Where Will I Plant It

I have been in the nurseries a lot in the last month. It's spring planting season. Can you imagine walking into a nursery and buying whatever you want in whatever quantities it takes to fill the space now? Oh the joys of working at the Posh Estate. The bed formerly known as the rose garden was finally abandoned in hopeless exasperation after major winter dieback. It has been turned into a mixed flowering shrub and perennial border. The new woodland garden started last fall is an ongoing expansion and fill project. I love plant shopping for the Posh Estate.

Considering how much I have been in the nurseries, I have been very good, not buying anything for myself, not even from the discard rack until today.

This is Cornus canadensis, Bunchberry, a native herbaceous woodland groundcover in the Dogwood family. It hails from the far north, hardy to zone 2. I hope I am high enough in elevation to keep it cool.

Now where will I plant it? I am getting mixed sun exposure signals from the Monrovia tag and my online research. I may just cut it in half and plant it in two locations.

I only bought one plant, really. My bulb dealer next door has already dug me some white trumpet daffodils and a sack of Grape Hyacinth. I brought a rescue azalea home. It took a beating over the winter and was replaced by a fresh plant. It still has some life left in it though. I see sprouts in the crown. The evergreen azaleas plain and simple don't like it up here. I know I brought it home just to watch it slowly die. That could take years though and I might get a decent bloom out of it once or twice before it's all over.

Now where will I plant them all?

I plant at times to mimic the effect of nature left undisturbed. I am seeing more of the transplanted trilliums coming up and more trilliums I did not plant coming up. I know they know how to spread on their own.

The deep shade of the deep forest is different than the more dappled shade of the garden becoming. My light levels allow more competition. So I edit to favor the wanted. My light levels also allow me more diversity and season long bloom.

It is my hope that when I cultivate a native woodland plant that they will turn wild. There's no shortage of violets up here, but there is only one Bird's Foot Violet, for now.