People often struggle with shaded, wet areas. While this can be a challenging environment, there are many native plants that thrive in these conditions. In the first picture at right, you can see the grass struggling to survive. It was too wet, and not getting enough light for turf grass. We decided to take advantage of the wonderful trees growing along the west border of the property by installing a path. It gives the feeling of strolling through the woods, even though in reality it’s simply a wooded area, not a forest. Next we installed native plants that love these conditions. There actually are many plants that will do well in this environment, Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia, ferns and sedges, to name a few. In just two years this area went from a muddy patch to a beautiful planting.

As time has gone on, the area has continued to fill in with native plants. Prior to this planting, water would accumulate in this area every spring. Since the planting, there has no longer been any standing water. The last two pictures at right show the exploding growth of ferns, Starry Solomon’s Seal, Common Solomon’s Seal, Jacobs Ladder, Wild Ginger, Jack-in-the-Pulpit and Pennsylvania Sedge. It shows that the right plant can make all the difference in your garden.