The other large bed in the middle of the garden also has a couple of my favourite variegated hostas - Autumn Frost and Brother Stefan. These are both very young and will need at least 2 or 3 years to come into their own.

In the same bed, there is an Earth Angel that is now 3 years in my garden. The angel seems to enjoy the conditions.

Ther has been a bit of discussion in the forum about DreamWeaver and some have had difficulty growing it. There is a DW in the same middle bed that is 3 years in my garden.

I'd like to walk through your shade garden. Lovely.

Lastly, a view of the north end part of the garden. These beds were laid out in 2010 but were planted slowly over the years since. Much was planted this spring and last.

How beautiful! I LOVE the stone work. can you please come help me with mine?

Dougald, that is a beautifully peaceful garden in the woods and a hosta-manic's haven! I'd sleep out there!

You mentioned you were considering some companion plants...have you ever grown epimedium? Here's a sample..mingled with ostrich fern astilbe, rodgersia and out of range, my Golden Scepter hosta.

You have created a magical space.

When I posted, I had only seen 3 photos - now that I've seen the rest I have to add . . . . . and mimic Jon . . . . .

Perfect.

Wonderful!

Beautiful! The pathways are the icing on the cake. Looks like such a peaceful and soul-restoring place.

Hi Dougald,

Your woodland garden is lovely. I like your flagstone pathway too. That must have been a lot of hard work.

Have you tried to grow toad lilies/ Tricyrtis? I've tried to grow them in my LITTLE, what I call my woodland garden, but the rabbits liked them too much. I've been more successful growing them closer to the house and hidden by other foliage. This one, Moonshine, is smaller than most and is hidden by Bergenia and Pulmonaria leaves. This picture was taken late September. The leaves are yellow earlier in the season.

Thank you for the nice comments.

Flagstone walks are easily constructed (from a skills point of view) but a strong back is needed to move literally tons of stone dust and then tons of slate. My walks were built over several years from quarried green slate (from both NFLD and Quebec) set on an 8 inch bed of stone dust laid down on compacted undisturbed ground. Generally I built walks before laying out beds for plantings which means the garden needed some overall plan in advance.

I have never grown epimedium though I will look into it. Seems an interesting shade plant from the orient with nice foliage.

Toad lilies are something else I have not grown. They are considered a fall plant as their small blooms come late in the season. For that reason I have not looked at them seriously as they would bloom after the hostas have passed their peak. But they are interesting and I will maybe give them a try.

The Ottawa Valley is bit off the beaten track. However, if any forum members are headed to Ottawa over the summer and would like to spend an hour or two looking at hostas, I would be happy to have you visit. You can easily contact me through email.

Beautiful. Tuck in a few benches for sitting to admire all your hard work and you have a mini-botanical garden going on there. Agree with both choices of filler: Epimedium (spring blooming) and Toad Lilies (late summer/early autumn blooming) would be great additions. Another unusual you might want to check out which doesn't mind a bit of shade is Turtlehead (early autumn blooming). Keep up the good work!

Love your garden--what a delicious walk!

Have you considered adding some purple/dark burgundy red leaf plants (like some heucheras) in some places--for more color contrast? I think it would look cool.

Kate

Gorgeous!

I remember your lovely garden!
Thanks for sharing new pics.
Uh oh, now I have a serious case of flagstone path envy...and I'm trying to figure out how to implement a similar one in my garden. Can you hear the hamster cage wheel turning in my head?
;-)

Beautiful gardens!

How wonderful! Thanks for showing us a piece of your world.

PIM

Wish a trip to Ottawa was in my summer plans. I would definitely detour to see your lovely garden. But alas we are just going to spend a week in a cottage near St. Thomas. But thanks for the invitation!

Very nice, indeed, Doug. The path just begs for a stroll.

tj

What a lovey woodland garden you have! Thanks so much for sharing. The stone paths are so awesome!

Some of the companion plants I would recommend have already been recommended above.

