Can woodland gardens be part of the solution to growing climate threats?

Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing.

– Wangari Maathai

How trees cool our environment

This summer’s unbearable heat waves in most parts of the world are a stark reminder of the damage being done to our environment.

Temperatures are being smashed daily, weekly, even monthly. Parts of Spain were experiencing a heat wave that reached 45 C or 113 F in regions that were not used to dealing with this type of heat, threatening the lives of many, especially the elderly. Closer to home, Texas and other parts of the southwest are experienced unprecedented bouts of prolonged heat. Then there is flooding, forest fires and droughts.

Planting a woodland with multiple trees creating a layered effect, is not only pleasing aesthetically, but can make a huge difference in cooling the woodland micro climate.

Our world is telling us enough is enough. We need to start listening and taking action.

Are trees our only hope?

Here at home, if sitting under the shade of a tree is the only way we can be comfortable outside during these summer heat waves, it’s also a reminder of how important the thermal cooling properties of trees can be in our garden micro climates.

I am reminded of the saying, “Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.”

It’s such a great saying that can also be applied to our gardens.

Planting one large shade tree in our garden will not change the world, but it certainly changes our world.

If everyone planted one large shade tree in their yard, think of how that might change the world.

Trees growing along the garden path, their canopies weaving together forming light shade and areas of deep shade beneath them.

However, one tree is not really enough. Think of what would happen if everyone planted ten trees on their properties and created a world of woodland gardens.

Now that would change the world for them, their families, their neighbourhoods, their cities… the world.

If you are thinking you could never plant ten trees in your small yard, think again. In a woodland, trees are planted in layers beginning with the tallest trees in the upper canopy, followed by smaller understory trees. You would be surprised how many trees can be fitted onto a typical suburban lot.

Creating a natural grove of trees in an area is the perfect way to add a mini-woodland forest of interdependent trees.

On our smallish pie-shaped front lot, we have a total of nine trees. This includes two large, mature shade trees (maples), three columnar birch trees planted in a small cluster, three Japanese maples and a native serviceberry tree. In the backyard, there are at least 20 trees that we either inherited with the property or planted ourselves. There are probably another 20-30 trees that have grown naturally across the back and on the edges of the property. These trees dominate our half-acre property and help to create the woodland environment.

Planting one large shade tree in our garden will not change the world, but it certainly changes our world.

This woodland approach is actually the thinking behind many environmental movements today, that I have wrote about on this garden website.

The woodland garden shows the layering of trees from the tallest shade trees to the mid-level canopy trees and smaller shrubs down to the ferns that create a green mulch ground cover.

Irish landscaper and environmentalist, Mary Reynolds, and her books We Are the Ark and The Garden Awakening promote the creation of “natural arks” around the world to act as corridors for wildlife, while at the same time returning our backyards to natural areas. Gardeners can even hire Ms Reynolds to provide them with a landscape plan all their own. Click here for more information on hiring her for a personal landscaping plan.

There are movements to create Pocket Forests often referred to as Miyawaki method forests (link to my story) in urban areas to restore tiny natural woodlands in a fraction of the time it would normally take Mother Nature.

And there is the work of Professor Nadina Galle and her work with the Internet of Nature (link to my story about her work).Bborn in the Netherlands and raised in Canada Dr. Galle uses her background as an ecological engineer to tap into technology to create and protect the urban forest canopy on a much larger, city-wide scale.

But, you may ask, how can I as a gardener make a difference? Does planting trees really make a significant difference, and exactly how do trees help cool the earth?

In winter, the woodland garden takes on a different appearance and lets the warmth of the suns rays through to the forest floor.

How trees make a difference in our world

This latest prolonged heat wave should also be a wake-up call to the world about the importance of our natural forests and woodlands and the need to restore our tree canopy, not just in rural areas but – even more importantly – in our urban and suburban areas.

Cooling the environment around us is not the only benefit a tree creates. There are health benefits far beyond what we can imagine. Consider the popularity of Forest bathing as just one of the movements that is focusing on the health benefits of the woodlands.

Some quick by-the-number facts in case you need more convincing:

• A single tree cools temperatures by providing shade and releasing water through photosynthesis which cools temperatures from between 2-4 degrees Fahrenheight.

• An Arizona State University study found that an area of a block or two made up of parking lots and buildings with no tree cover or vegetation to speak of, can be cooled by about 8 degrees Fahrenheight or 4.4 degrees Celsius naturally with a tree canopy cover of at least a 1/4 of the space.

• Trees, if planted around a home properly, can save 30 per cent on air conditioning bills.

• A Nature Conservancy Nature report showed that planting trees can be a cost effective way to improve public health in two important ways: First, they reduce particulate matter in the air. This potentially dangerous particulate matter, that exacerbates asthma and other respiratory diseases, settles on the leaves of the tree where it remains until it is washed to the ground during a rainstorm. Second, trees cool temperatures by providing shade and releasing water through photosynthesis which cool temperatures between 2-4 degrees F . A single tree, however, can only cool an area of about a 100-foot radius around the tree.

• Consider that the largest tree on the planet, nicknamed General Sherman, is 84 metres tall and has sequestered 1400 tons of atmospheric carbon during its estimated 2500 years on earth. To put that into perspective, today, it is estimated that humanity produces 1400 tons of carbon every minute.

There is always room for wildife in the woodland garden. This racoon was at home high up in a fallen tree.

In fact, in his book The Heartbeat of Trees, Peter Wohlleben gives an example of how a study conducted by Chicago University researchers found that a single tree planted on the lawn of an urban property can increase the benefits to the homeowner by the equivalent of an annual pay increase of $10,000.

The study, conducted with thousands of Toronto, Canada, residents, also showed that two trees planted in the front could provide the health and well-being benefits equal to an annual income increase of $20,000.

This study alone should convince homeowners of the importance of planting and maintaining trees in their front and back yards.

And, although a single tree can be effective in a limited way, several trees working together can make a profound difference in the environment where they are growing.

In his book, The Heartbeat of Trees, Wohleben writes: “A tree is not a forest. On its own, a tree cannot establish a consistent local climate. It is at the mercy of wind and weather. But together, many trees create an ecosystem that moderates extremes of heat and cold, stores a great deal of water, and generates a great deal of humidity. And, in this protected environment, trees can live to be very old. To get to this point, the community must remain intact no matter what. If every tree was looking out for only itself, then quite of few of them would never reach old age.”

Wohleben is not alone in promoting the benefits of multiple trees working together, like you would find in a proper woodland garden. Unlike a traditional garden, where there might be a single tree surrounded by a few shrubs and some flowers, the woodland garden taps into the power of multiple trees, along with the layering of shrubs, native plants and groundcovers to create a vibrant, living community that is able to create its own micro environment.

Fall is an outstanding time to enjoy the rich colours of the woodland garden.

The science behind how trees cool the environment

Now that we understand the importance of temperature control, let’s delve into how trees play a crucial role in cooling the environment.

Trees act as nature’s air conditioners by providing shade and reducing the overall temperature of their surroundings.

When sunlight hits the leaves of a tree, a process called transpiration occurs, where water is released from the leaves into the atmosphere. This evaporation process helps to cool the air around the tree.

Additionally, the shade provided by trees can significantly lower surface temperatures, making the surrounding area more comfortable.

By strategically planting trees in urban areas, we can create cooler micro climates, reducing the need for excessive air conditioning and mitigating the heat island effect.

So, next time you seek refuge under a tree on a hot summer day, remember that it’s not just the shade you’re enjoying, but also the natural cooling power of these incredible living organisms.

Now that we’ve explored how trees cool the environment, let’s dive into the fascinating science behind their cooling mechanisms.

It all starts with a process called transpiration, where water is released from the leaves into the atmosphere.

As sunlight hits the leaves, the stomata, tiny openings on the leaf surface, open up to allow water vapor to escape. This evaporation process not only cools the tree itself but also the surrounding air.

In fact, a single large tree can release hundreds of gallons of water into the atmosphere each day through transpiration. This moisture-rich air then helps to lower the temperature and increase humidity in its vicinity.

Additionally, trees also provide shade, which reduces the amount of direct sunlight reaching the ground and lowers surface temperatures.

The combination of transpiration and shading creates a natural cooling effect that can significantly improve the comfort of an area. Understanding the science behind tree cooling mechanisms allows us to appreciate the incredible role that trees play in regulating temperatures and creating more pleasant environments.

Real-life examples of trees’ cooling effects

It’s not hard to see the cooling effects of trees in real life.

In urban areas, where concrete and asphalt dominate, the heat island effect can cause temperatures to soar.

However, strategically planting trees in these areas can help combat this issue.

For instance, cities like Singapore have implemented extensive tree-planting programs to create green spaces and reduce urban heat. The result is a noticeable decrease in temperature, making these areas more comfortable for residents and visitors alike.

Another example is Central Park in New York City, which acts as a natural air conditioner for the surrounding area. The vast expanse of trees provides shade, lowers surface temperatures, and creates a refreshing microclimate within the park. This not only benefits the park-goers but also has a positive impact on the nearby buildings and streets.

A layered effect in the woodland garden allows the gardeners to plant more trees in a given area.

These real-life examples are just a sampling of how trees’ powerful cooling effects can change our environment and work as nature’s air conditioners.

And yet, all over the world, governments choose to develop green space for financial profits. Where I live, for example, the Provinicial government, like many conservative governments around the world, has chosen to close its eyes to the benefits of greenspace and offer it to developers for the construction of expensive houses. These governments, despite the obvious warnings from experts, choose to not only ignore these threats, but deny that climate change even exists.

In doing so, they risk the lives and future of today’s citizens as well as the lives of future generations who will be forced to live in a world where catastrophic events are part of everyday life.

Besides doing our part to ensure these anti-environmentalists do not obtain or remain in political power, gardeners can take steps to ensure that the area around their home is doing its small part to protect the environment. Join Ms Reynolds’ ark movement, grow native plants and trees, protect wildlife and provide them with life’s necessities – water, food and shelter.

Alone we cannot change the world, but together, if we all plant a mini forest on our properties, we can make a real difference in our world, and the world around us.

Let’s start today by planting a single tree. Next year we can plant another, and another, and another.

How to create a woodland fern garden (in big and small yards)

How to use a variety of ferns to create a tranquil garden

It all started with a few ferns from a friend at work and a warning about how fast they can take over.

Today those ferns have grown into a massive backyard fern glen and I have tapped into the huge variety of ferns that are available to gardeners. The number of fern varieties is endless, from tiny ones that go unnoticed in the landscape to huge tree ferns that grow in more temperate climates.

(More on the variety of ferns available lower down in this post.)

Back to the ostrich ferns given to me by a co-worker. Knowing that I had a large expanse of grass on one side of our pie-shaped lot that could use a nice little garden of wildflowers, ferns and shrubs, I went to work.

That was maybe 15 years ago.

