i live in the Redwoods
when talking to Doss she said her Redwoods create deep shade
for some areas of her garden
when i retired to my 5 acre's amongst the Redwoods it was over grown big time
full of brambles, berry bushes, and lots of ferns and stinging nettle and
lots of deep shade
here are some images of what it was like
Dick
i knew i had to let some sunlight into the woods
like the open area near the house
i decided to remove over 50 Alder trees from the lower acre
This message was edited Jun 7, 2007 8:58 PM
here are some images after i removed the Alders
hard to believe that many trees came out of there :-)
i decided i needed some meandering paths thru the woods
some i followed the deer paths
the dark red in the distance is a dark red Rhody
some paths i changed
i've been pretty busy this year :-)
What a wonderful change! That must have been a lot of work. I really love that pic with the sunlight streaming in through the trees. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Doss wished i would describe some of my garden area's
i have several areas i have planted with special plants
here i have an Oxalis and Trillium area with other peripheral plants
some JM's a cpl of Azeala's, some Heuchera and several other shade loving plants
i put the potted plants in an area until i decide the plant will work/coordinate with the rest
wow strevers that is beautiful what a whole lot of work youve done stunning, but you kept the woodsy feel of the paths i love it.
So is the oxalis and trillium the plants that are doing most of the groundcover? You earned your lumberman's stripes removing 50 trees. Guess you have firewood for the rest of your life?? I think that you being able to open up some of the area to filtered sun must be important. Unfortunately I can't do that. Bummer.
What a tremendous lot of work Dick. It's beautifully done. I particularly like the shape of the path you've created. Do you know what kinds of ferns those are that you are growing there? How nice to have such beautiful mature ferns.
Doss
99% of the ground cover is Oxalis oregana the Redwood sorrel
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/78526/index.html
i bet i have close to 3 acre's of it
when we moved i was still in the healing mode, soooooo
i paid to have the Alders removed, and i gave away 90% of the wood
but i do have more then 2 cords stacked up for emergency
we have more then 7 different species of fern growing wild here
the most obvious is the sword fern, next is lady/deer fern i haven't taken the time to figure out which one it is yet? of course we have bracken fern that grows over 6 ft tall,
but my favorite is the 5 finger maidenhair http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/164/index.html
we also have licorice fern growing on the Myrtle trees http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/153232/index.html
and a cpl of very small ground cover type ferns probably one of the spike mosses
somewhere in the county we are supposed to have giant chain fern woodwardia fimbriata
i haven't found them yet :-) i have also added to my garden area's additional fern specie's :-)
we also have many kinds of different mosses
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/694474/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/695769/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/694983/
next i will show another garden area and path i am developing
Dick
This message was edited Jun 8, 2007 9:46 AM
The five finger fern is stunning. Clearly you live in a rain forest, right?
Thanks for the links on the moss. i have Southern Maidenhair which I have saved from my grandmother's garden but five finger is a stunner on it's own.
Can't wait to see your other path.
more about ground covers
now that i have allowed more light onto the forest floor
some area's are not as dominated by the Redwood sorrel
where there is more light i have Pacific Bleeding Heart Dicentra formosa taking over
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/65143/index.html
i also have a ground cover in some dappled light areas i don't know the name of ?
edited to:
i now have the name :-) it is Vancouveria hexandra Insideout Flower http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2225/index.html
This message was edited Jun 8, 2007 3:33 PM
in my Trillium area i have added almost a 100 nursery grown Trilliums from around the world. and recently i have acquired some Paris a relative of the Trillium.
the Trillium start blooming in late winter thru May. they are now making seed pods.
i have growing wild Trillium ovatum http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/150277/
Trillium kurabayashi http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/147565/
and what has been reclassified as PsuedoTrillium P. rivale http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/91708/index.html
I'm going to take a wild guess and guess that the last one is some sort of epimedium. I love the dicentra. That's one I'm certainly going to have to invest in. In fact I ordered some right now along with a unique ladyfern. I'm really enjoying getting unusual ferns etc for the garden.
Guess I'll order trilliums in the fall when they are dormant. They say that they only go to zone 8 but since you have luck with them....
Dick, how far apart did you plant your dicentra??