I have lots of toad lilies (Tricyrtis) with my hostas. There is a lot of variation available. Also, Epimediums are great, but keep in mind they bloom early in the spring (at least for me), then you can enjoy the dainty foliage the rest of the season. I also have lots of Heuchera, Heucherella, Tiarella, ferns, some sedums, Persicaria virginiana 'Painter's Palette' is really pretty and spreads about nicely (some might think it's a bit weedy, but I love it), Astilbe, Pulmonaria (lungwort), etc. There are so many nice shade garden plants available. I almost forgot the hellebores - they are great for the shade, too. Back to the toad lilies - they are awesome and bloom into the fall, but the flowers aren't really huge so plant them in places where you'll be able to view them up close to appreciate them best.

Thanks again for sharing your beautiful garden with us!

Thank you all for both the nice comments and the suggestions for complementary plantings. While I do have many of those listed (though not enough quantity) there are some new ones that I will definitely try.

A number of you commented on the flagstone walks. They are in fact very easy to build. My approach is to start with compacted untouched ground and add about 8 inches of stone dust in an 8 inch plywood form. It is next lightly compacted. Then I lay the flags one by one getting them close together with as even a margin as possible - this requires an artistic eye something I lack at times. Lastly I add stone dust to fill the seams and as I do I level each flag if it needs it due to varying thicknesses of the quarried slate.

Now the walkways sit significantly higher than the ground around them. I just simply add topsoil to bring the beds to the desired level - I am fortunate to be on well drained ground.

I would guess a days work (that's about 4 hours for me!) would produce 5 metres (16 feet) of metre wide walkway. It is fairly hard work but basicly unskilled. For some idea on quantities I have used 9 tons of quarried slate and about 12 tons of stone dust or crusher fines to make about 50 metres (160 feet) of metre wide walkways. It is all moved by hand so can be hard work though I have spread it out over a few years.

Wow, Dougald your labour of love has turned out beautifully. Thanks for sharing these pics of such an inspiring garden. I remember our old forum friend Papou who may have lived not far from you, and who similarly fascinated us with magnificent photos of his handiwork. Please give us more glimpses of your work whenever you have the chance.

Steve

Beautiful garden! I love to see pictures of shade gardens.

Persicaria virginiana 'Painter's Palette'

It is all quite an undertaking which has outstanding results! I'd never want to leave it.

I'm quite curious about a feature of the photo identified as the north end of the garden. There is a horizontal Roman arch which has a stone floor and raised sides looks maybe 4 feet wide and the far end is an arch (but horizontal). Are you going to use that in a particular way and thus created this area in advance? What I see you adding there is a tall heavy stone pedestal with a huge urn on top, or a statue. Does your garden have a name yet? And the statue would be related to the name? .......?? I love naming things!

And, in one of your photos I'm noticing some suspended bridges like the old railroad bridges or lacy iron work for the upper portion of narrow old bridges. Did you add a couple of such bridges along your path? They do not look tall enough for people to walk upon, but like models. Do you perhaps have some model trains that you run on real rails across these bridges? Just curious. My imagination is going nuts.

moc ... you are observant! Yes, I do have a garden railroad that runs around the perimeter of the shade garden with some extensive trackage beyond the garden. Some of the benchwork for the tracks are visible in the pic of the north end. I enjoy the trains but I also enjoy the garden and try hard to integrate them to a point but I do keep the tracks from invading my garden space for the most part.

At the north end, that arch you referred to is I think a stub ended flagstone walk to give better access to that part of the garden. The arch itself is made from split'nstack stones needed because the garden slopes up at that point.

I have been a student of Chinese Classical gardens for many many years and adopted many of the principles used in those gardens for the design of this one. Chinese garden design does not follow our usual lines of thinking and can feel very foreign to occidental thoughts. Even if a gardener does not use their approach, examining oriental (both Japanese and Chinese) thinking gives another source of inspiration in our planning.

Oh yes, the garden name ... The Garden of the Magic Carpet Made of Steel ... a takeoff in a sense of the famous Chinese garden ... The Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets.

Doug, I truly enjoyed your garden photos and learning about your method...also the Chinese philosophy. It is staggering the amount of interesting people that we have here on the Gardenweb. Thank you!

