looking for inspiration

[nightshade]

okay so here is the thing, I am in zone 5 in NEPA and here is my problem. Where our new homestead ( the house portion) is going is a recently clear cut timbered 2 acres or so. I want to make the yard and area surrounding my chicken coop fit in with the rest of the property which is still for the most part wood land. I am having a very hard time designing and laying out planting arrangements that seem to coincide with the wooded area but still bring color and scent to the area. I have already purchased 2 crab apples and am getting 15 Shadblow Serviceberry trees from the local ag/ conservation office next month but I have no idea what to do around them. And I am looking to do more then just hostas here lol, but I have no idea how to do it. If you have pics of your woodland gardens or info on web pages where I can find so pics to get ideas from that you can share that would be great!

 

[vfem]

I'm thinking maybe some flowering shrubs creating circles to line with flowers and such?! Add more ferns and stuff as you get closer to the edge of the property. They can be random in size and area according to the way the wooded lots is around you!?

 

[patandchickens]

You might want to locate your serviceberries (and maybe other shrubs and small trees) along the edges of the woods, to try to sort of mimic the lower edge forest that would grow up naturally in that sort of edge-of-mature-forest situation. If you do it in broad curves or blobs rather than an even-width margin, it will look more natural and you can use it to work in harmony with your house/yard/coop and accentuate any particularly nicer views of the woods. That will also provide a natural transition zone between the open yard (etc) and the full tall forest.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat