SIMPLY SERENE SOLUTION

How one tackles a flood plain can be a matter of taste, style and most importantly practicality. 

Eric Eibelheuser's sandy suburban garden falls from the street to a wide wooded flood plain filled with native Tulip Poplar, Sweet gum, Maple, and Carpinus trees. 

Carpinus caroliniana with multiple common names is also known as Muscle wood for strength of it's wood and the smooth sinuous appearance of the trunks.  

Here he has placed cut trunks to heighten the edge of the main trench that carries the water through the garden. 

Under the trees a tangle was cleared and now an elegant planting of low evergreen native and ornamental ground covers flow on either side of purposefully  cut trenches. 

The trenches not only direct the water flow where Eric wants it to go but also help to control the tenacious spread of Liriope spicata. This is truely an artful example of controlling water that would naturally spread out as it courses through the broad expanse during rain events. 

Eric has conducted a fine symphony orchestra of melodic shapes with careful plant choices that can withstand occasional flooding. 

He even diverted water off the main ditch that has been crafted to look like a small pond. 

Twin Adirondack chairs lol at the edge. 

One subconsciously can imagine (without actually having to sit in them) the serenity they would bring to an afternoon cat nap imbedding you in the surrounding Liriope spicata, native ferns, Ivy and Acorus. 

The foot bridge leading into dreamland. 

The mind floats over the flatlands and through the soaring trees. The distances seem endless. 

Pathways of moss, mulch or sandy soil  take you around by foot through the lush evergreen swaying foliage. 

Along the way Eric has planted an iconic Dawn Redwood in a room of it's own and a present of Rice Paper plant (Tetrapanax papyrifera) that reinforces a prehistoric feel. (below) 

Beyond, the vision of masses of roots (above) exposed by water's erosion  pulls you forward to observe and slows you down to examine the unique natural phenomenon of nature's art spread out at your feet. (below) 

 The only man made objects in the whole garden are the twin chairs. Never out of sight, even when you are 100' away exploring along the paths, they thankfully give a comforting sense of a landmark ever-guiding you back to the garden's entrance. 

As you exit, Eric has exposed and enhanced one last parting gift of remembrance......

.........Root steps, a Mossy carpet and Mondo Grass. He left a few colorful Sweet gum stars as well. 

BIG BOLD LEAVES ENHANCE THE SUMMER EXPERIENCE IN GARDENS IN WOODLANDS

Very much like the arrangement of succulents in this trough garden that I have on my deck table, the bold leaf elements in gardens in woodlands stand out and stop the eye in an otherwise jumble of the summer garden. 

It is important to give my visitors a place to rest their eyes and mind on a bold leaved plant as we walk along paths or into garden rooms. Dozens of plant combinations encountered in my gardens can be overwhelming to the psyche.  Even I become a bit claustrophobic at the end of summer when the jungle of summer growth seems to press in on me. 

To somewhat remedy this, I have interspersed plants with giant leaves at appropriate intervals.  So, this morning I took a stroll around the gardens starting at my side door and this is what I came across. 

Some of the plants, like the leaflets of this 3' tall Amorphophallus are tucked into a bed for a dramatic impact. 

When I find interesting pieces like this ornate metal chair I like to add summer Caladiums with colorful bold leaves as a foil for the fine textures of a dwarf Cryptomeria and Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost'. 

I like to grow Heuchera in pots and this bold H. 'Autumn Bride' leaf is a calming influence for the riotous colors of the Caladium patterns that always get all the attention. 

A 6' tall Edgeworthia chrysantha is a great background mass with Geranium machrorrhizum skirting it's feet. 

This year the native Callicarpa americana leaves have expanded to 8". You can get a sense of the scale as it closes the gap on the right side of a free standing gate. 

One of my favorite plants reminding me of a spray of water is the Japanese Roof Iris (Iris tectorum) with an almost horizontal leaf habit. Here seen along a gravel path this seedling found a happy and appropriate home. The white or purple blooms in spring are fleetingly beautiful. So, the other values of this plant, to me, are more important: it is drought and shade tolerant, likes more acidic soils (never lime this Iris); in mild winters it is evergreen; it reproduces by seed and rhizomes and is very easy to transplant out of an area where it might colonize without your permission. 

Fine Fern, medium Hosta and bold Begonia grandis textures complementarily arranged in a corner of my entry courtyard. 

I love this dramatic cascade of Hosta cultivars including H. 'Guacamole' at the top and white edged H. 'Patriot'. The waterfall effect of large leaves surrounded by medium and fine textures is a show stopper beside a set of rustic stairs. They are planted in large pots sunk into the ground to protect their roots from voles and to keep the roots happily bound. I fertilize the individual pots with Osmocote twice a season and give them an occasional sprinkle of water. 

Huge dramatic Canna Lilies add a lot to woodland gardens. I don't depend on many flowers forming on them because of shady conditions, but, the leaves add so much of a counterbalance to the vast feeling of a woodland canopy that I like to keep a couple of them going.  My favorite is the "Canna Banana" so called because of it's botanical name Cana musa (musa being the genus name of Banana and the shape, color and size of the 8' tall stalks of leaves.) 

