Comments on: 10 thoughts on successful underplanting

By: Margaret

Margaret — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:30:47 +0000

Welcome back, Jane. And yes, great minds think alike (and great eyes see alike, too). :) Sounds like you are well on your way to happiness of the mosaic kind. Keep us posted!

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:39:32 +0000

Long time no posts–me fix. Around the time of your last entry I bought lots of end-of-season-sale huechera in wonderful colors–caramel, harvest lemon chiffon, silver scrolls, dale’s strain, bressingham hybrids, can-can, burgundy–and planted them in what I called a patchwork quilt to make a wonderful texture of colored leaves. This was way before I knew your blog existed [although I had visited your garden on last spring's open drenched day; I was one of the dripping hordes who said hello in gaping awe of what I'd just seen], and you called it mosaics. After reading how you plan mosaics of plants, I’m excited to quilt whole new areas of my shady gardens and naked under trees, so pleased with myself that I’m looking at planning in a similar way to your great eye.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:08:09 +0000

Welcome, Linda. Sounds like the plants of the deep woods are going to be your friends, unless you consider perhaps not taking out but maybe selectively thinning some big trees to get a little more warmth and light to your babies. Things with more foliage interest probably than flowers, and tolerant of dry shade and deep cold. I do not know how cold we are taking, however, in winter? Near what city please?

By: Linda

Linda — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:43:56 +0000

…great tips and I too am inspired. My discouragement comes from the fact that many plants won’t grow to any size in our very northern Canadian area (north of 60). I have planted many perennials which do resurface in the spring but seldom flower again, or if they do, it’s with ever-diminishing results. I do compost extensively and feed the gardens; however, as the trees continue to grow, it seems that they usurp more and more of the nutrients. Having said that, I LOVE the trees and would never part with my ‘bush’. Any suggestions for me?

By: 50sPam

50sPam — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:28:12 +0000

Thanks, Margaret. That advice makes sense consider that I’m “landscaping the forest” – truly. I’ve already spent hundreds of hours … 7 years … clearing out 50 years of detritus. We’ve put in some hardscape – a path, a circle, some small statuary… and also have these three easy groundcovers off and running. There’s still a lot of ground to cover, though – literally. In the front of the house – outside my kitchen window etc., I assure you, there’s much more mosaic going on… All – very fun!