Little did I know then that this little garden would, in relatively short order, become the focal point of our woodland wildlife garden, providing endless joy in spring and summer not only for me, but for the myriad of wildlife that can easily get lost in its hundreds, heck maybe thousands, of massive ostrich ferns.

If you are interested in exploring the world of shade gardening further, you might like my recent post on The Natural Shade garden.

Our native fern glen is an impressive site in spring as the fresh green fronds unfurl over a massive area of the garden providing a three-foot-high ground cover where dogwoods, serviceberries, native white pine, and other shrubs grow up and through. The shady fern glen is a favourite place for does to leave their fawns for the day.

Why create a Fern Garden?

The fern garden has become a favourite place for deer to hide their youngsters during hot summer days. I know the resident fox has used it as a secret roadway into the main garden emerging, as she often does, from the middle of the fern glen. I have come across shedded snake skins among the spent ferns in the fall and watched countless chipmunks scamper into the cool surroundings of the ferns on hot days. It’s a home for toads and salamanders seeking deep shade during the heat of the day and creates the perfect backdrop for the under story trees and shrubs that grow up through the ferns in our woodland wildlife garden.

One day I even decided to get down low and crawl through the maze of ferns to get the same view as the animals that call it home.

To say it’s a whole new world in there is a huge understatement, and I can only imagine the young fawns thinking they are giants in a miniature, prehistoric forest.

Hundreds of Ostrich ferns just finishing unfurling in early spring in our fern garden.

How do ferns help wildlife?

Anne Owen, an Audubon at Home Ambassador with the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, in her article Native Ferns Have a Place in Our Plantings for Wildlife writes that “From a wildlife point of view, ferns can give structure that provides foraging space and shelter for ground-feeding birds, while other critters, for example frogs and turtles, like to hide in them. Ferns are generally resistant to browsing by rabbits.” (For the complete post go here.)

Oh, and let’s not forget the best reason for many of us to grow a fern garden: Deer leave ferns alone. Anything deer prefer to leave OFF their dinner diets is definitely worth growing in a woodland garden.

This image shows the beginnings of the fern garden. Several years later and the ferns cover about a third of the backyard but feature a large number of small understory trees that grow up through them, including Flowering dogwood, Cornelian Cherry, Serviceberry and Redbuds jut to name a few.

We are blessed with a good-sized property and are able to set aside a large portion of it for the establishment of a fern glen. I realize many gardeners either don’t have the space, or don’t want to donate that amount of space to create such a huge expanse of ferns in their backyard.

That’s no problem. A more compact fern garden in the understory can be just as rewarding.

How to create a fern garden in smaller yard

Deer use the fern garden to hide their youngsters during the day. This young fawn eventually walked into the ferns and literally disappeared.

Obviously, in a smaller backyard the fern garden could be downsized to better fit into the proportions of the garden.

The quiet serenity that a fern garden can create is certainly incentive enough to begin planning for an area in the garden you can retreat to on hot summer days.

Building the right soil for ferns

If you can start with a rich, moist, earthy soil with plenty of decayed or decaying material in it, you are off to a good start. You can, however, build this soil over time by using the fern garden as a destination for all those leaves you collect in the fall and spring. Over time, the soil will build up an earthy layer of forest duff, perfect for growing woodland ferns.

Our fern garden is the primary dumping ground for most of the fall leaves I pick up from the front yard. Each year it gets 5-10 bags of leaves dumped in various spots throughout the fern garden. In some areas the leaves are several inches thick, but that doesn’t stop the ostrich fern fiddleheads from popping up through them every spring.

I originally used the newspaper layering technique to give our fern garden a good start. My neighbour had at least ten bags of leaves that he had not put out by the curb in the fall. By the time spring rolled around they were a soggy mess of paper bags and partially decomposed leaves.

Perfect to give the fern garden a good start.

He happily accepted my request to take them off his hands and the project began.

A thick layering of newspapers to block the light and ensure a quick end to the grass, followed by a bags of fresh soil, ten bags of partially composted leaves and a handful (I think somewhere in the neighbourhood of 10-15 ferns) all nicely covered by several bags of cedar mulch, and the project was complete.

Or so I thought. Since then, the ferns have spread out from all directions multiplying each year to form the massive fern garden incorporating hundreds if not thousands of ferns.

How to use ferns as a ground cover

In the beginning days, the compact fern garden, (maybe 6-feet by 12 feet) centred around a young Cornus Kousa dogwood that I had planted that same year.

Today, 20 years later, that same Kousa dogwood is a spectacular mature specimen that stretches two-, maybe three-storeys high and probably 16-feet wide. Most years it puts on a show of creamy-white blooms that is simply breathtaking and the huge, red, strawberry-like fruit that follows are a favourite of local wildlife. (Check out my earlier post on six great dogwoods for the Woodland garden here.)

A quick note: In a smaller garden the Kousa dogwood can be kept pruned to some degree to keep it more compact. I am a big believer that, for the most part, trees should be allowed to grow into their natural shape. As a result, the Kousa dogwood, not unlike most dogwoods, takes on a very horizontal branching shape that I think gives it a Japanese-style look.

By simply taking a scaled-down approach in your smaller garden you can create a similar effect.

A few dozen of the more compact-style ferns scattered around a couple of your favourite understory trees such as a native flowering dogwood, or pagoda dogwood (see earlier post on three great Carolinian zone under story trees), or a native redbud tree (See earlier Redbud tree post here) can evoke that same peaceful feeling on a smaller scale and provide you with spring blooms and berries.

How ferns spread in the garden

It’s important to note that ferns have two basic forms of growth: creeping (which includes our ostrich ferns) and crown-forming.

The creeping forms can spread through the garden at times aggressively from trailing rhizomes or stolons.

The crown forming ferns (such as maidenhair ferns) grow much in the same way as traditional perenials grow by expanding from the centre.

These ferns grow from upright rhizomes and carry their fronds in a tight circle.

These are important points when considering your choice of ferns and how much you want the garden to grow or the work you are willing to tackle to keep it contained.

Fern varieties to consider in a smaller garden

Ferns are available in such a variety of shapes and sizes, colours and textures that the selection is almost endless.

Consider using a combination of native and non-native ferns to create your fern glen. The following is a list of several native ferns that deserve top consideration in your garden. We use many of these ferns in our front woodland garden where there is less competition from the larger Ostrich ferns that dominate the back fern garden.

Northern maidenhair fern in spring with its dark stems and whorl of delicate fronds is a highlight in any garden.

Maidenhair ferns: A hardy, yet delicate and graceful fern that is at home in any woodland setting with its charming whorl of light, gray-green feathery foliage that spreads in clump form and is at home in a range of soil conditions including growing near or even on rocks and areas with acidic soil. There are a number of maidenhair species (Northern, Southern, Rosy, Western and Silver dollar) to consider depending on the zone where you garden.

Wood Fern: (Dryopteris marginalis) This non-spreading fern sports graceful, arching gray-green fronds that form a vase-shaped clump. Expect about 24 inches in height and similar spread in this long-lived plant with dense foliage extending right to the ground. Enjoys part shade to full shade in a medium to wet organic loam and grows to about 2 feet.

Sensitive Fern: (Onoclea sensibilis) this interesting looking fern with its tender leaflets that close to your touch (hence the name) is readily propagated by spores and grows in large colonies in the wild. This light green fern is considered short-lived (10 years) but is quick to naturalize in woodland gardens and boggy areas with a definite preference for acidic soils.

Autumn fern: (Dryopteris erythrosora) a semi-evergreen fern (zone 5-9) with year-round interest. It’s attractive glossy ferny compound leaves emerge coral-pink in spring turning green with prominent coppery-bronze tips for the remainder of the year.

Growing to about 18 inches tall at maturity with a similar size spread, the Autumn fern is one of the few ferns that performs well in both full sun and full shade.

It prefers average to wet conditions and can even be grown in very wet areas tolerating some standing water. Grow it in rich, acidic soils in mass plantings, rock/alpine gardens or naturalized in a woodland garden.

The silvery foliage of the Japanese Painted fern stands out in stark contrast to the darker green foliage pachysandra and the lighter leaves of epimedium.

Non-native ferns worth considering

While it’s always best to use native plants, it’s hard not to include a few non-native ferns for the fern garden, especially the Japanese painted fern with it’s delicate silvery fronds that really is a showstopper in a shady area.

Japanese painted fern: Athyrium nipponicum ‘Pictum’ and its many hybrids (zones 4-8) shines in the woodland with its silvery, purple and burgundy foliage. Japanese painted ferns are among the best silver-leaved plants for the garden with the added bonus of creating a dense, fine-texture with their interesting colour patterns that look almost hand-painted.

Use them in mass planting, as a dense ground cover or naturalized in the woodland garden.

The main stems are an eye-catching burgundy colour that spills out into the silvery-gray fronds.

Like most ferns, they prefer a shady location, but because of its silvery fronds, the Japanese painted ferns can handle more sun than many other ferns.

Expect growth of about 18 inches in height with a spread of 24 inches. It’s a slow grower but can live up to 15 years in our cold climates.

This image shows the frosty-green spring foliage of the incredibly beautiful ghost fern.

Ghost fern: Athrium ‘Ghost’ is another fern to consider, and one that is actually related to the Japanese painted fern. This larger fern, hardy in zones 3-8, can grow to about 2 feet tall and is a combination of the best qualities of a Japanese painted and a Lady fern.

The fronds of the ghost fern are stunning in a shaded location with fronds that give off an almost frosty-white appearance to their rigidly upright look. It does best in partial shade with a moist, neutral to moderately acidic PH soil.

A little sun helps to bring out its best colouring and it can survive in drier soil than many other ferns.

Lady Fern: (Atthyrium felix-femina) is a favourite for those with sandy loam or clay loam where this tough fern will grow quite willingly to about 3 feet in height.

Ground covers to highlight your fern collection

Ferns can work both as a ground cover or as the focal point in the fern garden.

In my fern garden they work more as a very tall ground cover and form the backdrop for the dogwood, serviceberries, redbud, white pine, spruce trees trees and shrubs that grow up through them.

In a smaller garden, consider using the ferns as your focal points with more delicate and lower-growing ground covers.

Natural moss is the perfect companion for a variety of ferns preferring the same slightly acid soil that many ferns enjoy.

Perennial moss-like ground covers such as Irish and Scotch moss are excellent substitutes as well as the many thyme varieties. (For a closer look at some of my favourite moss-like ground covers go here.)

Other plants to consider growing alongside ferns include hostas that, although a non-native, work extremely well with ferns.

The hostas’ bold foliage is set off nicely by the delicate foliage of most ferns. Just pay attention to the ultimate size of both the hostas and the ferns. The larger ferns can quickly bury the smaller hostas. Choose a hosta large enough to compete happily with the chosen ferns.

In her inspirational book, Foliage and Garden Design, Canadian gardening author Marjorie Harris describes her love for combining ferns and hostas in the garden.

