Woodland Backyard Garden Walk

We built our house on seven-tenths of a wooded acre of loblolly pines in Moore County. We were fortunate that the bulldozer missed a couple of native persimmons and mockernut hickory trees. We designed paths through the trees to make the lot seem even larger. At our lot line, we planted wax myrtles and a variety of hollies for privacy screening and for the birds. We placed a couple of chairs in an open area surrounded by our plantings so we could watch the birds as they go about their daily lives.

Some of the plants we put along the walk are Ilex vomitoria ‘Pendula’, Morella cerifera, Ilex opaca ’Greenleaf’, Ilex cornuta ‘Needlepoint’’, Viburnum rufidulum, Ilex x attenuata ‘Fosteri’, Ilex decidua ‘Warren’s Red’, Osmanthus x fortunei, Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’, Pyracantha coccinea, and Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy,’ as well as Aromatic Sumac 'Gro Low' (Rhus aromatica), Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and Persimmons (Diospyros) along a side-house pathway. The Chrysanthemums act like a dense groundcover, are less than 1 foot tall, are semi-evergreen, attract pollinators, and have flowers that are varied in color.