WOODLAND gardens can be really beautiful at this time of the year. This is an effect you can create in your own garden.

What do we mean by a woodland garden? Well, essentially you are trying to mimic the kind of conditions you would find in a natural woodland. So, there is likely be some shade at times; not darkness but varying degrees of semi or partial shade.

Woodlands are usually made up of layers. So, there will be an upper layer of trees, a middle layer of shrubs and a woodland floor where suitable annual and perennial flowers can flourish. Layers of soft green foliage created by using a mix of evergreen and deciduous plants can give all-year-round pleasure.

Woodland soils can be particularly rich and organic with leaves left to decompose and all kinds of debris and twigs in varying stages of decay. This becomes a rich habitat for a whole range of beetles and insects and also small mammals. Birds flourish better too, where we have trees growing in our gardens.

Primroses in our own garden perform particularly well in these conditions as do snowdrops and the taller snow flakes (leucojums) which also appear to like a fairly damp soil too. Cyclamen can also look really beautiful in these areas with small daffodils and blue grape hyacinths. These plants disappear during the winter months and so you need to remember what you have planted in borders. When they first emerge in spring this brings real pleasure and optimism for the season ahead.

We do need to manage these areas though. Some plants can try to take over and need to be controlled. You can also “lift the skirt” of many shrubs by carefully removing some of their lower branches thereby creating new planting areas. Create areas of contrast with attractive tree bark that sets off other plantings. Some grasses will work well here too. Removing lower branches in this way opens up views through the garden and avoids the garden looking messy. Simple winding paths, perhaps made from gravel or even wood chippings, can encourage us to meander through these areas.

In our own garden, erythroniums or dog tooth violets as they are called perform really well in these areas. Hostas and ferns can look really good here, too. The tall spikes of foxgloves look stunning and carpets of bluebells can be really attractive.

Martin Pallett