“Hostas and ferns are two families of plants that are so versatile you can work them in with shrubs and under trees, providing you add lots of humus and water regularly if it’s dry shade. These two perennials are among my favourites and I’ve tried to incorporate plenty of them.”

Other plants that work well with ferns include: ornamental grasses, spring ephemerals like trilliums, dog-tooth violet and columbine.

Spring bulbs can also be grown to add a little colour early in the season before the ferns have fully emerged.

Black-eyed Susans are also a showstopper growing in drifts through the ferns.

In our front garden, I have a lovely group of columbine surrounded by maidenhair ferns growing next to a large mossy limestone boulder. The combination is a nice late spring vignette that catches my attention every time I pass by.

Some final thoughts on ferns

I’m not sure what it is about ferns that always catch my attention, whether they are growing wild in the woodlands, in the spring garden as they unfurl their delicate fronds, or in the garden centre where I am confronted by a host of must-have specimens.

At first glance they appear to have very little to offer. Maybe this is the reason ferns are sometimes overlooked by gardeners, especially beginner gardeners often focused on bright-coloured and showy flowers or similarly-coloured foliage.

Ferns will have none of that.

It’s all about shades of green, texture and a rugged hardiness when it comes to ferns. Sure, there are the silvery fronds of the Japanese painted fern, but they just can’t compete with those massive dinner-plate-sized dahlias, the bright reds of big-box geraniums or even the neon-like colours of today’s coleus.

Instead, ferns take a backstage and work hard to create a quiet, cool resting place for our eyes and our minds.

However, even in a fern garden, there is alsway room for a ‘pop’ of colour.

In fact, it is the ferns that will take the pop of colour to a whole other level.

Try adding a hanging basket or a raised container of brightly-coloured fuchsia to your fern garden to create a simple focal point and maybe create a natural area for your hummingbirds or butterflies to visit reguarly.

The hummers will enjoy the cool, quiet of the fern garden along with the added benefit of a free meal.

Be sure to include a perch either natural or store bought for the hummingbirds to rest above the ferns

Nearby, include a bench for you to sit and enjoy the solitude of the fern garden with the occasional visit from the hummingbirds.

Ferns enjoy a long history

If time is any indicator, there is little doubt that the fern garden will be a recipe for long-term success.

Ferns, in fact, can be traced back through fossil records to a time more than 100 million years before dinosaurs walked the earth. Ferns actually grew before any flowering plants even existed on earth. Today there are thousands of species of ferns, from the tiniest that grow just inches off the ground to massive tree ferns.

Thinking back, maybe there was something to that day I decided to crawl through our fern garden to get the feel for what animals experience on their daily jaunts through the ferns.

Maybe just a reminder that our gardens are not that far from those prehistoric times when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

And, a reminder that the ferns are among the few living things left of those times.

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Why digging up or picking wild flowers threatens our natural areas

Is it illegal? It’s certainly almost always unethical

We all like to save money, but digging up wildflowers is not the way to do it.

Not only is digging up plants on public property including parks and conservation areas likely illegal in most states and provinces, more importantly it’s an attack on our natural ecosystem that is already facing threats to its survival.

Even if it’s not illegal, in most situations, it is not the ethical thing to do.

You might ask: ‘what’s the harm of taking one or two plants from acres and acres of plants?’

Consider that every year more and more people discover the joys of being outdoors and experiencing nature. In fact, more than 500 million people visit public lands each year in the United States alone.

Imagine the devastation to the national forests if just a fraction of these people choose to dig up small trees, shrubs and rare flowers to take back home with them for their gardens, where the flora most likely die a slow death in the wrong soil, in the wrong lighting conditions and without the forest ecosystem that played an important role in their survival.

Public lands provide us with places to relax and unwind and offer incredible inspiration for our own woodland gardens. (For my full article about using natural woodlands as inspiration for our woodland gardens, click here.)

If you are interested in exploring the world of shade gardening further, you might like my recent post on The Natural Shade garden.

Respect wild areas and leave any wildflowers where they grow. Harvesting a tiny amount of seeds can sometimes be acceptable if approval is first obtained from the landowners.

It’s important to remember, however, that the real purpose of the plants, trees and shrubs in our parks, forests and public lands is not to provide a beautiful landscape. The prime purpose of these landscapes is to provide and sustain life in many forms – from the smallest insects to the largest mammals, from lichens and mosses and rare plants to monster-size redwoods.

Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities main purpose, for example, is not to provide outdoor areas for the public to go for walks and enjoy nature (although they are very successful in this endeavour), their real purpose is to maintain the vitality of our watersheds and protect peoples’ lives and property from natural hazards such as flooding and erosion. Click here to go to the Ontario Conservation Act.

“Sometimes this drive to do the right thing is met with some knowledge gaps, especially when we are new to gardening with native species. Our actions need to be viewed collectively, and we must ask ourselves: If everyone did this, would this action be okay. ever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”

— Kristen Miskelly

These public lands play an important part in helping to clean our air and water and provide some of the last habitat for the protection not only of our endangered wildlife but the plants that are often intertwined with the survival of this very wildlife. They provide homes for rare host plants for threatened butterflies, nesting habitat or food for endangered birds or vital to the survival of native bees.

Every time a visitor digs up a plant, a small tree or a shrub they threaten this ecological web and weaken an already fragile ecosystem.

If that’s not enough of a reason, consider that stealing from nature can land you in big trouble.

Removing anything from Canada’s national park is strictly forbidden. Technically, you are not even allowed to pick flowers.

Hummingbird on Cardinal flower.

The following is taken from the National Park’s system general regulations:

10. No person shall remove, deface, damage or destroy any flora or natural objects in a Park except in accordance with a permit issued under subsection 11(1) or 12(1).

11. (1) A Director-general may issue a permit to any person authorizing the person to take flora or natural objects for scientific purposes from a Park or to remove natural objects for construction purposes within a Park.

(2) A permit issued by the Director-general under subsection (1) shall specify the kind and amount of and the location from which flora or natural objects may be removed and the conditions applicable to the permit.

(3) Where natural objects are removed for the purpose of constructing other than a public work within a Park, every person on removal of such natural objects shall pay to the superintendent the sum of twenty-five cents for each cubic yard of such natural objects or fraction thereof.

12. (1) The superintendent may issue a permit to any person authorizing the person to remove, deface, damage or destroy any flora or natural objects in a Park for purposes of Park management.

(2) A permit issued by the superintendent under subsection (1) shall specify the kind and amount of and the location from which flora or natural objects may be removed, defaced, damaged or destroyed and the conditions applicable to the permit.

But let’s face it, not all situations are the same. It can be a very complex discussion, especially when you get out of national parks and other public lands.

Is it okay to dig plants, collect seed and remove small trees and shrubs from areas that are threatened by increased farming, planned subdivisions or urban areas that are being taken over by non-native vegetation and being destroyed by neighbourhood teens using them as their own playgrounds? Maybe a small woodlot is being taken over by a group of dog owners using them as their personal dog park. As a result, the dogs are ripping up areas of endangered wildflowers, maybe even rare orchids or wild lupines.

Action to save these plants, it could be argued, certainly needs to be considered.

Ferns and Feathers tapped into experts in the field for their opinions on this important discussion.

Kristen Miskelly, a biologist with specialty in the botany and ecology of southeastern Vancouver Island and a co-founder of Saanich Native Plants, is quick to point out the dangers we face as the environment continues to be threatened by climate change and other, man-made, highly destructive actions.

“The natural world needs our help more than ever and people are trying to do their part by growing native plants,” explains Miskelly, who teaches at the University of Victoria.

“Sometimes this drive to do the right thing is met with some knowledge gaps, especially when we are new to gardening with native species.

“Our actions need to be viewed collectively, and we must ask ourselves: “If everyone did this, would this action be okay.

“Digging up wildflowers is almost always not the best approach and, in fact, can be very harmful. Some of the negative side effects to ecosystems include disruption of soil leading to colonization of non-native invasive species and reducing prospective generations of the given plant by reducing propagules reaching the soil.

“Furthermore, hand dug plants from the wild are not as successfully transplanted as nursery- grown.

Most ecosystems are already seriously degraded and often just shadows of their remnant range and species abundance and diversity. It would be difficult to rationalize depriving them more for our personal gains in a garden setting.

“With so many serious threats to the natural world associated with harvesting or digging up plants, there are very few cases where this approach is warranted.

Are there times where plants can be salvaged?

According to Miskelly there are times when digging plants to save them from destruction makes sense.

“Inherent Indigenous harvesting rights and salvaging from an organized plant salvage from a development site are good examples of when plant collecting is okay,” she explains.

“So, what is the best approach?

“There is an array of native plant growers who are growing in a sustainable and ethical way. Support these growers, by purchasing your plants or seeds from them.” she explains.

“You can go a step further by questioning nurseries about their growing protocols and what steps they take in making sure their methods are sustainable. When you initiate or grow your garden in this way, you can not only benefit nature, but also lend your support to a green economy.”

Reyna Matties from Ontario Native Plants echoes similar concerns over the harvesting of native plants.

“Rescuing plants from sites makes sense when an area is getting developed or altered. In other cases, it is much better to grow your own plants or support a local nursery that is sustainably sourcing seeds and growing local species (like Ontario Native Plants),” she explains.

“Harvesting plants from wild places is quite taboo to any ecologically minded individual due to the potential damage it can do to the habitat for the plants and wildlife that call it home. It is like someone coming to your yard and pulling up your plants. They are not yours, so better to not take them. There are so many other ways to get plants.”

Reyna explains that anyone who harvests seed should always follow sustainable seed practices by taking only a small peercentage of a parent plant’s seed. Even if you are taking just a few seeds, she explains that you “also want to make sure you have permission from the land owner to be taking seed from that specific location.”

“By sustainably collecting seed, you are actually helping plants proliferate, which is a great thing,” she explains.

In conclusion

Taking plants from national parks, nature reserves and conservation areas is absolutely the wrong approach. Rescuing plants from threatened areas can be done under the guidance of experts through a local wildflower group or conservation group. Taking a small percentage of seeds with the approval of a land owner can be a legitimate approach, as well.

The best, method of collecting rare or highly sought after flora is to purchase it through a reputable native wildflower seller. These outlets exist throughout the United States and Canada, and can be found either through the World Wide Web or, better yet, through local wildflower associations or your local garden club.

As an affiliate marketer with Amazon or other marketing companies, I earn money from qualifying purchases.

What tree should I plant in my backyard?

Four oak trees for your woodland wildlife garden

“We just bought our first house and we want to plant a tree. What’s the best tree to plant?”

It’s a question seen over and over again on gardening forums and one asked at local nurseries on a daily basis.

On Facebook gardening forums, the question is often immediately followed by a host of suggestions from well-meaning gardeners and homeowners offering up ideas ranging from tiny weeping hybrids to non-native, highly invasive trees.

