Shades of Green and Golden Light

    this is the garden: colours come and go,

           frail azures fluttering from night's outer wing

strong silent green serenely lingering,

     absolute lights like baths of golden snow.

                                          E.E. Cummings

Light transforms.

If your garden has gloomy, heavily shaded areas where nothing good will grow, consider removing the scrubby stuff and judiciously limbing up and pruning some of the trees to let in the sunshine. You may be surprised at what a difference it makes, and that area could even become one of your favorites.

Recently, as gentle sun washed over my garden, shades of green and golden light filled my heart with joy. I hope you are gladdened as I was.

Here are scenes from the woodland garden:

 Golden light streams through the entrance to the woodland garden.

Irises are beginning to blossom near the woodland entrance.

A tapestry of greens in the woodland garden

Top: Native redbud tree dripping with seed pods. Above, clockwise from upper left: Hydrangea 'Lady in Red', beginning to bud out; Variegated hydrangea; Native mahonia; Spreading Japanese plum yew

Hosta 'sieboldiana elegans' glows in the light.

Sunlight and shadows create a serene atmosphere in the woodland garden.

the hillside in the woodland garden

This is the view in front of my house:

Ethereal light shines over the japanese maple I call our marriage tree.

While the wonderful green colors predominate, flowers are blooming throughout the gardens:'Endless Sumer' hydrangea buds announce the coming season.

Knockout roses in the herb bed

1st row: Anthony Waterer spirea; Beauty Bush, Kolkwitzia amabilis. 2nd row: Southern arrowwood, Viburnum dentatum; French hollyhock, Malva sylvestris. 3rd row: Swamp rose, rosa palustris; very old azaleas. 4th row: Confederate or star jasmine; Blue salvia.

May God's Light shine in your hearts and take you out of dark places.    Deborah

A Walk in the Green Woodland

Some people like to make a little garden out of life and walk down a path.                                                                                                                                                                        Jean Anouilh

While the rest of my yard is splashed with voluptuous party colors, the woodland garden celebrates spring in a more sedate, but equally inspiring fashion. There is quiet joy here under the canopy of dogwood, maple, and oak trees. Hush now, and come with me on a walk in the green woodland.

We enter the garden, and we are washed in golden light as it streams across the mossy path.

Above is a view back toward the entrance to the woodland garden. Behind the rabbit is a variegated hydrangea and the ferny ground cover indigofera, with new growth glowing in the sunshine. In a few weeks it will have lovely pink blooms.

Hello rabbit. Here is the planting area with the Japanese maple 'Waterfall', along with spreading yew, hydrangea, hosta, heuchera, ferns, Jacobs ladder, and some azaleas which are not yet in bloom. There is also some newly planted pulmonaria with cottony pale green leaves. I am eager to see how it does.

Autumn fern unfurls its copper fronds toward heaven. Blue ajuga blooms in front.

Here is a view of the planting area from the other end. I still have a lot of planting to do here.

Hosta seiboldiana 'Elegans' is coming up. This is a huge hosta with thick, blue-green leaves. It looks big already, but it will be triple this size in a few weeks.

Here are some close-ups of a few plants we can see.Clockwise from top left: Japanese maple 'Waterfall'; highbush cranberry - a viburnum, not a cranberry!; caladium; hydrangea 'Lady in Red', just beginning to bud.

Look at my new "squirrel crossing"! I ordered this little bridge, and it arrived in a gazillion pieces which I had to put together. Thanks to Lou's power drill with its screwdriver attachment, it wasn't too hard. I painted the rails my favorite color.

Looking back through the woodland garden, we can see the birdhouse in a trident maple tree. Good news! There are blue birds nesting in the bird house! Lets not disturb them. Our footsteps fall quietly on the soft path as we leave.

Thanks for joining me on my woodland walk, and may all your paths this week take you to pleasant places.

You might also like Seven Steps to Making a Woodland Garden.