Introduction into Woodland Gardens

This is a woodland garden

Have you ever wondered how something could be so beautiful? Since the summer I have always seen these really beautiful flowers that were being planted by my neighbor. My neighbor plants and takes really good care of these flowers every day and that has inspired me to try something new. In these 3 months that we are doing this independent reading assignment, I want to take on the challenge of learning how to create a woodland garden (a garden in an area where land is covered by trees) with a variety of different types of flowers. I chose to make a woodland garden, because it is different from the common gardens that we see everyday. Gardening somewhere different then a yard can be seen as a very strange idea, and I myself also believed the same thing, but instead of thinking inside the box, I want to think outside of the box and see things from a different point of view. Since this is my first time gardening I’ve always believed that when gardening it needs to be in the sunlight and I also thought woodland gardens would have the same conditions as well. However Wiley doesn’t believe that is true. He says that woodland gardens need to be in a place where there is a lot of shade and in an area where there is also a lot of rainfall (39). Wiley suggests that I should depend on my local climate and soil conditions when having a woodland.

First flower that will be used
in the woodland garden.

A way to make the woodland garden possible is to think of what type of environment you will be using, what resources you need, and also what adjustments you have to make to have the woodland garden to be successful. Wiley says that “Thus, shape, habit, and placement are all worthy consideration as you begin to plant your woodland” (27). While reading this quote I started to visualize how this woodland garden will eventually look when I create it and also consider what type of places would be acceptable for the garden. I hope that while making this woodland garden, I remember where would be a good place for this garden and make adjustments so the plants can live.

In your opinion, do you think that having a garden somewhere other than a yard is very strange? Or, do you think having a garden somewhere else is actually a good idea?

Wiley, Keith. Designing and Planting a Woodland Garden. London: Timber Press, 2014. Print.