Rarely does the word Oak tree show up.

Let me go on record to say that the best tree you can plant in your backyard woodland wildlife garden is an Oak. There are plenty of reasons to plant one of the 400 species of oak, but nothing is as important as one simple fact: Oaks support the most insect biodiversity of any tree in the woodland.

I remember when we moved into our current home. One of the first things I did in spring was to do an inventory of trees on the property. I was very happy to see a nice young oak tree growing happily in the back of the yard. Today it is a more mature oak that works hard for the birds and wildlife on our property.

If you are interested in exploring the world of shade gardening further, you might like my recent post on The Natural Shade garden.

An oak leaf covered in hoar frost in late fall.

Oaks are good for birds and wildlife

In his book Bringing Nature Home, Douglas Tallamy explains that a 2003 study found that a “single white oak tree can provide food and shelter for as many as 22 species of tiny leaf-tying and leaf folding caterpillars.” And that is just a tiny fraction of the fauna that depend on a single oak tree. In fact, the mighty oak supports 534 species of fauna, more than any other tree we can plant in our gardens.

It is followed by the willows, cherries and plums, in importance to fauna. All good choices when it comes to deciding what tree to plant in your garden.

If the Oak’s importance to wildlife is not enough, consider that of the 400 species of Oak, North America boasts 90 different species with 75-80 in the United States and 10 in Canada.

For more on the importance of oak trees in our garden and natural landscapes take a few moments to check out my other posts on Oak trees:

• From an Acorn to a mighty Oak

• Columnar Oak: Perfect for today’s smaller yards

• Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy.

Oaks are long-lived trees

Oh, and no need to worry that the tree will die on you and leave a massive hole in the landscape, Oak trees traditionally live for hundreds of years. There’s a good chance your children will be watching the tree enter middle age long after you’re gone.

In Ontario and northeastern United States, that white oak you plant will grow more than 35 metres (that’s more than 114 feet) tall, can live for several hundred years and produce thousands of acorns every year to feed deer, squirrels (including flying, red and gray), chipmunks, wild turkeys, crows, rabbits, bears, mice, opossums, blue jays, quail, raccoons and even wood ducks just to name a few.

As Tallamy points out: “The value of oaks for supporting both vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife cannot be overstated.”

He explains that oaks along with hickories, walnuts and American beech, have stepped up to the plate following the demise of the American chestnut in supplying nut forage for various forms of fauna.

“Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground.”

— Henry David Thoreau

In addition, oaks – both living and dead – provide nesting cavities for our backyard birds ranging from chickadees, wrens, woodpeckers, owls and even bluebirds.

The tree species real genius, however, is what we alluded to earlier, and that is the astounding number of insect herbivores that oaks support in the forest ecosystem.

“From this perspective, oaks are the quinessential wildlife plants: no other plant genus supports more species of Lepidoptera, thus providing more types of bird food, than the mighty oak,” Tallamy writes.

(If you are wondering what the heck a Lepidoptera is: They represent an order of about 180,000 species in 126 families and 46 superfamilies of insects that includes butterflies and moths. It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect order in the world, and your average oak is full of them.)

12 Cool facts about Oak trees

1) Not all acorns are created equally. Acorns produced by white oaks germinate just days after they fall from the trees. Acorns produced by red oak species germinate the following spring. Keep this in mind if you are trying to grow your woodland from seeds. It is estimated that only 1 in 10,000 acorns become trees.

Acorn hats after squirrels feasted on the fruit of the oak.

2) An oak tree produces about 2,000 acorns every year. These acorns contain plenty of nutrition including large amounts of protein, carbs, fats, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and niacin.

3) The root system of a mature oak tree can total hundreds of miles and its taproot grows vertically for some distance before branching out. This helps to stabilize the massive trees from wind, rain and hurricanes. Although most oak tree roots lie only 18 inches under the soil, depending on conditions, they may spread to occupy a space four to seven times the width of the tree’s massive crown. A good thing to keep in mind if you are planning any major digs or trenching in the area of your favourite oak tree.

4) Walking sticks and katydids mature on oak foliage, so if you have never seen a walking stick, plant an oak.

5) Oak trees appeared about 65 million years ago. They have a long history with records reporting back to the late Cretaceous deposits in North America and East Asia. Their survival might be attributed, in part, to the fact acorns and oak leaves contain tannic acid which helps protect them from deadly fungi and destructive insects

6) Some oak trees are not considered old until they hit the ripe age of 700 years. In fact, they can keep going until they hit 1,000 when growth begins slowing down. On average, however, a typical oak tree lives to be about 200 years of age.

7) During their long lives, an oak tree can produce 10 million acorns.

8) The largest living oak is said to be located in Mandeville, Louisiana. Its also considered one of the oldest clocking in at an estimated 1,500 years old

9) There are more than a few famous oaks in history beginning with the Emancipation Oak on the campus of Hampton University in Virginia which is designated one of the 10 Great trees of the world. The sprawling oak is 98 feet in diameter. In the 1860s, Mary Smith Peake broke the law when she taught African American adults and children how to read under the oaks’ branches.

10) The oak is the national tree of the United States.

11) Oak trees may be known by many in Canada and the U.S. as deciduous trees but, in fact, they can also be evergreen in warmer climates with mild winters.

12) Red Oaks are tough trees and can grow in hardiness zones from 2a through to 8b.

The perfect tree?

Sounds perfect, right? Hold on, there’s even more.

In your lifetime, the tree you plant will actually grow into an outstanding specimen that will have a dramatic impact on your landscape design. It will help to form the upper canopy of your woodland garden and you won’t have to wait until your golden years before you begin appreciating its presence in your landscape.

Its sheer size will help to block out the annoying neighbours and the rustle of its leaves will help to drown out the noise of the neighbourhood.

Too big for your yard?

‘The oaks are a large tree,’ you say. ‘Too big for my typical suburban yard.’

I say go big or go home.

Oaks are not “fast-growing” trees, but because of their eventual size they grow at a good pace. I’m guessing a pin oak planted in your late 20s or early 40s won’t outgrow most yards in your lifetime or the home’s second owners, if ever.

They grow big and strong and their roots run deep enough to give them good stability as they age. All these traits mean that you will not have to wait 40 years for the tree in your backyard to make a real difference in your landscape.

There’s plenty of time to plant smaller, understory trees for your woodland.

Today, we are going big and beautiful. Don’t think about how large the tree will eventually become 50-75-100 years down the road, think 10-20-30 years instead. Most oaks make beautiful specimen trees, but if you have room to plant a few, they make a wonderful canopy cover for woodland gardens.

But, let’s face it, not everyone wants or has room for a mighty oak in their yards, especially in many of today’s smaller urban yards.

I get it. The tree you eventually decide to plant in your yard is a major decision that you will have to live with it for a long time.

Let’s zero in on those Oaks you might want to consider for your yard.

Most oaks fall into two groups: those that derive from the white oak group and those from the red oak.

It’s no surprise that all will do well in rich well-drained soil. That’s the dream world where most of us gardeners don’t live. So, if you have an area in the garden with moist soils, consider planting a pin oak and swamp white oaks. Got dry thin soils? Look to chestnut oaks, white oaks and scarlet oaks.

A local, highly reputable nursery in my area lists 13 oak trees for sale on its web site. The following is just an example of four types of Oaks (with links to the nursery website) that are available to homeowners. Check out a full listings of offerings here.

Four oak trees for the woodland wildlife garden

The White Oak (Quercus alba) is there in all its stately presence. Listed as a “massive and stately shade tree growing 90 feet tall and 70 feet wide with an artistic, wide-spreading habit of growth and good fall colour.” It’s recommended “only for the largest of landscapes” and described as “extremely tough” but slow growing. Its fall colour is an outstanding purple, its canopy is dense with a more or less rounded form.

The Pin Oak (Quercus Palustris) is certainly a better choice for a typical front or backyard growing to 60 feet tall with a spread of 40 feet. It’s a more popular tree in our neighbourhood with its refined pyramidal shape, excellent fall colour and growth that cannot be described as “fast” by today’s standards but nevertheless fast for an oak tree. Often referred to as the swamp Oak, the tree’s dark green leaves in summer provide outstanding red fall foliage. The tree requires loose, acidic soil to perform its best.

The Crimson Spire Oak (quercus ‘Crimson Spire’) is one of several cultivars that offer many of the benefits of the Oak but in a more compact form with an eventual height of 50 feet and a spread of a mere 15 feet. The narrow columnar growth habit and deep red fall colour is ideal for screening out undesireable views while helping out local fauna. The tree’s canopy is very low (typically only three feet from the ground) meaning it does not work as an upper canopy tree in a woodland garden, but its usefulness as a screen and its compact size makes it an important consideration for anyone looking to enhance their garden’s attraction to wildlife. It enjoys full sunlight, is adaptable to both dry and moist locations and, unlike the Pin Oak, is happy in any soil type or pH level. It will do well in an urban environment and is said to even thrive in inner city city environments.

The Bur Oak (Quercus macrcarpa) is the hardiest of the oaks with a height and spread of about 80 feet and a hardiness zone going down to as low as zone 2b. This stately slow grower, with a more rounded form is best for large landscapes. Its tall canopy, ideal for a large woodland landscape design, has dark green foliage and sports glossy lobed leaves that turn coppery-bronze in fall. It’s a slow grower that needs full sun but can live more than 300 years. It will grow in most soils and is considered drought-tolerant once established.

Eastern Mixed Forests: A home for the oaks

Using nature as a guide to draw inspiration for our own landscapes, we need only look at the Eastern Mixed Forests to understand where the mighty oaks are most at home. This region, which includes the forested areas from the Atlantic Coast westward to the Prairie and north to the Great Lakes region, includes several distinct forest types, including the Carolinian forest zone, each characterized by a diffrent group of tree species. The Eastern Mixed forest region occurs east of the Appalachian Mountain ranges and include trees such as the tulip poplar, white and red oaks, American beech and flowering dogwood.

Oak woodlands in the southwest

In the semi-arid regions in the west and southwest, for example, Oak woodlands can be one of the dominant plant communites. The woodlands form transitions zones between the coniferours forests of the higher, more moist areas and the drier grasslands or deserts. They differ from other forests because of their drought-tolerant species such as the oaks, pines, and junipers that dominate the woodlands. Oaks cover the foothills of southern California and the lower mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, while pines and junipers dominate in the areas around the Great Basin, lower rockies and parts of southwestern Texas. These areas experience hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Fires are important to maintaining and restoring these oak woodlands.

The final decision

Back to that original question of what tree to plant in your yard. Trying to decide what tree that should be is never easy. If you decide to purchase a large tree, that requires special delivery and planting, it can also be an expensive decision.

For budgetary reason, I always suggest to keep the tree small enough to carry home and plant on your own, but there are situations when a large tree is necessary.

