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W h e n s p rin g a rriv e s
in Barbara Mundall’s woodland garden, there’s no
place on Earth she’d rather be. After the ground thaws and before the forest
canopy covers the ground in shade, columbines, bleeding hearts, and daffodils
push through a carpet of sweet woodruff, whose chartreuse foliage and tiny
white blossoms weave through the forest floor.
Spring woodland bloomers are as ephemeral as they are exhilarating. As a
result, “One of the most difficult challenges woodland gardeners face is getting
the garden to look good for more than one moment in time,” says Barbara, a
Better Homes and Gardens
field editor.
Her solution—a valuable lesson for all gardeners—
is to cultivate a diversity of
plants, including species that bloom later and sport attractive, long-lasting
foliage. As the earliest plants finish blooming or die back in Barbara’s garden,
ferns unfurl and hostas begin to poke their shoots through the soil. Then
rhododendrons, peonies, and hydrangeas add a season-long succession of
blooms, ensuring that when spring finally arrives, it will be in no hurry to leave.
96 MARCH
2010
BETTER HOMES AND
GARDENS
