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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Wildflower Wednesday

Our Back Woodland Garden is located by the fence at the rear of our yard.  A couple of years ago I began this area by painstakingly removing all of the grass by hand, so as not to disturb our large naturalized section of Crocus tommasinianus.  I then started to build a small woodland collection of gems that stand up well considering they are frequently the landing spot for a purple rubber ball or two.
   Here in the leftovers of the crocus are some pretties... Narcissus 'Thalia', white Trillium grandiflorum, white-edged hostas and forget-me-nots.  This section carries white highlights.

Trillium grandiflorum seen over the foliage of floaty woodland Thalictrum (on the right), and one tiny leaf of Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).

Hepatica nobilis var. acuta blooms in this garden in the middle of May.

The christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) unfurls...

Another section of this garden is devoted to red highlights.
   It started with this already mature sweet shrub (Calycanthus floridus), which has pretty long-lasting magnolia-like blossoms in May.  It also has a spicy scent. 
I added this red trillium (Trillium erectum) under the shrub and along side some purple leaved Heuchra 'Palace Purple'. I worry more about this one getting run over, but life is not safe... especially of stray balls and feet.
At the moment, I have a potted red Japanese maple sitting under this shrub by the back fence. The tree will ultimately more sun, but for the month it brings out the red flowers of the sweet shrub.

Thanks to Clay and Limestone for hosting Wildflower Wednesday on the last Wednesday of the month. Visit there to see more gems.

16 comments:

  1. The Sage ButterflyMay 25, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    Very beautiful! I don't have any trilliums, and I am admiring that red one.

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  2. RacquelMay 25, 2011 at 10:54 AM

    Your Trilliums are so pretty, I've had no luck with getting any to survive in my garden.

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  3. AnonymousMay 25, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    Who says shade is hard to landscape! You have quite a few pretty selections.

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  4. MargueriteMay 25, 2011 at 11:32 AM

    I can't even begin to imagine what a lot of work it must have been to dig out the grass without disturbing the camass bulbs. A huge pat on the back for you taking on that task and succeeding!

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  5. GRACE PETERSONMay 25, 2011 at 12:17 PM

    The maple and the Calycanthus sound like a great color echo partnership. Lovely trilliums. And as Marguerite stated: kudos to you for all that grass pulling.

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  6. Rosie@leavesnbloomMay 25, 2011 at 5:23 PM

    Oh if only I had an area as big as this for native flowers. You've made some great choices of native plants and I especially like that trillium. Calycanthus floridus is a new shrub for me to learn about. I've just spent this evening pulling out the forget me nots before they start to seed as I'll be over run by them next year.

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  7. MashaMay 25, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    I love these dainty blooms! So often people think the bigger the better, and I am so glad to see all these lovely little blooms in your garden.

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  8. UnknownMay 25, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    I only have one trillium left in my garden- they seem to disappear and I do not know were to get more. Great job.

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  9. AlisonMay 25, 2011 at 11:54 PM

    You have some lovely native wildflowers, but I especially like that sweetshrub. I planted a very small one last year, no sign of flowers on it yet, it might be a few years.

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  10. tangledbranchesMay 26, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    Such a pretty woodland composition. I have the greenish-yellow flowered Calycanthus 'Athens', but the dark flowers look so much more interesting.

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  11. RURAL May 26, 2011 at 12:41 PM

    Great shots of some wonderful plants. Woodland gardens are so relaxing, and beautifully unkempt.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

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  12. Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade GardensMay 26, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    All my favorite plants. I bought a native sweetshrub this year and was very disappointed in the fragrance. It was even a cultivar Michael Lindsay sold for fragrance. I will have to see what happens next year. My Japanese maples grow in full shade but I don't have any red-leafed varieties.

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  13. AnonymousMay 26, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    I love the woodland garden and your beautiful trilliums! I like the way the white flowers brighten the garden against all the green.

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  14. Wife, Mother, GardenerMay 26, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    Carolyn:

    In my experience, if you stick your nose into a flower expecting to smell the sweetshrub, you will be disappointed. For some reason, it only seems strong to me when it wafts on the breeze. Why?? It maybe that very few flowers seem to actually open all the way. It is a mystery, which for me makes it a more interesting plant.

    All: Thanks to you for your sweet comments. I feel unable to properly respond to them all, but I read and appreciate each and everyone. Thanks for understanding! And for sharing in our garden this year. It makes my joy more complete to get to share with you all!!!

    Julie

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  15. GailMay 27, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    You make me nostalgic for the days of purple balls meeting pretty flowers! Little boys and their toys always won! Happy Wildflower Wednesday~gail

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  16. Gabrielle@flowerbulbcrazyMay 27, 2011 at 10:41 AM

    I love your blog each time I read it! I love this area of your garden! I am so yearning to have 'complete' areas! Everything has been under repair or redo from construction and flooding. Still working at replacing.
    Thank you for sharing your garden!!!

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