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[SG] Introduction

Hi Sherryl and all,

Thanks for the welcome. Two years ago I took over 1 1/2 acres of very
overgrown land that hadn't been tended as a garden for close to 20 years. My
pruning saw has been my most valuable asset. It is thrilling to cut back
tickets of black knot-ridden pin cherries, clumps of poplar that have
suckered profusely, and old dead spruce and pine limbs to find all kinds of
perennials that have just barely held on. It is amazing how they have
responded to only one year of attention.

I am leaving any of the larger trees and the flowering shrubs that are
healthy and are not causing damage to those I find more desirable. With the
great diversity of plant material that is already growing, every type of
shade condition is represented somewhere on the property. My first love is a
woodland type of garden, so the potential here is limited only by my
imagination.

In March I mail ordered a selection of ferns, hosta, astilbe, etc. They
haven't come yet. While there are native ferns already growing here, I have
no experience with the other two plants. This spring I had good success
growing aquilegia and heuchera from seed under gro lights. Just getting them
planted out now. Am I too optimistic to expect them to bloom this year?

I am delighted to have found well established areas of violets (both blue
and white), lily of the valley, two kinds of bleeding heart, day lilies
(most are orange, a few are yellow), half a dozen kinds of ferns, and a few
native woodland wild flowers.

I have fallen in love with a saxifraga umbrosa from a local nursery, and
have also planted some rhododendrons, periwinkle, jacob's ladder, solomon's
seal, forget-me-nots, and geranium sanguineum, among others.

It's hard to be brief when discussing such a delightful topic as the
shadegarden of my dreams. This list should be most beneficial and enjoyable.
Please bear with me as I try to learn the proper names for my plants.


Susan Leard, zone 5
Prince Edward Island, Canada
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