North American woodland garden

During the winter of 2021/2022, we worked on this new garden section at the front of the Botanical Gardens. In the North American woodland garden, there are now only trees and shrubs. Bulbous plants, perennials and ferns will be planted from the end of 2022 onwards because the soil life has to develop first.

This garden focusses on species from the north-eastern part of North America: the area east of the river Mississippi and north of the states of Tennessee and North Carolina. This includes the woods from the southern Appalachians to the boreal forests of Canada. These forests offer many woody and non-woody plants that bloom beautifully, have stunning autumn colours and provide tasty fruit. Moreover, many of the species from that region were and are used by the indigenous communities, for example as food, as medicine, as building material, for making fibre and in all kinds of rituals.

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Interesting species which can already be found include Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis), Southern arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum), White Oak (Quercus alba), Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), White dogwood (Cornus florida) and Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). Species that will be planted later include Trout lily (Erythronium Americanum), Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) and Northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum).