Crafting a Layered Landscape: How Trees‚ Shrubs‚ Ferns and Groundcover Work Together
To get a landscape that looks finished‚ you may need to develop a hierarchy․ To do this‚ consider the height‚ texture and season of interest․ Start with a small flowering tree․ For structure‚ I put in some kind of contrasting shrub․ Then I put in ferns in the shady areas‚ and low ground cover/soil cover like moss to blanket the area․ That’s my formula․ All these plants are well suited for growing in Tennessee Zones 6b-7b‚ and below I will outline the reasons each earned its place in this list․
Muskogee Crepe Myrtle: The Anchor Tree
Muskogee Crepe Myrtle is one of the best crepe myrtles for your Tennessee landscape․ It doesn’t mind the muggy summers of the South‚ nor will it sulk through the mild Tennessee winter․ It will normally make a small 20-30 ft․ tree with clusters of soft lavender-pink flowers from mid-June through September‚ at a time when most flowering trees have come to the end of their blooming cycle․
One of the most important things is to make sure it’s planted in a site where it gets full sun for six or more hours a day․ If you plant it in shade‚ you’ll have a tree full of leaves and very few blooms․ Well-drained soil is more important than fertility․ Crepe myrtles do not respond well to overly rich soil‚ instead developing weak‚ leggy growth․ Give it 3-4 years to reach a size that reads as a real focal point in the landscape‚ though you’ll get some bloom the first summer after planting․
The background should be dark: a fence‚ a stand of evergreens‚ a brick wall․ Do not plant it where the blossoms will vanish into the bright sky behind them․ Ignore the ““crepe murder”” winter fad of severe annual pruning․ Let the flowers set new growth․ Late winter light pruning (removing crossing branches as well as suckers from the ground) retains the shape of the natural vase and preserves long-term health․
Coral Red Dogwood: Winter’s Best-Kept Secret
Coral Red Dogwood also earns its keep in the off-season‚ its stems a bright coral-red once the leaves fall․ It is at its best in December or January‚ when the remainder of the garden is dormant․ A North American native plant hardy to Zone 3‚ it easily survives the winters in Tennessee․
This shrub requires constant watering and is much more tolerant to shade than most flowering shrubs․ It can be located on the north side of a house or the edge of a wooded lot where a crepe myrtle would be deprived of energy․ Use this shrub in groups of three to five․ Its stem color can be read much more boldly in mass than alone among other plants․
Prune back hard annually in late February or early March‚ cutting back one-third of the oldest stems to the ground each year․ The youngest stems have the brightest coral coloring‚ which explains the dull brown-red appearance of bushes left unpruned for several years․ This is a maintenance step people skip‚ and then wonder why their dogwood looks tired by year four․
Hay Scented Fern: Filling the Shade Gaps
Once you have some trees and a shrub layer‚ you’ve got ground underneath and it needs something other than bare mulch‚ and Hay Scented Fern is a good candidate․ It is a perennial fern species native to the region that spreads by rhizome and produces a dense knee-high mat․ As the name implies‚ the fronds have a faint smell of hay when broken or brushed against‚ particularly after rain․
It prefers partial to full shade and an acid‚ moisture-retentive soil․ These conditions are provided in the shade of most crepe myrtles and dogwoods once they are of a mature size․ It fills the area in two years․ Spread is moderate and faster in repeatedly damper soils and slower in dry shade․
It can be planted alongside hostas or astilbe to contrast the foliage shapes․ It also serves as an attractive understorey plant beneath shrubs․ If it is mulched with a 2 inch thick layer at planting time‚ then a well established fern can compete with weeds strongly enough that little or no further mulching is necessary․
Lawn Moss: The Groundwork Layer
Where grass won’t grow‚ such as deep shade‚ compacted soil and under a heavy tree canopy‚ Lawn Moss does what turfgrass can’t․ It doesn’t need mowing‚ fertilizing‚ or other maintenance and grows in acidic‚ poorly-drained soil where grass just won’t grow․ It stays green over the winter in Tennessee and is better suited for the summer humid conditions our climate produces‚ with fewer fungal problems than fescue in shaded‚ moist areas․
Lay it down on bare soil rather than seed it into your grass; moss does not compete well with grass roots in the first one or two years․ Keep it moist for the first six weeks․ After that‚ established moss can survive short dry periods better than is commonly realized; it will become dormant until rain comes and then turn green again․
Blue Flag Iris: Adding Structure and Color at the Wet Edges
Any wet area that stays wet after a rain (drainage swale‚ edge pond‚ rain garden) is a good candidate for Blue Flag Iris․ It is a native perennial that produces violet-blue flowers in spring or early summer above its linear sword leaves‚ which last even without flowers and provide an architectural vertical structure in an otherwise low mound of perennials․
It tolerates standing water‚ making it one of the few ornamental plants capable of improving a boggy site rather than rotting in it․ After the bloom stops‚ usually after 3-4 years‚ the clumps should be divided as the center becomes too crowded for future blooming․
Bringing It Together
None of these five need any of the others to thrive․ Crepe myrtle for summer height and bloom‚ dogwood for winter stem color‚ fern and moss to plant the shaded ground plane‚ iris to plant where running water seeps out to the edges of your yard‚ cover every season and every microclimate a typical Tennessee yard actually has․ TN Nursery sells all five‚ nursery-grown stock in healthy condition and of a size that you can put right in the ground‚ without waiting 2 or 3 years as with bare-root seedlings․ So‚ start with the tree and move outwards‚ one layer at a time‚ rather than tackle them all at once․ Then wait a full season before passing judgement on the adjustments․
