Woodland Meadow

This series explores a woodland meadow theme. 

In actual wilderness settings, we are attracted to drifts of similar plants that grow in colonies. English bluebell woods, fern gullies, a cool green, and shady grassy glade. 

To mimic this we plant in long organic shaped beds. 

We also want to see a changing pattern from one month to the next. To create seasonal interest we include plants that bloom or show their leaves at different times of the year in adjacent beds. see succession planting

Overlapping these beds goes one step further toward simulating the layered natural landscape.

Bulbs are used here because they survive the drought by storing their energy, going dormant during the harshest seasons. I've selected bulbs that thrive in our zone. 

This is a preliminary design to test reaction. More plants will be included, more detail added, should this plan prove compelling.

NOTE: "Snowdrops" are mislabeled these in the drawings. Shall be replaced with "Snowflakes". They are very similar plants but the "flake" variety thrives in our location and is taller. (Leucojum)

Winter

The view is from the dock. In the foreground is a sandy beach bordered by stones with draping plants and feather grass stubble. This winter view shows only Holly Fern which is evergreen. It stays fresh and healthy-looking year-round. Not shown are evergreen ground covers, wild ginger, Asian jasmine, other grasses.

.Holly fern leaves stay glossy year-round.

In the plan view, the holly fern is the green confetti pattern. Evergreen groundcovers for most of the site are not as yet called out. These keep the site tidy and neat in the winter.

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Early Spring

A drift of white wanders through the site in March. Lasts about 3 weeks.

Leucojum (labeled as snowdrops) come out in early spring. Ours usually show up in late February and are done by late March. The leaves remain another month. 

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Paperwhites can be substituted for snowflakes if the fragrance is desired. They thrive in our area.

In the plan, the snowflakes (labeled as snowdrops) are shown in white. (Leucojum, not Galanthus)

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Late Spring

A drift of blue appears in May but in a different location. 

Spanish Bluebells look like hyacinths but are more robust and are very hardy in the south. I use it here to simulate a Virginia bluebell or Woodland phlox colony. 

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Spanish Bluebells

English bluebells

Spanish bluebells are shown in light blue in the plan.

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Summer

By summer the Solomon's seal and ferns have emerged and covered the leaves of the spring bulbs. The fountain grasses nod and sway in the breeze, and creeping plants cascade down the rocks. Sunny spots of summer flowers aren't shown but would add yellow, blue, red, and pink. 

The sea of contrasting greens and whites of Solomon seal and ferns persist all summer and into the fall. 

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Solomons seal

.Mariana Maiden fern

In the plan view, the Solomons seal is yellow and the Mariana Fern is green. Solomons seal gets about 18 inches tall and is variegated with a white edge. The Mariana Maiden Fern slowly grows to 3+ feet tall over the season from spring to fall. Both are robust in our area and last until frost. You can leave the leaves to fall over on their own in the winter and get covered by tree leaves, or cut them with a line trimmer to make them look tidy for spring.

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Fountain Grasses bloom.

All

This plan shows all the aforementioned planting beds in one to show how the beds are layered. Some areas overlap combining two different seasons of bloom, some are independent and do not intersect. All are underplanted with groundcovers that hide their leaves in the winter. (wild ginger, asian jasmine, evergreen ferns, epimedium, liriope, forest grasses)

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Numbers

.This plan shows a plant placement diagram. It's not accurate to those above but gives an idea of the number of plants to be installed. Ground covers that spread can be spaced 4 feet and take 3 to  6 years to fill in. Bulbs are purchased by the hundred and multiply. Large shrubs will be the biggest cost but can be bought in smaller sizes less expensively.

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