Above, Canna Banana massed at the edge of the woodland

Oakleaf Hydrangea cultivars such as this Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' have spectacularly large leaves having shapes reminiscent of Oak tree leaves (genus Quercus). 

Above, Compare the shapes of H. q. 'Snowflake' on the left with H. q. 'Snow Queen' on the right. 

Helleborus x hybridus seed freely in my gardens and I expect they do so in yours. If they are enhancing their preferred new locations they survive my editing hands.  Here a number of mature seedlings soften the base of a stacked stone wall. The Arborvitae Fern, actually a selaginella, growing on the top of the wall is a great counterpoint of fine texture. 

A singular Helleborus leaf adds a sculptural statement while dangling over an Autumn Fern seedling. 

At the peril of the future of one of my paths I have planted two thugs seen on the left (above). Lamium maculatum (Deadnettle) and Tetrapanax papyirfer (Ricepaper Plant) hovering over the Deadnettle is an experiment  and could be one that I regret in coming years.  But, you know how it is when you fall in love with a plant, all sensibility is lost for awhile. On the right of this collage image is a much safer alternative to this bold presence in the garden ..... a beautiful cement impression of the actual Tetrapanax leaf. This sculpture was made by my friends Amelia Lane and Beth Jimenez at Lasting Impressions. 

Long spectacular wands of Tricyrtis leaves arch over a delicate arrangement of Japanese Painted Ferns and Oxalis in a mossy stone terrace that butts up to the house foundation. They, too, found their own home. I find the carefree effect, a charming one. 

Above, is another impressive arching leaved plant. The Giant Solomon's Seal stands almost 5' tall and placed at the edge of a path it is difficult to miss. My 105 lb. German Shepherd is only 10 feet away so, this image is not a trick of depth perception.  Below, Marcus is guarding Carolina Elephant's Foot (Elephantopus carolinianus). A bold native 'splat' of basal leaves with a stem of flowers about to bloom. It seeds freely in a path topped every year with Cedar chips. 

Any time of the year is a good time to no longer be timid about experimenting with large leaved plants for a textural punch in your summer gardens in woodlands. 

KEEPING AHEAD OF SUMMER'S INVADERS

In the still of this mid-July morning the air is hardly breathable. The tall deciduous trees seem to be having a hard time pulling up any cool air that might be lingering at ground level. Leaf movement above my gardens in this woodland is only on the very outer edges of the trees from the bottom up and does not penetrate the waiting inner branches. 

Wanted and unwanted plants in the gardens continue to thrive and are now growing at super speed especially after striking thunderstorms have been rolling through each afternoon and evening for the past two weeks.  (above) The tall interesting whirled plant floating over the Ginger leaves is a lovely traveling perennial invasive that I must keep in check by pulling.  (below) Woodland vines seem to be doubling in size overnight. 

Cat-briar (Smilax) is still sending out its strangling tendrils. 

Honeysuckle and Grape Vine threaten to close the pathways as does the native Broad Beech Fern and introduced  Lamium maculatum (below)

The large Tetrapanax hovering over the Lamium will in future have to be watched carefully as it also colonizes and can take over. It's a BIG one!!!! TALL, too. To me it's worth the experiment of having as it makes such a dramatic statement along the path. 

 Seed heads appear almost before my very eyes.  Nut Sedge in the shady lawn is almost impossible to irradiate. 

Some of the thuggish plants I have brought into the garden are wanted but must be keep in check. Above is a Bracken Fern easily edited with a quick pull. 

The unwanted have been blown in on the wind or brought into the gardens with purchased nursery grown plants.  Above is Japanese Stilt Grass crowding around Red Bud seedlings. Originally, a very long time ago, it was  brought into this country as packing material from the Far East. It is an annual, seeding in late Sept. to October and can be pulled throughout the summer before the seeds mature and drop. By the way, many of the tree seedlings in woodlands can also become problematic. Take care of Maple, Red Bud, Oak and other unwanted tree seedlings when they first appear by pulling or smothering them with cardboard and covering that with leaf litter.   

Two other annuals (above) have to be pulled or dug out and placed in heavy plastic bags that will heat up in a sunny spot to kill any seeds. Ar the top of the image is Mulberry Weed with seeds in every leaf axel. And on the right at the bottom of the image is a tiny seedling Jewels of Opar. I'm afraid that I don't know their botanical names.  the following images are a collection of natives and exotics that I actually like as interest plants.  I keep a close watch on them as they do spread. 

Elephant's Foot

Common Violet

Chasmanthum  latifolium (I remove the seed heads to keep from spreading) 

Helleborus foetidus (easy to pull the entire plant after flowering)

Nandina domestica hiding in the tangle of Smilax and Grape Vine

The best way I have found to keep the unwanted out is to plant and keep a fully packed border with the plants you want in your gardens in woodlands. 

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabell', Aster divaricata and Helleborus x hybridus

Christmas Fern and Helleborus x hybridus whose seedling babies never stray far from the mother plant's umbrella leaves of safety. "Speaking words of wisdom, let it be, let it be".......Paul McCartney. Actually the keen gardening Beatle was George Harrison but, Paul McCartney's words came to me in defense of all the plants that want to reside in my Gardens in Woodlands.