New Woodland Garden-Ideas, anyone?

My red baneberry lasted 2 seasons and that was it, hope yours does better. I thought about trying it again, but haven't yet.

Just found this before pic, (I knew I buried it somewhere). Its the side of my garage in a shady area, which was a dust bowl until I planted grass and installed a drip system. The pic on the left was taken 04/07 the one on the right - today, (still under construction). ☺

It's coming along...

...slowly but surely! ☺

WC ~ thats what my son calls a 360.....beautiful!

Real nice, WC! What's the light one all the way on the right in the last photo?

Thank You!

Victor its a Spirea, a golden one, it comes out yellow, turns mint green and then back to yellow again in the fall. The green ones require too much light for that area. I have 3 of them dispersed in that area. ☺

Thanks - thought it might be.

Nice! What's the little one inbetween the ferns? The stripped one almost out of the picture.

Spotted Dead Nettle 'Chequers' I've got 9 of them scattered thoughout. An all white bleeding heart is begining to peek out on the other side, bought it as a root but the root was large ~ 1ft long so I'm expecting a large plant in that area for next spring to add height. ☺

I love Oxalis in my woodland garden. I came across a plant the other day I never heard of Andromeda Polifolia (Bog Rosemary "Blue Ice") I dont know if that is woodsy enough but it is gorgeous and I think it would do great in the area you described.

What great photos and ideas from all of you! Are all these wonderful plants deer resistant, or do we need to be spraying?

Great transformation, WC! My backyard is a spartan wasteland, but you've given me hope!

flwrpwr, sounds like you live in an amazing neighborhood...with flower-hunting buddies right next door. Too cool.

Thanks brooklyngirl, I used to hate my neighbors' maple tree, kept the water & light out near my garage! - I bought a leaf blower, fixed the water issue and got plants that don't like too much light, now I'm afraid he may decide to take it down! - funny how perspectives can change... There's always hope - 'Ya just got to make it happen! ☺

Be flexable. If the tree comes down what the heck we are always moving plants around anyway.

Speaking of trees and neighbors....Just before I moved in, the owners of my building chopped down a huge pear tree in the back yard. The stump they left is about 2 feet in diameter, and I hear from the neighbors that it was "JUST GORGEOUS!" I also hear from many of them on separate occasions that they were "SO DISAPPOINTED!" when it went. Why hack down an old and beautiful tree? Landlord says that "picking up the fruit was too much trouble for tenants." Yearg!! If only I'd gotten here sooner, eh? I would've chained myself to it....or maybe moved into its top-most branches in protest. WC, maybe you can adopt similar tactics if the rumble of the chainsaw comes 'round?

I found this site when I was checking on Victors mention of hey scented ferns. It has alot of info.
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/index.html
Chuck

Nice link, Chuck. The hay-scented ones are all over the woods where I hike and it's heavenly when their scent is in the air.

Victor, we have several ferns that Marilyn (wife) has transplanted from different areas. We are going to take some pictures and take them to The New England Wildflower Assoc. "Garden in the Woods" this weekend to see if they can idenitify them for us. We fixed up a nice area that is in the shade and have planted some good shade plants. Japanese Painted Fern, 2 Lungwort (Mesjestic & Raspberry Splash), Cinnamon Fern, Hen & Chicks, and several others that I don't remember the names of. I am quite surprised that they are all doing well.
Chuck

I like ge1836s' plan better, nowadays they take you out with the tree. But not to worry, I'm developing a backup plan... the red bush in the tomato wire is a PurpleLeaf Sandcherry. If the tree goes the Sandcherry will go into '4th gear'! Hee hee! ☺

Scented ferns sounds interesting, I never knew they existed!

This message was edited May 20, 2008 8:22 AM

I have seen hens & chicks in full sun. Were they abnormal?

Schickenlady, nope (i love that word!) they do well in sun.

Grow hens and chicks plants in full sun to partial shade and in well-drained soil. In the South, hens and chicks can profit from partial shade; but the requirement for well-drained soil is a must in any zone!

I just thought they would look good in the setting that I'm trying to achieve in our shade/part shade bed.
Chuck

hens and chicks for rock gardens, they need little and give a lot

daisy,

i know he was expensive, but hot dern he was kinda worth it!! the next time you've got $40, why not try it out? got the bulb from Dutch G, and he's as healthy as can be.

also haven't forgotten my promise to share. when can i do it w/o hurting him? fall?

Love this thread! Getting a lot of good ideas. Thanks everyone.

I was at Tower Hill Botanical Gardens near me last weekend and they said I should try foxglove on the edge of my woodland space ... and so I have ... it's very eye-catching and I'm hoping will lure the casual observer across a bridge into that part of the property. We also have lacecap hydrangea which is beautiful this time of year.

Wow, that is beautiful, Brooklyn Girl. $40.00...yikes. But so beautiful.

Tomorrow before the heat comes on, I am going to dig down by this willow a ton of stuff I've collected. I'll try to post some pix.

Daisy, I haven't forgotten you! Things have settled here and I have a few things for you. I will Dmail to make contact, but it will be once this miserable heat breaks! My things are not nearly as impressive as brooklyngirl's fantastic find (!) but they are yours as promised! P.S. - do you ever go to Adam's?

Looking fwd to your pics, daisy.

Welcome NEflwrpwr and Brooklyngirl! Bgirl: I used to live on 5th ave and 5th st in Park Slope. I loved it there. Now I have a yard. Ya can't beat that!

Daisy, I love the area you're working with. It's gonna be so beautiful. I'm not very good at shade gardens yet, but it sounds like you've got some great help here already!

Harper

Hi There Sofonisba,

Thanks for the welcome. I'll have some pics soon. We finally had a ton of rain and all of a sudden my garden is lush.

I'm also a new mother of a ton of praying mantis'. I'll def post pictures later. I should've this morning but was in a rush. I hope I can get a good pic this afternoon. I put the egg in a large round boxwood so they would scatter and not eat eachother. I have perennial gardens all around the boxwood too.

I did the whole "oh look at the babies" and such, then I figured that I looked like I was talking to my boxwood and stopped. The neighbors will think I've gone way over the edge!

Didn't we have a thread about that awhile ago?
Welcome Newflwr

Brooklyngirl,

I'm jealous. I was afraid to order it for the price and not have it come up. Was it a plant or roots?

All my neighbors must think I'm crazy too.

newflwr--
It was a bulb. It grew ridiculously fast. I planted it...jeez...less than 4 weeks ago. Maybe even 3! Just kept him nice and moist and protected him w/ rocks and shade. I was worried, too, but he's a strong man now.

Sofonisba--
Thanks for the welcome!

oh, my back is too sore to sit at this desk anymore! nitenite guys!