer plant. Terra Nova is a wholesaler, so their donation is a much larger % than you'd think when you actually buy the plant retail.
Here's Terra Nova's pictures: http://www.terranovanurseries.com/wholesale/popups/echh.html