The first thought of many new homeowners is that they don’t want to plant a tree that will eventually outgrow their backyard, yet they love going to a friend’s or relative’s homes where a single large tree forms the backbone of the entire yard. A swing hangs from one of the branches, a couple of chairs under the canopy provide the perfect relief from the hot sun.

Maybe you grew up with a favourite climbing tree that provided hours of enjoyment every summer for you and your friends.

The move these days is to plant small trees with fancy hybridized names and sterile flowers that provide no benefit to wildlife of any kind. I’ll grant you some are cute and have a place in patio containers or near your front entrance, but it’s always a good idea to step out of your comfort zone and go big.

Interior designers beg homeowners not to settle for small furnishings and art work just because they live in a condo or small apartment. There are times to think big.

And, I believe that every yard needs one large tree if possible. And, there is no better choice than the mighty oak.

The birds will thank you. The squirrels, chipmunks, deer and rabbits will reward you. And the earth will give back to you one hundred times over.

Now go plant an oak tree.

Important links for Woodland/Wildlife gardeners

The following is a comprehensive list of links to other articles posted on this website.

• Creating a Woodland/Wildlife garden: How small can a woodland garden be. Link

• Creating a Woodland/Wildlife garden: A complete design plan and planting guide. Link

• Chelsea Award winning garden designer Mary Reynolds. See my earlier post about her book here. Go to Mary’s popular website here where she promotes land stewards to create natural Arks to help protect and restore our natural environments.

• Earlier post on Garden mulch: organic vs non-organic. Link here to my earlier post.

• Earlier post to my favourite ground covers for the woodland garden. Link here to my earlier post

• Earlier post on using a local woodland as inspiration for the woodland garden design. Link here to my earlier post.

As an affiliate marketer with Amazon or other marketing companies, I earn money from qualifying purchases.

Building your garden on a Budget: Invest in these money-saving tips

Gardens can be your best investment

I can’t think of a better place to invest time and money than our gardens. Not only do they give us great joy, they keep us healthy, get us out in nature to experience the birds and wildlife and, if done right, increase the value of our homes astronomically.

It’s an investment you just can’t say ‘no’ to.

How do we garden on a budget? First, ensure you are getting a great return on your investment by creating your dream garden on a tight budget always purchasing young trees at great prices, growing your own plants from seeds and dividing theses plants to create even more. Building a budget friendly garden is like investing: Buy cheap and let time build your investment.

This large Japanese Maple in my Japanese-inspired garden was the first tree I purchased when we moved into our home more than 20 years ago. If I remember it was on sale for less than $50. Time has made it a priceless addition to our garden.

20 tips to save money in the garden

Create your garden/landscape on a budget by following these 20 tips.

1. Buy trees when they are young and inexpensive. Let time increase their value.

2. Grow perennials and annuals from seed.

3. After about three years divide your perennials for lot s of free plants

4. Remove or reduce grass to cut long-term future watering and maintenance costs

5. Ask relatives, friends and neighbours for divisions of their perennials

6. Purchase gardening tools such as shovels, wheelbarrows etc used at garage sales, estate sales and sites like Kijiji.

7. Share the cost of rarely used garden tools with your neighbours. Share a snowblower, High-pressure cleaner, even an lawn mower.

8. Use weekends to tackle landscaping projects on your own rather than hiring professionals

9. Look to thrift stores for garden containers, tools, hoses and other garden products

10. Rent expensive equipment you don’t use often rather than purchase them.

11. Learn to reuse items in your home and garden as garden art, containers

12. Consider using solar lights to save on electricity costs

13. Start a compost heap to save money on soil

14. Practise xeriscaping to conserve as much water as possible on your property

15. Ask local tree services for truck loads of free bark mulch

16. Consider growing your own fruits and vegetables to save grocery bills

17. Practise low maintenance gardening with native plants that don’t require the same care and costs as many hybrid shrubs, plants and trees

18. Use large trees to throw shade on your house to reduce expensive air conditioning costs

19. Take the time to learn garden landscape and maintenance skills such as proper pruning techniques and basic deck or patio construction to save money.

20. Consider hiring students in the summer to help you tackle major landscaping projects.

For more money-saving tips for your garden, check out my separate post Ten money-saving tips for the weekend gardener.

Most of us are aware that properly landscaped homes can add tens of thousands of dollars to the value of our properties. Real estate agents will tell you that landscaping not only adds value immediately, it actually increases yearly as the landscape matures.

Interior decorating goes in and out of style and eventually is more of a negative than a positive on the value of your home. Landscaping, on the other hand, ages and matures creating both beauty and value that only large trees can offer and only time can create.

Just compare a typical new subdivision with an older, more mature one and it should be obvious how important a well landscaped property and street can transform a neighbourhood.

An article in the Washington Post states that a quick Google search resulted in a variety of results on the return on investment of landscaping. It found numbers ranging from a 100 per cent to about 1,000 per cent return on investment as a result of adding landscaping. With the price of today’s homes, that adds up.

So it’s clear, landscaping is valuable. It can also be expensive. But it doesn’t have to be.

(Curb appeal can pay off big. Check out my article on adding curb appeal to your garden on a budget.)

If we could only come up with a plan to landscape our homes on a budget.

The choices are numerous.

We could do the landscaping ourselves, pay a traditional landscaping company to do it all, or just pay a landscape designer, like Angela Den Hoed of Soil and Ink, to create a design that we (as homeowners) can create over time. The final option is an excellent compromise that allows us to create a professional landscape on a tight budget and do it over a long period of time. This not only helps to spread the cost over ten or even 20 years, it allows us to grow our gardening knowledge along with the garden.

This article, however, is not about landscaping. I want to focus on the soft material (the trees and plants) rather than hardscaping (rocks, paths, decks etc.).

It all begins with trees

What makes me an expert in creating a garden on a budget, you may ask?

Well, I’ve always been a little on the cheap side. Some would call it thrifty, but let’s face it, cheap is a better description. At least in my case.

Of course, a lot of my “cheapness” comes out of necessity. Being a journalist for your entire career is no way to get rich. However, I’ve always believed that if you don’t have a lot, make the best of what you’ve got.

With that in mind I can honestly say that some of the best investments I’ve ever made are in my garden.

For anyone interested in establishing a woodland garden, the most important savings begins with the installation of trees. Depending on the size of your garden, you are likely going to need several trees. Big trees like Maples and Oaks for the upper storey, and smaller ones like serviceberries, Dogwoods and Redbuds for the under storey.

My wife and I were blessed with several large trees on our property when we moved in, including a large Linden, two locusts a pine tree and two maples in the front yard. Because the neighbourhood is mature, we were also able to benefit from a shared landscape, using our neighbours’ trees as part of our overall landscape. This is certainly a huge bonus, if you are lucky enough to benefit from others’ smart landscape choices and one that helps keep your costs in check.

This left us with the task of primarily adding under storey trees as well as larger trees, if a good deal happened to come along.

Trees can be expensive and each year you wait you pay more, get less and, most importantly, lose precious time.

So the Number One tip to budget-friendly gardening is to plant your trees small, but plant them early.

In fact, if you are moving into a new home, make it the first thing you do. Plant at least some of your trees. If you buy them on the small size, they are easy to plant and they will root in more quickly than a larger more mature tree would.

Trees that I purchased years ago and slipped into the back of my old Subaru station wagon are now mature specimens that would be difficult to get on most flatbeds let alone in the back hatch of a car.

My neighbour and I recently planted a cedar hedge between our properties. Several cedars were about 10-footers but the nursery ran out so we had to plants some three foot versions. We planted them in an area that gets more light than the others and in just one year they put on about twice the growth of the larger cedars. By the end of the second year, I expect that most people will be hard pressed to see the difference between the larger cedars and the small ones.

Building a garden on a budget does not have to be difficult. Flowers, for example, can be grown from seed, increased by division, or allowed to reseed themselves and naturalize in our gardens. All for free. The following list are just a few flowers that are almost free for the taking.

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Black Swallowtail and purple cone flower.

Flowers easily grown from seeds

• Columbine (aguilegia) – An early summer bloomer known to attract hummingbirds and other pollinators to your garden. It’s a perfect woodland addition but can work in a more meadow environment as well. It will self seed if happy, but feel free to collect the pods after flowering, shake out the seed and spread them into different areas of the garden.

• Yarrow (Achillea) is a hardy, dependable plant with clusters of flowers available in a variety of colours and is a perfect landing spot for butterflys. It can spread quickly and has a long blooming season. The spent flat-topped flowers even look great throughout the winter.

• Allium (Onion family) these rather unique purple round-headed flowers are a very architectural addition to a garden rising up through other vegetation.

• Sweet William or Dianthus is is a biennial or short-lived perennial prized for its small flowers that bloom from late spring to the first frosts of fall. It can grow in hardiness zones from 3-9 and the sweet smelling flower that grows performs well. Sweet William will reseed each year in optimum growing conditions.

• Coneflower (Echinacea) is a favourite of most gardeners with its large, sturdy, long-lasting blooms. A favourite of both pollinators and many birds that depend on the seeds as a food source in the fall and throughout the winter. The birds will help to spread the seed, but capturing it on some of the spent flowers and distributing it in the garden is an excellent way to multiply your plants with little to no work.

• Gallardia (Blanket flower) is a butterfly magnet with its daisy like yellow, orange, or red flowers creating an enticing landing pad for them.

• Shasta daisy add a joyful feel to your garden with their bright white flowers and lemon yellow centers. Easily grown from seed or division.

• Lupine (Lupinus) is a longtime favourite in gardens. The tall and showy spikes of the lupine comes in purple, pink, yellow, red and white but look for the native lupine which is smaller and blue in colour and the host plant for our threatened Karner blue butterfly.

•Penstemon (beardtonque) Stalks of tubular flowers (pollinators and hummingbirds) that begin blooming in early summer.

• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a popular tough-flowered perennial that performs from late summer into first frost and is a great late winter food source for birds. If given time, these plants will spread on their own and create lovely drifts but you can help them along by gathering some of the seeds and distributing in various locations that are crying out for a little late-summer colour.

Wild geranium and ferns. Not only is it a stunning plant, it spreads beautifully providing free plants and creating a lovely ground cover that is attractive to bees and other pollinators.

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Let patience work for you

When it comes to gardening. saving money is really about patience.

• Patience to plant a seedling or a young whip and watch it grow into a beautiful tree.

• Patience to tackle as many garden landscape projects as possible on your own.

• Patience to wait for the garden to mature over time.

• Patience to buy one plant rather than five knowing that, in three years, you are going to split into a grouping of three or maybe even five.

• Patience to spend time on used sites such as Kijiji to score garden items at a fraction of the price you would if you had bought them as new items.

• Patience to grow some of your favourite plants from seed.

• Patience to wait until fall to pick up that expensive Japanese Maple on sale at 50-60 per cent off.

• Patience to let nature do its job, while you continue to work toward the garden of your dreams.

Let’s face it, patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to gardening.

And, one of the great benefits of gardening is that if you start young, and have patience, both your knowledge and savings grow exponentially.

I remember shortly after moving to our current home, say some 20 plus years ago, and seeing a small notice in our daily paper from an environmental group advertising two free native trees for anyone interested providing you could pick them up. My trusty Subaru station wagon came in handy again. I arrived to see a forest of trees being offered for free. And they weren’t little whips either, they were good-sized trees.

I picked up a tulip tree (a fast growing Carolinian zone native tree), and a single-stem native serviceberry. Both are now mature specimens. The tulip tree is probably four-storeys high and the serviceberry is an outstanding addition to our front yard attracting a host of birds, chipmunks and squirrels every summer when the fruit ripens after the tree’s spectacular spring bloom of ethereal white flowers in May.

That was entirely an investment in time and a little energy planting them. But, I was young then and had lots of time and energy.

More recently, I remember buying three weeping birch tree whips for $9 each maybe 10 years ago. I have long since forgotten what they were called but they appear to be a variety of tall, slim weeping birch trees named Royal Frost with burgundy leaves on the traditional white trunks. It has taken a number of years for the trunks to turn white, but we now have three lovely, unusual birch trees that are only getting better with age. They are planted in the front of our property in a nice grouping that provides some privacy, but more importantly gives our local bird population a place to rest while they sing outside our family room windows.

These specimens, after about ten years of growth are priced in the $200 a tree category. Of course that does not include the cost of delivery and planting, since these trees are now probably too large for me to plant on my own. That $200 tree with delivery and planting is going to cost $300-$350. Multiply that number by three and you are looking at about $1,000.

That $30 investment is looking pretty good now isn’t it?

If we learn anything from these examples, it is not to wait until you have the money to create the garden of your dreams. Buy those trees now, plant them now, and be patient.

Important lesson: Don’t buy a tree simply because it’s on sale, buy it because it fits into your plan. Have a good idea of the type of trees you want and then start your search.

Places to purchase trees on a budget

• “Big box” stores have been a source of some rather interesting deals for me. I like to visit their garden centers in the spring to check out what they are carrying that year. Regular visits throughout the summer waiting for sales have paid off several times, especially with native trees that most “big box” garden shoppers are not familiar. I have scored several flowering dogwoods (Cornus Florida both red- and white-flowered varieties) and a Redbud (Forest Pansy) for 80 per cent off at the end of summer sales. The highly-valued native specimens cost me about the same as a decent-sized perennial would cost in spring.

• High-end garden nurseries are traditionally not the place to get your best deals, but pay attention in the spring and fall when sale prices can get you some less common trees that you would never see in the “big box” outlets or traditional nurseries. Spring is the time to grab last year’s stock that might not look appetizing to most spring shoppers. My favourite local garden nursery has an area in the back full of “ugly” plants and trees that will work perfectly in a woodland setting, especially at 80 per cent off. I have picked up some rare Japanese Maples for 80 per cent off as well as some beauty bushes that they were almost giving away because there were no tags on them. I happen to recognize them right away and scored them for pennies on the dollar.

• Local Garden Club fundraising sales are a must. Obviously, flowers are a bigger draw for most who attend the local sales, but I head straight to the back where the trees are usually stored. Native trees are often in the pack because shoots from their fruit can sprout up from around mother trees and are a great way for the local gardeners to make a few dollars rather than put them in the compost heap. Serviceberry, Pagoda Dogwood, and Redbud are just a few of the trees you can expect to score for the cost of a couple of coffees for a smaller tree, or a couple of burgers for a good-sized specimen. A bonus to buying at the local Garden Club is that you know the tree was already growing and prospering in your neighbourhood. Don’t be scared off if the tree looks like it’s struggling. Chances are it was dug out of it’s comfortable garden home the night before and is in a little shock. Plant it quickly give it some love and it should do fine after a period of getting acquainted with its new environment.

• Kijijij and Craigs list can also be a source of trees. Believe it or not there are more trees on Kijiji than you might think. And lots of them are great deals. I picked up a white pine for $10 from a woman who was growing it in a container until it started to get too big. I picked up a Serbian Spruce that the woman decided was going to get too big for her yard and I’ve seen homeowners willing to give away beautiful Japanese Maples for anyone willing to come and dig them up and cart them away in a truck. Trees that would cost hundreds if not thousands are free for the taking with a little effort. Again, it helps to be young or, at least know some strong young folks.

• A lot of people simply steal their trees from nature. This is rarely a good idea, especially if you are travelling a great distance to obtain the trees in a different growing area. (See my article on why taking trees and plants from nature is wrong here.) Chances are, you will damage the roots to an extent that will eventually lead to the death of the tree. There are times, however, when “saving trees” that are “standing in the way of progress” can be a good idea. In cottage country, for example, if trees are being threatened to make way for a road, a cottage or resort. With permission, this can be an excellent way to gather a number of trees. Don’t be tempted to take the largest ones possible, however, the smaller ones will have a much better chance at survival.

Our fern glen started with just a few ferns donated from a friend and spread to encompass a huge area of a corner of the garden. Deer will often hide their fawns in the ferns for the day. A great example of using free plants and patience to create a stunning area in your garden.

Plants for pennies with a little planning

Let’s face it, who is paying for plants these days?
Answer: Too many of us.

We all fall in love with the latest and greatest hybrids from the major plant growers. We can’t live without the latest golden variegated hosta, or the triple petunia. That miniature shrub is so much better than the large one I have growing in the back.

I get it, there is a time when we need to treat ourselves with that special plant, but, in the meantime, we can take action to save some serious coin on the rest of our garden plants. If we make a solid effort to save on most of our plants, we can afford to splurge on a couple of favourites every year.

This small Morning Glory was raised from seed scattered into the container in early spring. Morning glory is easily raised from seed adding a colourful climber to your garden for pennies.

But do yourself a favour, focus on perrenials not annuals.

Over the long haul, you’ll save a small fortune by making perennials the stalwarts in your garden design. Use the annuals for hits of colour, in planters and hanging baskets.

Perennials can be grown from seed, shared between friends, split every three to five years to create more plants, and, if left to reseed themselves, can be multiplied by doing a whole lot of nothing. That, as financial consultants would say, are dividends working hard for you.

Penny pinching your perennials

• Grow your favourite perennials from seed you get from friends, relatives or maybe a seed or two from the plants at your favourite nursery in the fall. Most people have no problem offering you seeds from plants in their gardens.

• Divide and divide again to create more plants. Most plants need to be divided every three to five years when their centers begin to die out. Division works for most perennials including grasses, hostas, black-eyed susans, and ground covers like Sweet Woodruff, Lillies of the Valley, Pachysandra, Stonecrop, Snow in Summer and the list goes on.

• Trade your divisions with neighbours, friends and family. This works really well for ground covers and plants like hostas where you can never get too many varities.

• Let Mother Nature bring flowers to you. Look for native wildflowers that have been left behind by birds, animals or even just wind blowing seeds around. Milkweed is a perfect example of a native wildflower that readily seeds in your garden if you let it. the fact that it is the host plant for monarch butterflies should make it a prized volunteer to any garden.

• Do you have a favourite perch that birds congregate on? If not, consider stringing a clothes line across an area of the garden where there is open soil and let the birds sow the garden for you. You might be surprised with the results. You will certainly find out soon enough what they are eating in your neighbourhood and you can rest assured the plants that will emerge from the seeds will be appreciated by your feathered friends.

This patio pond container was one of several Kijijji finds at a fraction of the cost of a new one. It has performed flawlessly for years and one of my favourite additions to the garden allowing me to grow a few pond plants without having to deal with a full backyard pond.

Buying used tips that you can take to the bank

Many years ago, I decided buying used was one way I could get many of the things I dreamed of but could never afford. It wasn’t just plants, or garden related objects – it became a way of life.

My photography equipment was and still is all pretty much used. My cars have always been used. Heck, when we purchased our house it was very used, almost worn out. My wife and I even joke that we got our cats and dogs used from the local shelters.

I’m happy to take other people’s throwaways. I can’t help it if they have a fetish for the latest and greatest. I’m happy with yesterday’s latest and greatest, especially when it’s of extremely high quality, high value and meets my needs.

(Check out my best Kijiji birding finds here.)

Anyhow, in the gardening world, old is always better than new.

In fact, you can expect to pay big bucks for the fake patina on that plastic garden ornament. Or, you could just buy the old concrete one on Kijjiji for a fraction of the price and that live lichen growing on the base of the bird bath gets thrown in for free.

“I can’t think of a better place to invest time and money than our gardens. Not only do they give us great joy for years and years, they keep us healthy, get us out in nature to experience the birds and wildlife that call our gardens home, and through smart decisions, increase the value of our homes astronomically. It’s an investment you just can’t say no to.”

— Vic MacBournie

You would be surprised what you can find for your garden in the world of digital classified ads.

To date I’ve purchased copper bird baths from Restoration Hardware at pennies on the dollar, a rustic bird house I’m in love with, a large concrete water container that has served as our patio pond for several years, trees, garden art, bird feeders, owl houses…. the list goes on.

If you are looking for garden tools, you will find a nice selection usually from elderly couples moving into condos and apartments who have no need for lawn mowers, hoes and clippers. No need to spend three months pay on garden tools that get scratched and beat up after only a few uses.

Once again, it’s all about patience. You may not always find what you want at that moment. Make a list of some of the tools you will need and keep checking. The listings change daily, even hourly so as long as you are patient, you will likely find what you need.

Pay attention in spring and fall when gardeners are looking to do some serious cleaning. That’s when most of the best deals are available.

One last personal example.

This lovely copper bird bath was found on Kijijiji as well as the copper dripper that was turned into a solar fountain to create moving water and attract birds. Both the bird bath and the dripper were purchased for pennies on the dollar.

Several years ago I needed a few square cut blue flagstones for a project. I found a fellow in the next city over selling flats of this expensive flagstone after removing a patio from his backyard. (Don’t ask me why he would remove a blue, square cut flagstone patio in favour of a concrete pad, but one man’s poor taste is another’s gold mine.)

I could have purchased a few pieces of the flag stone from our local garden centre for a little less than I paid for an entire pick-up truck of the flagstone but I decided I could always find a use for it so I took the enire load.

I stored it nicely stacked behind our shed until last year when I used every last piece on a major landscaping remodel.

I would hate to think how much square cut blue flagstone is priced at these days. I wonder how the fella likes his concrete pad, I know I love our flagstone stepping stones through the woodland.

There is a reason the saying: A penny saved, is a penny earned continues to be as true today as it was when we were kids. Although it should now probably read: a penny saved, is ten dollars earned.

Consider installing a high-end, off-grid solar power system

If you are like me and don’t have electricity in your garden, or at least don’t have it in the far reaches of the garden, consider installing a complete off-grid solar-powered electrical system like the American-based Shop Solar Kit company.

