Dreaming of Wildflowers

“Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature’s delight.” ~Marcus Aurelius

Last year I started a native plant garden. Plants native to my area that are super hardy, and loved by the critters too. Some of my favorites carefully sourced and planted in a perfect spot near my patio. It was a special garden. One I dreamed of creating when I moved here.

But as I have written, I had to take it all out. Just as it was starting to grow, I had to move everything. Many of the plants were corms or seeds that were dormant and so small, I couldn’t find them to dig them up. So I lost many of the plants not to mention the money spent. And the ones I couldn’t dig up are now covered with landscape fabric and stone.

So far none have found any cracks to still grow and bloom, but maybe some will. The ones I was able to save were put in a holding area bordering the lawn and just in front of the woods. The management was happy to let me use the weedy, overgrown area to add native plants.

The soil was full of rocks as it was fill used to hold the embankment. So we dug it out and added compost. We surrounded the gardens with large rocks we dug out to mark them for us, the lawn service and neighbors.

Those plants that were smaller and a bit more delicate were put in this container for transplanting this spring, hopefully, if they have survived.

I plan to dig out more of the area so I can spread the plants further apart so they can have room to grow and spread. Like a little meadow at the edge of the woods. They get good sun here, and the water drains just fine.

I will have to wait until the plants come out of their dormancy to see which are still thriving, like this anise hyssop I spied starting to grow. This is a picture of it from last summer. Then I will create a plan, and add some more plants to the mix.

I did not have loads of time to move them so I have a cursory list of plants I moved. In the holding beds, I planted the following native plants: black-eyed susan, echinacea, coreopsis, Anna hydrangea, blue-eyed grass, tiarella, wood poppy, geranium, NJ Tea bush, red-twig dogwood, butterfly weed, swamp milkweed, monarda, Christmas fern, violet, maidenhair fern, and boneset. We shall see what else comes up as I planted a few other plants along the edge of the woods before I started these holding beds.

I am excited to create this little area of heaven, and to get more natives to grow instead of the weedy invasives. These Mayapples grow naturally inside the sunny edges of the woods.

I have seen many natives popping up here and there in the fields surrounding and bordering the woods. Goldenrod is prolific at the woods edge here. In the meadows and around the pond you can also see asters (pictured above). Also I spied some common milkweed, and boneset. I do miss so many of the native plants I had in my old garden. But I will settle for these for now. Cultivating them with love.

As the weather is still just warming, many plants and bulbs are delayed. Disappointing to be a third of the way through April with virtually no flowers. So I was surprised when my husband came home with these roses. He knew I needed a bit of a cheering up, and he loved the small blooms and the deep pink color. I love them too!

With this vase, I am linking in to the wonderful meme, In A Vase On Monday, at Rambling in the Garden.

All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma. The collages were created with a variety of apps 10 years ago that are no longer available. You can follow my progress with #the100dayproject in my Instagram and Facebook feed.

All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2022.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.