# A little woodland garden



## Tom-DE (Nov 6, 2019)

Gardening is a lifetime hobby for me......this late summer, I decided to do a makeover for this little garden(~18'X20')......the moss and driftwood( a cherry tree trunk) are from my property.
It is not quite done yet(*some of the plants I want to add to it are not available at this time of the year).


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## abax (Nov 6, 2019)

Very nice beginning. Looks like a good place for
Cyps., Trillium...oh, lots of woodland flowering
plants. A Japanese Painted Fern would look
rather nice around the log.


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## Tom-DE (Nov 7, 2019)

I had two different Japanese Painted Ferns in that garden initially but I moved them to another garden...Trilliums are great woodland plants and I have planted a lot of them(also blood roots, wild gingers, Virginia blue bell...)in a different garden(no moss). Some of the woodland plants can be invasive so I will have to keep my eyes on them.

For the new plants In this garden, I have various ferns including the Arborvitae Fern(not a fern at all), Japanese anemone, variegated toad lily, Epimedium, Astilbe, Lantern Rose, coral bells, variegated Solomon's Seal and few other things. The tall plants (at the back side) are deciduous Azaleas/Rhododendrons and the variegated climbing hydrangea. They have been there for almost 15 years. Next Spring, I would like to add a golden Japanese forest grass and maybe a bronze leaf Rodgersia for bold texture. I would love to have some Hostas but the deer would "really" love them too.


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## Linus_Cello (Nov 7, 2019)

Where’d you get your plants from? I just put the last of my Plant Delights order in the ground.


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## abax (Nov 7, 2019)

Common name Trout Lily is a lovely woodland
plant that minds its manners. Deer ate all my
Hostas and Daylily buds this past summer...and
we feed the beautiful devils. Just thought of
Spring Beauty corms that stay low, bloom in
very early spring here and makes a really lovely
blanket of color just when winter is dragging
along too long.


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## Tom-DE (Nov 8, 2019)

Linus_Cello said:


> Where’d you get your plants from? I just put the last of my Plant Delights order in the ground.



Most of my normal perennials are from my local garden centers/nurseries. For the woodland plants, I recommend Bluffview nurseries, TN. Their bare-root plants are very reasonable and good...However you might have to wait a little while(2-3 weeks) to get them if they are super busy...

Plant Delights/Tony might have some neat stuffs but you have to pay an arm and a leg for them. (Just my opinion)

Angela, thanks for the suggestion. I think I will get a few trout lily next year, maybe a few Hepatica as well.


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## Ray (Nov 8, 2019)

That's great Tom.

Too bad you didn't catch me before I moved. My back yard in PA had about 2000 square feet of native Trout Lily and a ton of Jacks-in-the-Pulpit.


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## Phred (Nov 9, 2019)

Now is a good time to plant Trout Lily. You can find many deals on the internet now since they are a spring flowering bulb. The same dealers should have Trillium also. You might also consider the fern Polypodium. You can attach it to your wood or rocks. Also try miniature Hosta... the smaller the better. Deer generally don’t bother with them.


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## Tom-DE (Nov 10, 2019)

Thank you for all the suggestions. Truth of the matter is none of those woodland plants we've discussed/suggested will go in this garden(pictured), but I will consider those plant choices next Spring when I continue to work on the other garden (just across the other side of this garden).


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## masaccio (Jan 7, 2021)

This is inspirational. The foundation bed in front of my house is too shady for typical plantings. But landscaping it with a boulder and an interesting tree trunk, filling in with leafy shade plants, mosses and ferns would be brilliant.


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## Tom-DE (Jan 8, 2021)

I like it too but be warned--you might have to do some weeding from time to time depends on the moss. The moss I harvested from the edge of my woods have quite a bit of weeds coming up from time to time.


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## Phred (Jan 9, 2021)

Here’s a foundation shade garden I built. 


Across the walkway there is a moss garden that has Polygonatum humile (miniature Solomon Seal) in the left foreground just coming up. There’s a log with Polypodium vulgare growing on it. Cypripedium kentuckiense. Lots of miniature Hosta in the moss garden. Hosta, Toad Lilly, Ferns, Azalea, large Solomon Seal, and others on the hill.


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## Tom-DE (Jan 9, 2021)

Thred, that is a fantastic garden you have created. I can see it has matured nicely... Love some of the plants you have, especially the Cyp....wish I could have Hostas but I am in the woods and my garden is not fenced in. I did add a couple of small Hostas to my other gardens and lots more ferns(over 20 species now) this summer...it is all work-in-progress, finding and adding more interesting plants.
Where in NJ are you? I am in southern Delaware.


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## Duck Slipper (Jan 9, 2021)

Tom-DE said:


> Thred, that is a fantastic garden you have created. I can see it has matured nicely... Love some of the plants you have, especially the Cyp....wish I could have Hostas but I am in the woods and my garden is not fenced in. I did add a couple of small Hostas to my other gardens and lots more ferns(over 20 species now) this summer...it is all work-in-progress, finding and adding more interesting plants.
> Where in NJ are you? I am in southern Delaware.


All these shade gardens are beautifu, excellent photos. I especially love Cyps.
I want to mention a device that is affordable and really works to keep deer away. Motion sensor sprinklers are amazing for stopping Deer, and all that happens is it quickly waters your garden, day or night...all that is needed is a hose!


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## Duck Slipper (Jan 9, 2021)

Sorry, I don’t want to hijack this thread about shade gardens...but I wanted to add to the above post. When they go off they have a sound deterrent to them also...the sprinkler has a repeating sound that scares the deer along with getting them wet. It is quite comical and totally safe. Squirrels, rabbits, deer will immediately run away.


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## Tom-DE (Jan 9, 2021)

not to worry, DS... it is all right.


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## masaccio (Jan 9, 2021)

Phred said:


> Here’s a foundation shade garden I built.
> View attachment 24592
> 
> Across the walkway there is a moss garden that has Polygonatum humile (miniature Solomon Seal) in the left foreground just coming up. There’s a log with Polypodium vulgare growing on it. Cypripedium kentuckiense. Lots of miniature Hosta in the moss garden. Hosta, Toad Lilly, Ferns, Azalea, large Solomon Seal, and others on the hill.
> ...


Phred !!! How do you do it all?? This brings tears to my eyes.


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## Phred (Jan 9, 2021)

masaccio said:


> Phred !!! How do you do it all?? This brings tears to my eyes.


Lol... its lot easier now that my 4 boys are long grown and across the country.


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