Creating a new space and garden

Consolidating to a smaller house is an "interesting" process. 

We're going to good space.

We've enjoyed it as a weekend and summer home, so we've gradually been changing things to suit it better to be our new space as home.  (It was built by an architect as his own eco-friendly house, so it was full of somewhat unusual personal choices). 

We've changed some things to suit us better over the years, but the blending with the move will bring a more dramatic change, definitely pushing it even more towards a more rustic feel, adding a few favorite old pieces we've had for many years, switching around artwork around, and deciding what suits us best.

We have a view into a ravine forest (a major selling point), now mostly freed of invasive plants.

I posted about that view 2 years ago.  It's a lovely and ongoing project.

My gardening companion has added understory natives and shrubs to the ravine forest, with woodland wildflowers on the list.  The plantings under the eaves of the house are flourishing, with Celandine Poppy and Aquilegia canadensis now in flower.

Golden ragwort:  image from Wikipedia

The Golden Ragwort patches are in full flower, in the front of the house (as well as transplanted patches to the sides and below) -- it's beautiful.  It's a "thug," spreading happily, and will definitely need more editing this spring.

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A woodland garden

It was so nice to see the woodland border thriving, in spring guise, returning from the mountains to the Piedmont in the final stages of relocation.

This was a created woodland spot; it was shallow dry grass beneath a water oak when we bought this house.  And there was no pathway to the front of house, either. We put one in ourselves.

Crested Iris in flower

Now the space is full of Christmas ferns, crested iris, bloodroot, pussy-toes, and green and gold - it's a lovely small drought-tolerant woodland patch.

Lonicera sempervirens flowering on the fence nearby

The bloodroot is reseeding everywhere. Here's a "mama" plant with her babies -- remarkable, seen this afternoon.

A "mama" bloodroot and seedlings

Bloodroot seedlings

I'm delighted to see them flourishing.  They've been a favorite spring wildflower for many years.

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