Maybe you have a pergola in the back of the garden, or even a she-shed that you would like to have full power running a small refrigerator, sound system or full-size lamps and lighting. If you need to run pumps and lighting to a garden pond, you can do it with one of these highly capable systems that, once installed, operate at no cost to you at all.

There are complete DIY kits available for approximately $1,500 and up.

Gardening on a budget links

DIY moss garden

Proven Winners Idea Book

Ten money-saving tips for the weekend gardener

Window boxes on a budget

DIY Bark Butter feeder for Woodpeckers

DIY reflection pond for photography

Click & Grow is ideal for Native Plants from seed

Nature’s DIY garden art

DIY solar drip for bird bath

Remove your turf and save money

DIY succulent planter

Hiring students to get your garden in shape

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you) I try to only endorse products I have either used, have complete confidence in, or have experience with the manufacturer. Thank you for your support.

How to design a woodland wildlife garden for a small yard

Backyard tips and ideas to design and rewild a small woodland garden

A woodland and wildlife garden is not measured by the number of trees or the size of your backyard.

Size certainly plays a role, but a woodland garden design has always been as much about an experience with nature as it is about a physical space.

My garden, for example, is not huge. I am lucky that it sits on about a half-acre lot in an urban area, but is surrounded by acres of woodland connected to a large conservation area.

How many of us have taken great joy sitting beneath a small tree in a natural woodland, birds flitting about busily searching for insects to feed their young?

Just imagine reliving that experience every spring in your own backyard landscape.

It’s an experience that can be created in a tiny backyard as easily as it can on a sprawling acreage property.

Can you create a woodland garden design in one of today’s typically compact backyards? Absolutely. Not only can you create a stunning woodland garden in a small backyard, in many ways rewilding a successful woodland design in today’s smaller yards is much easier. Use neighbouring trees as part of a borrowed landscape and as an upper canopy and then create your understory with a few smaller trees, and shrubs. Now, add an area of shade-loving plants and a woodland ground cover. A bench to enjoy the garden and you are well on your way.

“A way to make a small garden unusually satisfying is to focus on the stimuli reaching two or more of the senses simultaneously – and with equal intensity.”

— Vince Healey

The woodland garden can be a beautiful but natural retreat for gardeners looking for a low-maintenance garden.

Whether you do-it-yourself or hire a landscaping company, rewilding the smaller garden helps to focus the garden designer on what factors make up a woodland garden and how to create woodland vignettes (earlier post) within those small spaces.

If you are looking for more help in the process of building your woodland garden, you might want to check out the informative book The Woodland Garden by Robert Gillmore, who explains how to turn an existing woodland area into a low-maintenance, lush woodland garden that brings the world of nature into your own yard.

In addition, consider picking up The American Woodland Garden, by acclaimed author Rick Darke, Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. It can be difficult to find, but is often available on the used market. Alibris, an U.S.-based used book seller, has copies of The American Woodland Garden for approximately $25 if readers are interested.

In a larger garden, too much focus is often put on just keeping up with garden chores to perfect the vignettes that make the woodland garden such a special place. A large garden may be made up of several smaller vignettes or garden rooms, while a smaller suburban garden may include just two garden rooms or vignettes and a tiny urban garden might incorporate only a single woodland garden vignette.

Landscape designer Angela den Hoed has taken a typical suburban backyard and created a magical woodland garden for readers of Ferns & Feathers.

Here at Ferns & Feathers we actually provide our readers with a highly detailed landscaping plan suitable for today’s typically-sized backyard. By simply following the design, readers can either create the woodland garden themselves or use the plan as part of a larger garden plan. For the complete details of the plan, including a list of native plants to consider, check out my post here.

This illustration shows the ideal layering in a woodland garden and the birds that take advantage of the different layers.

How to create and rewild your small yard into a wildlife garden

Unlike a typical or traditional garden, a woodland wildlife garden is primarily a shade garden. It’s important to note, however, that a shade garden is not necessarily a woodland garden. Within the woodland garden, there may be sunny borders or openings in the forest canopy that provide gardeners the opportunity to experiment with sun-loving plants.

It’s these openings that give gardeners an opportunity to plant native berry-producing shrubs for birds and native flowers for pollinators in the wildlife garden. The edges of the woodland also provide ideal areas to explore berry-producing shrubs and other plants that attract insects and provide nesting habitat for birds and small mammals.

A woodland garden’s primary feature is a layering effect. From the tallest trees in the upper canopy to the mid canopy of smaller shade loving trees, down to the shrubs, perennial flowers and finally to the ground-cover layer.

Below the ground cover is the all-important soil that gives life to insects, invertebrates and microbes that form the roots of our woodland garden’s success. (I explore the details of creating the ultimate woodland garden soil in other posts that will be linked to at the bottom of this post.)

Together, this combination engages our senses and let’s us know, even subconsciously, that we are in a special place.

If you are still unsure whether you want to create a woodland garden, consider that once the garden is designed and installed, it should be an extremely low-maintenance garden that requires very little effort on your part to keep it looking its best.

Why you might ask?

Why is a woodland garden considered low-maintenance

Chelsey garden show Gold medal award-winning garden designer Mary Reynolds’ explains it best in her book The Garden Awakening.

Consider her explanation about the land we are looking to build our gardens on: “Most land that is used for agriculture and gardens has the same core truth: it strives to become a mature woodland – a stable and intelligent ecosystem that has evolved over many thousands or even millions of years.”

In her book, The Gardening Awakening, Mary explains that: “Achieving a classic woodland ecosystem is impossible for most people because the individual plots of land are too small. However, it is possible to create a replica of a complete woodland ecosystem in smaller places. “

Mary argues that unless land stewards, such as ourselves, “allow the land to express its own truth, we are doing it an injustice.”

Not only are we doing it an injustice, we are also working against Mother Nature.

By working with nature, especially in a small garden where the amount of work is already more manageable, we create a very low-maintenance garden that more or less looks after itself and does not require hours of weeding, garden cleanup and lawn maintenance.

The design and creation of the small woodland garden requires a little more attention to detail.

To create a successful small woodland garden it becomes even more critical to maximize every opportunity to explore our senses. Garden designer Vince Healey, who specializes in creating gardens for children and hospices for the dying, points out that: “A way to make a small garden unusually satisfying is to focus on the stimuli reaching two or more of the senses simultaneously – and with equal intensity.” An example Healey provides is a stand of aspens blowing in a breeze. The rustle and the shimmer of the leaves appeal to both your sense of hearing as well as the visual beauty the stand of trees provide.

In my garden, similar to Healey’s aspen example, a stand of three clump birch trees form a canopy over a bubbling rock and dry river bed. The combination of the trees together with the sound and visual stimuli of seeing the water bubble out of the rock, works hard to appeal to a visitor’s multiple senses.

In a much smaller garden, this birch grove and bubbling rock underplanted with a tiny Japanese maple, maybe a native cranberry bush that flowers and provides a profusion of red berries in the fall, a container or small planting of annual or perennial flowers, and a ground cover of moss or thyme is enough to form a woodland garden in itself. Add a bench where you can sit under the canopy of birch, and you have recreated the memorable experience you had that spring day in the forest.

A simple garden path in our woodland garden made from pea gravel and square-cut flagstone. Simple materials and natural products are preferred.

Healey writes that this sensual stimuli appealing to more than one sense with equal intnesity: “has the effect of mesmerizing the viewer.” And, don’t we want all our visitors to be mesmerized by the beauty of our garden?

Because trees will form an important part of your compact woodland garden, it’s important to consider trees with the best bark features. Tree bark itself can appeal to so many senses. Birch trees, especially river birch (Betula nigra) with its subtle copper-coloured bark that peels profusely away from the trunk in shaggy strips, and European White birch (Betula pendula) that brings a touch of elegance with its stark white trunks and fine papery peeling bark, are good examples of trees that appeal to multiple senses. In a large garden, they could form part of the understorey. In a smaller woodland, they can take the place of the top canopy.

Other trees to consider for their bark features might include pine trees such as the Lace-bark pine (Pinus bungeana) with a wonderful mottled appearance. The bark flakes off to reveal patches of green, cream and red. Consider also the Scotch pine with its cinnamon brown bark and, of course, our native Northern White pine whose bark as a young tree is thin, greyish-green and smooth but gives way to a mature tree sporting thick bark with broad ridges and dark-tinged scales. Our white pine’s bark may not be the most exciting, but the tree’s other features make it a standout in any woodland garden. The blue-green needles are feathery soft with a heavenly aroma when crushed. The combination of the soft needles and strong aroma appeals to so many of our senses.

Beeches are known for their smooth, gray or shiny bark. Paperbark maples (acer griseum) are especially noteworthy as a small under storey tree with outstanding curling, papery strips of cinnamon brown bark. Few trees are more at home in the woodland garden than the flowering dogwood which, besides offering a profusion of outstanding white flowers or bracts followed by red fruit, also boasts an impressive bark with an amazing rectangular pattern on its trunk that looks almost reptilian. The Kousa dogwood has gray- and tan-patched bark. The bark combined with its profusion of cream flowers and outstanding red fruit in fall make it a show stopper in the woodland garden. I have several in our garden, despite the fact that it is no a native tree.

For more on native Dogwood trees and shrubs, be sure to check out our full story here on six of my favourite dogwoods for the woodland garden.

Few trees can compare to the Redbud, whether you choose multi-stem or single-stem versions, for its spectacular spring magenta flowers that cover its branches early in the season. For more on the outstanding Redbud tree (Cercis Canadensis), check out my full story here

Five important design elements of a woodland garden

1) Create at least one natural garden path that either takes you to a special place in the garden or leads visitors around and through it.

2) Strive to create multiple layers in your garden. The woodland garden requires an upper canopy of large shade trees, followed by a mid-canopy of under storey trees like dogwoods or serviceberries above a layer of mid- and small-size shrubs followed by ground covers and groupings of perennials.

3) Include natural-looking garden art. A large moss-covered boulder, an artistically twisted branch or a natural-looking stone bird bath. Alternatively, a copper bird house or bird bath can add an exquisite touch to your woodland and age gracefully along with the garden.

4) Always strive to use native woodland plants wherever possible. Not only do native trees, plants and shrubs look appropriate in the landscape, they usually perform at their best if they are planted in the right location. Even more importantly, they are hosts to native insects and pollinators that provide critical food to our native birds.

5) Use a variety of ground covers to ensure your soil is never exposed to direct sun. Protecting the soil is critical to building microbial life that will ensure it can provide your plants and trees with life-giving energy. Organic and non-organic mulches can take the place of living ground covers. (I will link to a separate post on using mulches at the bottom of this article.)

