A Woodland Garden That Takes Inspiration from Nature

peachy gardening does n’t unremarkably necessitate reinventing the wheel . The design strategies , plant combinations , and hardscaping additions that will take your garden from well to great likely already live in someone else ’s garden . Bonnie Plikaytis know this well and claim full advantage of all the plant and design ideas that other nurseryman , and even Mother Nature , have to offer her .

Garden at a glance

Size:1 acre ( ½ acre domesticate )

Location : Big Canoe , GeorgiaZone:7

Conditions : Full shade to full Sunday ; mud backfill close to the firm and rich humus soil around the margin

Age of the garden:7 years

One of the good exemplar of this are Bonnie ’s beautiful stumperies . These unique garden arrangements consist of tree stumps , stem balls , or other woody stuff that create a home ground for fungi and woodland plants such as fern . A misstep to the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way , Washington , inspire Bonnie to create the two stumperies in her garden , and they ’re now two sphere that often attract the most attention from visitors .

But the stumperies are not the only stars that shine in this garden . Bonnie uses a multitude of evergreen plant plants to produce stake class - circular , sum occasional pops of color with sheer blooms . “ The garden swear heavily on pattern , textures , and chromaticity of unripe throughout the twelvemonth to allow sake with only accents of color , ” she explains . While walking in the garden , one comment three type of plants that are repeated throughout : fern , Japanese maple ( Acer palmatumand cvs . , Zones 5–8 ) , and rhododendron ( Rhododendronspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) .

How did Bonnie learn to create such a diverse yet distinctively woodland design ? Once again , she establish gardens and gardener that inspired and informed — this time much closer to house . “ I have a friend and horticulture wise man who has been design and installing landscapes in Big Canoe for over 25 yr , ” she tell . “ Studying the design of her landscapes has influence my power to produce a garden that is harmonious with the woodland surround . ” She also found priceless resources while coordinate an yearly biotic community plant sales agreement as part of the local horticulture order . Working with nursery vendors , she learned more about plants that produce well in her country and was encouraged to diversify her plant extract .

One of Bonnie ’s biggest inspiration and sources for garden knowledge , however , is her own natural milieu . “ Every good morning I start the day with a base on balls on the trail of Big Canoe with my dog Cody , ” she says . “ During these walk I was bring out to some of my favourite native ferns of Georgia : the noble royal fern ( Osmunda regalis , Zones 3–9 ) and cinnamon fern ( Osmundastrum cinnamomeum , Zones 3–9 ) with its plumes of Cinnamomum zeylanicum - colored erect productive frond . I have admit both in my garden . ”

Aside from create a mythological garden , all this prison term studying plants has taught Bonnie to work with nature alternatively of against it . She infer that we go in a connect ecosystem and that we must larn to live in concord with the flora and animals with whom we share this environs .

Kaitlyn Hayes is a digital mental object product specialist forFine horticulture .

Photos : good manners of Bonnie Plikaytis

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woodland garden

A smooth transition from woods to garden.A mix of native plants and structural evergreens bridges the gap between the cultivated areas and the surrounding forest.

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gardener with her dog

Inspiration can come from unexpected sources.Bonnie got ideas for her naturalistic beds and borders while walking nature trails with her dog Cody.

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