This message was edited Jun 8, 2007 6:21 PM
Doss
that last image i showed is the developing seed pod of a Trillium ovatum
this image i am showing how big they get
the flower turns from pure white to darker pink as it gets older
i didn't plant the dicentra
they are like a weed here, i think every seed they ever produce germinates in our climate
come up and visit and i will give you a cpl hundred plants :-)
What a lovely invitation. I'd love to. LOL
The trillium is lovely.
i just realized you were referring to the Vancouveria hexandra ground cover
yes it is one of the epimedium's
speaking of weeds :-)
my lawn is being taken over by buttercups and adjuga
and i don't care :-)
At least you don't have to mow ajuga and buttercups. I believe in ajuga! I do have some epimediums to put in. Should I live in fear?
which epimedium did you plant ?
and how did it do ?
Dick
I planted
E. Pubescens
E. Franchetii
E. epsteinii
They have only been in the ground since last summer but so far so good.
Dick since you have Trilliums growing there do you think Jack in the Pulpit and Lady Slippers would survive there?
Doug
Nice Doug I love the jack in the pulpits. Mine are huge this year!!! The Redwoods are georgeous. Love to see new photos. ronna
hi Doug
yes i put 6 in the ground this year :-)
Dick
Very pretty Dick!
i thought maybe i would show some of the other side of the property
i have a seasonal creek coming thru into my pond and on down to the river
here is an upper view note all the moss on the rocks
continuing down to the pond
dropping into the pond
note the skunk cabbage just poking up
this is a spring view of the pond when not as much water is flowing
Your property is beautiful.
Thank you for posting all the wonderful native plants.
Do you have any problems with the non-native ajuga and buttercups escaping from the lawn and overrunning
other plantings?
What a beautiful place.
Strever, you have a beautiful piece of property.
It's interesting imagining gardening in a totally different environment than my corner of the planet.
And of course I noticed the podophyllum in the last photo from '08. Totally jealous.
Semp
they need the extra sunlight that is not available under the Redwoods
Robin
that is Spotty Dotty and it is WELL established and is also coming up now
BTW: Kaleidoscope is the only Pod that stays up all winter but it takes a beating from hail, rain etc.
i won't see new nubbins for another cpl weeks on it but it is still up & showing off
here is a pict of one of them
This message was edited Mar 8, 2011 9:22 AM
That is beautiful. i can't wait until i can own a place like that. i'm not sure my fiance will let me live too far from any big city, i may just have to work it into the marriage contract. In all honesty through, i would feel totally at home, nothing pleases me more than to spend a day mucking around in the woods. i really like the garden along the path. is it secluded deep in the woods like a little safe haven or meditation garden? i was going to recommend putting a small pond by there because running water adds to the tranquility, but it seems you already have one. anyways it's four years since you started this blog, is this a project that will always be a work in progress or are there definitive goals? i know if it were mine, the completion of one project would always lead to the start of an other.
~Michael
nice farfugium 'argentea' strever. Those aren't so easy to find! I plan to plant some sword fern under the redwoods this season. I had to transplant the two hellebores that were there somewhere else as they weren't thriving. They are taking their own sweet time recovering too.
Michael
it is an ongoing project with no particular goal in mind, i just keep adding as i fell so inclined
i have 5 acres and can expand it to what ever is comfortable
the reason it is so slow is i am still in healing mode
i place pots where i think i like and if they thrive i plant them
if they don't thrive i move them
Doss
if you need more sword fern ? come on up and i will fill your truck or trunk with some adult ones :-)
i think i also offered to fill your trunk before with the bleeding hearts that are growing wild all over the yard
or was it the oxalis oregana ?
BTW: that is supposed to be Farfugium 'Kaimon Dake'
and i recently got 2 more gold rings :-)
keeping them in the greenhouse til they get large and established before i plant out
Dick
I've never seen Kaimon Dake so you are right. Perhaps the Argentea has bigger splotches. Anyway I am very partial to farfugiums. They are such a nice thing in a winter garden as well as in the summer. Mine have never bloomed though.
Thanks for the offer of sword ferns and bleeding hearts. I tried some bleeding hearts under the redwoods and they just died. :-( Such a pretty plant. Yours may be hardier though and native to your area.
