The Perfectly Imperfect Woodland Garden

Post 73

I can imagine the perfectly imperfect woodland garden in spring.

For an understory it would have bluebells and forget-me-nots, daffs and species tulips, hellebores, trilliums, woodland poppies, primroses, may apples, wild ginger, ferns, barrenworts, money plants and plants I do not yet know the names of.

The midstory would be azaleas, rhodos, fothergillas, dogwoods, serviceberries and magnolias.

All this would be under ancient trees, with an modest farmhouse and a few well-used outbuildings sharing the plot.

And, of course, this bucolic kingdom (too small, comfortable and unpolished to be an estate,) would be somewhere near a convenient village center, but hidden away, maybe reached by a dirt road winding off a rarely-used street.

Could such a place exist? Yes. of course it could. In fact it does, tended by a retired geneticist who still comes out and digs up a primrose here and there to gift a worthy up-coming plant sale. May we all have her vigor, intelligence, generosity, humor, busy life and green thumb at 92! Hmmm, and would we had and have such virtues at an younger age too.

While few of us live in such natural splendor, many of us garden yards that are at least partially shaded by big trees. This expanse of spring loveliness is an inspiration of what can be done under such conditions.

All these plants spread on their own and grow well between tree roots.

Do you need some of the plants listed and pictured above?  if so, you are in luck. It is almost time for the Ned Wolf Park plant sale.

"Ned Wolf Park is located at the corner of Ellet St. and McCallum St. in the beautiful Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.  This year we've scheduled our annual sale of perennials, shrubs, annuals & miscellaneous garden stuff for Saturday, May 11th from 10 am to 1 pm. "
http://nedwolfpark.blogspot.com/

Is Riz

Post 70
Spring came with Easter this year, as if the daffs were waiting for their cue of "He is Risen."

Cleanup has ended and I am even getting mulch down at about the right time. Which is early for me. I have usually mulched late (or--garden scandal--not at all, relying on close planting instead,) because I have wanted all my seeds to get a good start. I need the seeds to get a good start, both the self-seeders and the ones I plant in late March.

For me, it is essential that the seedlings prosper. As I have explained in an earlier post, which includes all the how-to info,  Lead with Seed to a Flowery Mead-- the look I enjoy in the garden is partially created by the dashed-around appeal of haphazardly strewn, old-fashioned annuals. It gives the garden an unpredictability factor that keeps it new for me, and I hope others as well.

Also--I do not spend a lot of money on annuals, which are only a short-term investment at best. Seeds are cheap, and if done right, more effective. So this year's experiment will teach me something I cannot learn from books.

Sometimes it is only as you garden that you understand what the questions are that you need answered. And that only you can answer some of them. Books help, but at a certain point, your own style will take you past books into uncharted territory. If you're doing it right.

One of my favorite unintended consequences this spring is that I seem to have made a panorama of New York State in the rock garden.

I swear, I did not put that stick there, but am still amused by how well it mimics the New York State Thruway.

Well--that's about all going on in the garden right now. And so it is time to ...

for now.