In 1992 I made a sunny woodland opening in front of our ranch house larger. Two Loblolly Pine trees were no more than 20 feet from the house facade and felt a bit threatening. So, down they came. Below....before the Pines were gone, the sun configuration on the right.
The trees didn't fall from natural causes the way they might have in the typical sequence of natural forest succession, but, the loss of their mass and the shade they provided created a much more open clearing where the sun shone for the first time in many years. Below (right drawing) shows the sun configuration with the pines gone.
In nature without man's interference the catastrophe of a fallen tree would set into motion a rejuvenation of plant growth adapted to a sunnier micro climate with the seeds of such plants wait for generations in the soil in preparation for just such an opportunity when the sunshine returns stimulating their germination and growth.
(Above) The courtyard now with a new shadow edge on the east side and entrance arbor on the north side. By removing the pine trees, in my situation, I created a more challenging space than I realized. Intense sun in summer for half the year and full shade during the other six months meant that plants chosen would have to deal with this one very important aspect of the microclimate in the woodland.
The front courtyard begins heating up in late May when the sun clears the tops of the trees on the south side of the woodland. There are now three extremely different planting situations at the edges of the pool of light 18' wide and 36' long.
Looking South
First things first......give the space a more natural look, one that blended into the surrounding woodland. I removed the straight concrete 'builders walkway', had it broken up into irregular pieces and laid it back down in a more organic configuration.
(Above) There are 1 to 2 inch spaces between the large concrete pieces. I had a garden in mind that I had seen at the Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco. That garden had an ancient look about it. The stones used there were very large, gray and primeval looking.
This view is from an upper deck porch entrance added in 1995. Sitting here, overlooking the north facing garden, I can see all edges of the garden right through to the simple four post arbor that encloses the courtyard at the other end. Below, you can see the chair on the deck porch where I am sitting.
I can sit on the original front porch that also faces east (above). To the right, looking south from the same porch, I see the porch deck on the addition added in 1995.
View from original front porch
The original paving design came right up to the porch deck wall with the exception of a pocket garden planted with a Variegated Hinoki Cypress, Pieris 'Temple Bells' , Fatshedera lizei, and Agarista 'Rainbow'. Over the years a native spreading fern, Woodwardia, took hold in the cracks and spread northward about 8 feet. I've been letting it do it's thing and have added Hardy Beginia, Acorus 'Ogon', Holly fern, Purple Oxalis, a few more Hosta and containers that give height to it's natural character.
A few containers off the original front porch are getting more sun. Their positions can be changed as well as their contents to give pops of color in the green toned mixture of the more permanent planting scheme.
Across a ramped stone access walk from the deck porch on the eastern edge is a short embankment garden. there is an azalea hedge as backdrop at the top of the hill. Nandina and Cryptomeria 'Globosa Nana' are at the 'head waters' of the cascade of Hosta ending in a splash of Lonicera nitida along the walk.
It's 11:30 in the morning at the beginning of August and you can see the sunspot on the west side of the courtyard. The house is 10' tall giving this bed of Edgeworthia, Mondo Grass, Geranium macrorrhizum, Iris virginica, Eucomis, Cephalotaxus, Pieris, Nandina, Symphorocarpus, Hinoki Cypress, Camellia, containers of Heuchera and Caladiums a much-needed rest from intense sun as heavy afternoon shade creeps in around 3-4pm.
In the five minutes i have been writing I took this photo. Notice that the sun is now caressing a thread leaved Thuja occidentalis (above in the left middle of this image) that is on the other side of the path. In another hour the right side will be in full sunshine providing the minimum amount of intense daylight for healthy growth of Coral Bark Maple, Dwarf Cryptomeria, Fothergilla, Dwarf Chamaecyparus and a low mingled planting of Lemon-balm Kalamiris, Acorus, Oxalis, Tricyrtis, Tradescantia, Ajuga, Saxifraga stolinifera, 'Jet Trail Quince and Japanese Anemone.
At the north end where the arbor gets a wash of southern sunshine most of the day I once grew a blooming rose (removed in 2005 in favor of a softer planting of Jelsemium sempervirens and Lonicera sempervirens......see 'VINE WARS'.)
Annual Cypress Vine twining on the arbor is so pretty and attracts hummingbirds. The arbor provides its own challenging microclimate under and around the structure.
Some people despair when a tree falls in their woods and creates an intensity of sun where there has been shade. Don't be afraid. Now you have been given an adventurous opportunity to learn how these new forest edges will welcome a vast and interesting array of plants that will further enhance your gardens in woodlands.
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