Woodland Garden

Hear Leah talk about Douglas Tallamy’s book Nature’s Best Hope and the importance of ecological gardening on this episode of the Horticulturati podcast:

The woodland garden is a habitat for wildlife. To invite wildlife into your garden, you will need these ingredients:

• Food: Fruits, seeds, and berries for birds and small mammals and larval host plants for caterpillars. Note: larval host plants do double-duty for wildlife, as a direct food source for butterfly/moth caterpillars, and an indirect food source for birds who eat caterpillars. Caterpillars are the best food source for nesting songbirds, as many baby birds can’t digest seeds or the hard exoskeletons of other insects.

• Water: Even if you don’t have a pond or a fountain, fill a bird bath or even just bowls of water. Everybody needs water.

• Cover, shelter, and places to raise young: Trees, shrubs, brush piles, and leaf litter all provide animals with protection from weather and predators and make reproduction possible.

• Eco-friendly gardening practices: Don’t poison the ecosystem. Avoid pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Build healthy soil by adding mulch and compost and letting leaves decompose on the ground.

If you have limited space, plant native trees and shrubs that perform multiple functions! The following powerhouse species in the Woodland Garden provide food for caterpillars, birds, and mammals, along with shelter:

• Ash, green (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

• Ash, Wafer (Ptelea trifoliolata)

• Carolina buckthorn (Frangula caroliniana)

• Cherry laurel (Prunus caroliniana)

• Elbow bush (Forestiera pubescens)

• Hackberry (Celtis laevigata)

• Gum bumelia (Sideroxylon lanuginosum)

• Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa)

• Oak, live (Quercus fusiformis)

• Soapberry, Western (Sapindus saponaria)

• Plum, Mexican (Prunus mexicana)

• Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria)

A miniature woodland

Before the demolition of the house, this steep and deeply shaded backyard was filled with invasive, non-native English ivy, Asian jasmine, and Photinia. We removed these plants, installed a screen of Alphonse Karr bamboo (a clumping, non-invasive variety), and planted wildflower seeds and planted several native trees and shrubs, such as toothache tree, elbow bush, and Carolina buckthorn. Many native species of plants volunteered, including yellow passion vine, American germander, Drummond aster, yaupons, and oaks.    

After the ice storm of 2023, two mature red oaks toppled, eliminating much of the shade on the west side. Both are regrowing from the roots. While currently in bushy form, these oaks provide some much-needed shade, along with food and cover for wildlife. 

Before and after photos

Interested in garden design for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife? Visit the Contact Page to get in touch!