A subtle approach is best

It’s important to incorporate a subtle approach to woodland gardening. Nature is never gaudy. Although gardens appeal most strongly to our visual sense, the woodland gardener needs to take a step back and control the urge to create large swaths of violently coloured flowers to make a strong visual statement. Over doing this can easily end in a visual assault.

Nature rarely makes a visual assault, and neither should the woodland gardener.

Woodland gardeners need to take pleasure in the simple textures of leaves, subtle shades of green highlighted by the quiet colours of native wildflowers, grasses and sedges.

Angela den Hoed’s woodland garden landscape design incorporates a critical element that belongs in every woodland garden. It’s a path that takes visitors around and through the garden so they can experience its subtle beauty. In many traditional gardens viewers can afford to simply stand back and experience the riot of colour. The woodland, however, begs you to come inside and engage the senses in a very intimate way.

The value of the woodland path

In his book Landscaping with Nature, Using Nature’s Designs to plan your Yard, Jeff Cox writes about the woodland path and notes that a walk in the woods can be built into even small backyards.

“Walking down a woodland path is one of our favorite ways to enjoy nature. The path is usually shady, and we enjoy the cool, protective shade thrown by a canopy of trees… Interesting and beautiful plants on either side of us provide plenty to look at as we walk the path. Following the path is an adventure ; we never know what’s around the bend…. And as we walk, we have time to think, dream, or just listen to birds’ songs.”

The path itself does not have to be large. It should blend in to the natural landscape rather than drawing attention to itself. There is no place for concrete and even a more subtle brick pathway is probably unnecessary in the woodland.

A simple grass pathway cut occasionally throughout the summer, or a path made by putting down a thick layer of shredded cedar mulch or pine needles will provide a more natural pathway that is at home wandering and weaving through the woodland garden.

In a very small urban yard, the garden path could be the main feature of the entire backyard, taking the visitor from the home’s small patio and winding its way through the garden features to the back of the property. Along the way, you might have to walk around a clump serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) underplanted with trilliums and irish or scotch moss. You may pass a small pond or, even simpler, a beautiful copper bird bath and garden seat that provides a quiet place for you to sit and take in the birds that have discovered your small oasis in the heart of the city.

Along the path in your woodland try to use native plants. In an Eastern United States, Southern Ontario (zones 5-7) path, Jeff Cox suggests planting a Scarlet oak, and underplant it with a bed of maidenhair ferns (Adiantum pedatum) or hay-scented ferns (Dennstaedtia punctilobula). He explains how the oak (the best tree to attract and provide habitat for insects, caterpillars and pupae vital for the survival of our native birds) will “provide partial shade for the ferns as it arches over them.”

This area could also be planted with spring bulbs for early spring colour adding that late colour will “take care of itself with the oak’s blazing scarlet red foliage.” Behind the oak, he suggest a tall high bush cranberry (viburnum trilobum), with its showy red berries in the fall.

On the left side of the path, Cox suggests planting an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and white pine (pinus strobus). These two evergreens will provide a dark background for the foreground planting of birch trees and serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis). The birch bark and early spring flowers of the serviceberry will “glow against the evergreen background.”

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) planted among the birches and serviceberries will provide delightful flowers in the spring.

In other areas of the country, with different garden zones, these plants should be substituted with plants native to that zone.

Angela’s garden pathway in our second Naturally Native newsletter is quite different from Jeff Cox’s plan. It takes the visitor around the entire garden and offers quiet places among areas dedicated to childrens’ play and family gatherings.

The two designs are good examples of how small garden areas are not limited to a deck a patch of grass and a decrepit play structure in a corner of the yard.

With proper planning, we can create the low-maintenance garden of our dreams, whether we live on a large rural property surrounded by forests, or in a small urban or suburban garden surrounded by a sea of high-maintenance grass.

If you are considering creating a woodland garden, or simply converting an area of your existing garden into a woodland retreat, be sure to sign up for our free newsletter.

The newsletter focuses on attracting and photographing backyard birds using native plants in a woodland garden setting. In addition to providing readers with a detailed woodland garden design plan, the 13-page newsletter features a DIY article on creating a large, reflection pond/backyard photo studio that includes an epic hack of a common household product. In addition, we feature tips on feeding specific backyard birds and the tools needed to get up close and personal with our feathered friends. You can sign up at the bottom of the Ferns & Feathers home page.

Important links for the woodland gardener

Below, I have included a list of links for anyone who would like to further explore the information mentioned in the above article.

• In case you missed the link earlier, Landscape designer Angela den Hoed has designed a full-featured, detailed Woodland garden plan for Ferns & Feathers readers. Here is the link for a comprehensive design for a typically-sized woodland garden.

• Landscape designer Angela den Hoed. See my earlier post about her here. Go to her website here

• Chelsea Award winning garden designer Mary Reynolds. See my earlier post about her book here. Go to Mary’s popular website here where she promotes land stewards to create natural Arks to help protect and restore our natural environments.

• Earlier post on Garden mulch: organic vs non-organic. Link here to my earlier post.

• Earlier post to my favourite ground covers for the woodland garden. Link here to my earlier post

• Earlier post on using a local woodland as inspiration for the woodland garden design. Link here to my earlier post.

• Jeff Cox’s book Landscaping with Nature. Amazon link here

• An earlier post on Five great books for Woodland Gardeners. Link here for my earlier post.

• An earlier post on the book Bringing Nature Home about why Native plants are critical to saving our birds. See the link to my earlier post here.

• Another book definitely worth considering is The American Woodland Garden by Rick Darke. Amazon link here

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I try to only endorse products I have either used, have complete confidence in, or have experience with the manufacturer.

How hard is it to design and create a woodland garden?

Ideas and tips to bring backyard landscape ideas to life

It’s not easy being a woodland gardener. I mean, do you go with the red or the white – Cabernet or Riesling? And the mornings. Is it drip or Nespresso? All difficult calls while I admire the emerging spring greens in the backyard landscape.

So how hard is it to create a woodland garden? It’s important to know that a woodland garden design is most likely the easiest of all gardens to maintain providing you’re willing to relax a little. It’s the ultimate low-maintenance backyard landscape, but it will require some work to get it established at the front end. Plant trees, shrubs and get a ground cover established and then relax and learn to work with nature rather than against it.

It’s not all fun and games.

Add the burden of trying to satisfy our friendly chipmunk after she returns for what seems like her 100th visit to load up on peanuts. She seems to know that, if she plays her cards right, she can load up with enough peanuts to last a month. And she’s probably right.

Over in the corner of the garden, a doe rests in the tall ferns, while her two fawns romp around waiting for their day to begin.

Like I say, “this ain’t easy.”

And the noise! The birds, the bees, it’s all so overwhelming.

Nap time can’t come soon enough around here.

If this sounds good to you, it may be time to reconsider your backyard landscape design and use the information contained here for backyard ideas and tips to create your low-maintenance landscape.

If you are looking for assistance, consider picking up The American Woodland Garden, by acclaimed author Rick Darke, Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. It can be difficult to find, but is often available on the used market. Alibris, an U.S.-based used book seller, has copies of The American Woodland Garden for approximately $25 if readers are interested.

“So how hard is it to create a woodland garden? It’s important to know that a woodland garden design is most likely the easiest of all gardens to maintain providing you’re willing to relax a little. It’s the ultimate low-maintenance backyard landscape, but it will require some work to get it established at the front end. Plant trees, shrubs and get a ground cover established and then relax and learn to work with nature rather than against it. ”

— Ferns & Feathers Author

If you are interested in exploring the world of shade gardening further, you might like my recent post on The Natural Shade garden.

A play of light catches on the fern fronds in our woodland garden where deer often hide their young for the day. The changing light is just one of the pleasures of creating a natural garden and capturing it with a camera.

Let the leaves fall to the ground and just leave them there over the winter.

For more suggestions and some of my favourite garden things, be sure to check out my Favourite Things post.

The decaying leaves are important places for insects and pupae to overwinter. Their decomposition helps to build an earthy, humus-rich soil alive with micro-organisms.

Birds depend on the insects come spring to feed their nestlings. (Check out this post for the complete story on leaving your leaves where they fall.) (Check out this post on how to use fallen leaves to build your Woodland soil.)

The ultimate woodland wildlife garden incorporates layering. This illustration shows what birds primarily use the various zones.

Relaxing is key to building a woodland garden design

To build a Woodland garden, it’s important to be willing to let nature do its thing and not worry about every little weed (let’s just call it a wild flower shall we).

Instead of spending our days weeding, let’s, instead, ensure our Woodlands are filled with a variety of ground covers that stop weeds from taking over the garden beds.

Try a little Snow-in-Summer in a hot dry area to cover the ground with a living mulch. Not only is Snow-in-Summer a beautiful ground cover, it offers outstanding opportunities for some beautiful selective-focus photography.

If you do it right, you’ll have plenty of time to photograph the daily life of your garden and its visitors.

A friendly peanuts joins me for a little lunch. Creating a natural woodland wildlife garden is full of little surprises.

Where living ground covers are inappropriate, let’s use organic mulch like shredded bark, pine needles or composted leaves to cover the soil and restrict any weeds that want to poke up through the soil.

Instead of pulling weeds all summer, let’s relax with a glass wine on the patio and enjoy our feathered friends. Let’s use that time to focus on planting more native plants to attract more insects to our yards that, in turn, will bring more birds to our woodland gardens.

And those hostas that were eaten by our family of deer, let’s just rejoice in the fact we are keeping the local wildlife happy and healthy. (Click here for a gallery of the wildlife that visit our Woodland garden.)

If you can live with that, welcome to my woodland garden blog. It’s aptly named Ferns & Feathers for its abundance of both ferns and feathered friends.

If you care to join me, we’ll tackle this thing together; learn from one another’s shared knowledge and experiences. We can take some time out for a little wine, lots of coffee and enjoy a discussion or two about building the woodland garden one tree at a time through layering – from the forest floor to the tips of the tallest trees.

Along the way we’ll share our top 3… top 5… top 10. (Click here for my five favourite bird items or here for my top 5 woodland garden books.

We’ll share what products work best for us, (like this Gorilla Cart or a blue tooth speaker) some time-saving tips, work-saving tips and the best reds for planting and drinking.

I’ll also be sharing garden photography tips, tricks and ideas to bring out the best images hiding in your garden. Doesn’t matter if your best camera is an i-phone, a sweet little point-and-shoot enthusiast camera model or a full-featured digital 35mm camera. I use them all to document our garden and, with a little luck, can pass on some wisdom from a hobby I’ve been enjoying most of my life.

Mornings are a great time to be out in the garden.

And I’ve got some time after recently retiring from almost 40 years in the newspaper business. So, with all this time on my hands, my wife told me to find something to fill it with or else… I decided to combine two of my great loves – gardening and photography – into a fun little spot on the web for like-minded gardeners to pull up an adirondack chair and join me and Holly (our four-legged friend) to share some tall tales, our victories, failures and a decent glass of wine.

Okay, let’s get this show on the road.

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