UNDERGROWTH PLANTING IN WOODED AREAS 195 



maidenhair fern. Among the valuable asters are several which 

 bloom profusely during the late summer and autumn months when 

 other woodland flowers are scarce. The old-fashioned dead nettle, 

 which does not sting, and its variegated leaved variety, provide 

 flowers from May to September, when colonized in moist shade, 

 and the goldenrods also, such as the blue-stemmed and the variety 

 called speciosa, enliven the woods from August to October. Among 

 the plants which will be found valuable for forming mats of ground 

 cover and some of which are evergreen in character are the money- 

 wort, English ivy, running strawberry-bush, spotted wintergreen, and 

 the dwarf cornus or bunchberry. 



As a rule these plants succeed best when planted in small colonies 

 and when used to face down clumps of shrubs which may in turn be 

 used against an evergreen background. Thus, plantings may be 

 grouped so as to provide interesting combinations along the sides of 

 paths and at ends of vistas. If the natural mulch layer has disappeared 

 an effort should be made to reproduce it as soon as possible after 

 planting and care should be taken to see that forest fires do not burn 

 off the autumn leaves which nature provides for a winter cover. When 

 leaves drift in so thickly as to threaten to smother the smaller plants 

 a portion of these leaves may be removed; but as a general rule it is not 

 wise to do too much cleaning up unless the desirable plants are in 

 danger of being overwhelmed by the mulch or by larger native plants. 

 One of the most common faults in woodland landscape developments 

 is the attempt to "clean up" existing undergrowth rather than to 

 study its interesting possibilities in combination with many types of 

 plants valuable for foliage, flowers, and fruit. 



All these types of plants are adapted for use in woodland wild 

 garden areas, and without exception they will in time naturalize them- 

 selves. In developing plantings of this type it is much better practice 

 to lay the foundation during the first season by planting sparsely over 

 the entire planting area. During the succeeding season many plants 

 can be added to supplement the planting which is in place and to re- 

 place those which have died in the process of establishing themselves. 

 The best results are obtained by so laying out the planting develop- 

 ment that a period of at least three years is required in which to put all 

 of the material into its permanent location. The development of mass 

 plantations under heavily shaded conditions is quite a different prob- 

 lem from the development of mass plantations on open and refined 



