How to Cheaply Create a Perennial/Woodland Shade Garden

Create a shade/woodland garden that will return every year--with minimal cost, by adding FREE woodland plants to shade loving perennials.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• energy, love of plants, friends who love plants, gloves, 3 buckets, a gal. of water, spade or pitchfork ,garden soil+vermiculite

1. Plan a shady area near your home, that gets only partial late day sun to no sun. Draw a map of area and design with plants that require little sun.

2. Get a good night's sleep and prepare yourself with the tools of the trade. i.e., boots, gloves, bug spray, buckets,a gallon of water, and a spade or pitchfork .

3. Following a good rainy day, go to the woods and look for ferns, small balsam trees, and wild flowers, such as lady's slipper, lillies of the valley, wild flox, poppies,and false Soloman Seal, etc. Place them in a bucket, with just enough water to cover the roots.
   Research heights of plants, so design allows for taller ones in the middle of a circular area or in the back of a square area.

4. When you arrive home, and assess your bounty, decide what's missing.
   1.Knowing that friends, family members often split overgrown perennials, notify them of the kind of plants you are looking for.
   2.Get to a Garden club's sale early --in order to but inexpensive and established plants, cheaply.
   3.Find a Farmer's Market, that also sell established perennials cheaply.
   4. If there's an empty area and you just can't find the right plant, look on e-bay, where dealers often offer what you need for less that a garden center--even with shipping costs!

5. Prepare the soil, using vermiculite to mix in the soil, as it may be dense and clay-like. Vermiculite will break up the density of the soil and improve aeration for the root systems. (I usually add a little "new" garden soil from MiracleGro.)

6. WATER daily, until roots are established in the soil (usually 7-10 days).

Tips & Warnings

• Know that what you are creating is your own natural garden, and NOT a professional design.
• Be ready to work on creating your dream for under a budgeted amount of money + stick with this amount.
• Make sure there are no invasive weeds that come along with rescued plants.
• Wear long pants, and long sleeved shirt to protect yourself from insects, and check yourself for ticks, when you leave the forest area. (You should know how to remove ticks, if any present, as Deer ticks are a real problem here--their bites and burrowing causing Lyme Disease.)
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/Lyme/

[Susang6]

on 8/8/2008 Very good, lots of work, but worth it in the end!

[vallain]

on 8/6/2008 Your garden is lovely. One reminder, make sure not to take wild plants from parks or preserves. With all the rain this summer, transplants are settling in quite well.

[LilacGirl]

on 8/1/2008 Thanks so much for this very informative and helpful gardening article.

[Limowreck]

on 6/4/2008 I love gardening, but it can be sooo expensive. Great tips on saving money!