The Shaded Bank

What we did

12

native species

442

plants

1

planting area

July 10, 2026

installed

442 plants installed across the 400 sq ft wooded hillside on July 10, 2026. The matrix layer is a tapestry of three sedges: Broadleaf Sedge and Plantain-leaved Sedge planted in drifts, with Pennsylvania Sedge scattered around between them. Most species planted in groups of five throughout the site. Four Alternate-leaved Dogwoods provide the upper screening structure, with Flowering Raspberry at a lower level and Bush Honeysuckle as ground cover. Bunchberry, Wintergreen, Christmas Fern, Wild Columbine, Wild Blue Phlox, and Zig-Zag Goldenrod woven through the sedge tapestry for seasonal interest. Balsam Poplar suckers are present, coming from existing roots in the slope.

Planting areas: Wooded Hillside

Why this way

This zone is about slope stabilisation first, aesthetics second.

A 400 square foot slope rises from the garden's edge into the surrounding forest. Unlike the flat garden area, the hillside sits on natural Haliburton soil: thin, rocky, acidic Canadian Shield material that has never been disturbed by construction. The goals are stabilising the slope with deep-rooting ground cover, and creating a woodland community that bridges the garden and the forest.

The species are adapted to acidic Shield soil, so the ground was not amended and no lime was added. Nothing was mulched — the planting went directly into existing conditions.

This is Phase 1 of a larger garden. The remaining areas — the open meadow, the shaded lower end and the woodland edge bank — follow in later phases.