The Fleeting Moments of a Woodland Garden

We’re currently most inspired by woodland gardens, and working on plans that will bring some of what we love about forests to our small suburban backyard. One of the books I’ve been really enjoying lately is Rick Darke’s The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. Darke is downright poetic both in how he writes, thinks and photographs. More later on the book itself and what we’re planting and where, but for now,? this:

“To the uninitiated, the woodland garden might seem a place of darkness, but in truth, it can be among the most radiant landscapes on earth. One magical aspect of deciduous woodland plants is that their thin foliage is translucent, particularly in spring and fall, and capable of all manner of incandescent effects.

“Many of the most beautifully lit moments in the woodland garden are indeed fleeting, and to welcome this is essential to understanding the nature of the garden’s beauty. It is neither fixed nor static but rather dynamic and flowing, built upon the constant flux and innumerable luminous phenomena that characterize the woods.”

-Rick Darke in The American Woodland Garden