Since people are making plant suggestions, I will also offer one that grows in Northern Wisconsin and loves acidic soil...since you mentioned spruce, I think your soil just might lean acidic? It is cornus canadensis, a dogwood groundcover...I think you might already know it well, being in Canada?

Here is a link that might be useful: bunchberry: cornus canadensis

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The Garden of the Master of Fishing Nets

Here is a link that might be useful: The Garden of the Master of Fishing Nets

Thank you Jon for the pic of the famous garden ... I should have said I used a takeoff of the name as the actual garden design is inimitable.

The structure of a Chinese garden is based on enclosure, walkways, forced perspective, and natural elements especially stone (plus a lot of other things). These are all outstanding in the Garden of teh Master of the Fishing Nets - even though it was originally designed more than a 1000 years ago. There is so much to learn from garden design in all cultures!

I will look into the dogwood species - I have some small dogwood shrubs but like most shrubs, over time they grow out of scale or become too woody losing the charm of their foliage. But a dogwood groundcover does sound interesting. Yes my soil is very acidic :)

What a fascinating history. This shows the way the garden is laid out in a painted map photographed and on Wiki.

Thanks for the link, Jon. It led me a merry chase through Wikipedia and Amazon books and all sorts of places. THREE THOUSAND years old! Chinese garden design has been around for a long time.

I find Asian gardens and architecture so compelling. I couldn't resist looking the garden up to see what it looked like.

Many Americans are familiar with Japanese gardens - there are many fine examples in botanical gardens all over the USA. Chinese classical gardens are quite different and quite rare outside the Orient.

Canada has had a century long history of friendshsip with China. The result has been Chinese involvement in the design and construction of the Sun-Yat Sen Classical Garden in Vancouver. Montreal is twinned with Harbin China - the Chinese celebrated that with their assistance in building the Chinese Classical Garden in Montreal's Les Jardins Botanniques.

Along those lines, there is a Japanese garden on the grounds of Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile AL. Of course it does not have the range of conifers you'd find in a northerly climate. It is lovely to tour. However, with the masses of people on the paths it is hard to find the tranquility one needs to experience such a garden appropriately.

I started reading the basic principles of the Chinese garden. It is basically a walled space, especially the personal gardens which are small like mine. It exemplifies the union of water, stone, plants, architecture and communion with nature. It does not reveal itself all at once. I have essentially a walled garden. All that remains to complete the walling-in will be done later this summer (maybe after the 4th) with a 40 foot long lattice screen 10 foot high, and then I have my own Garden of the White Dove.....which is the name I gave to my white stucco cottage.

I have been lucky enough to see the garden at the Forbidden City in Beijing which was quite different from a typical Chinese garden. I went to the Emperors Palace in Tokyo, once again not so typical. In San Francisco there is a beautiful Japanese Garden. There is a (of all places) a beautiful Japanese Garden at a posh hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. The temples and gardens of Bali are enchanting. Korea has one that has a large pond filled with koi that is nice. I don't remember seeing any in Taiwan, but I spent most of my time in industrial cities there. The Master of the Fishing Net Garden is in Sozhou in Southern China where I never had the chance to go.

I'm sure I missed a lot, but I do like oriental architecture and landscaping. If I had a lot of money, I would have a big teahouse on a hill with a big Japanese garden.

Jon

For those who may have more than a passing interest in Oriental garden design, I highly recommend the book The Garden Art of China by Chen Lifang and Yu Sianglin.

It is one of a very few English language books that sets out Chinesse garden design principles. It is not an easy read both because the concepts are totally foreign and because the translation is a bit awkward but it is very rewarding if you can stay with it.

Chinese classical gardens are not like any other gardens on earth - they have a long history and over time the principles have become quite refined. For occidentals like myself, it is from another world:)

Dougald, I just ordered a copy from a used book dealer (through Amazon). The copy is out of print now, published by the Timber Press back in 1986 I think. Getting a 1st edition hardcover. Illustrated.

I'm a fan of good gardening books. It will be interesting to read this and pick up on the principles of Chinese garden design. In my mind, it will be very appropriate to have fragrant hosta in a garden with some Chinese design elements. I hope in the book they mention the use of hosta in the ancient times. Wouldn't that be exciting!

Thanks for recommending the best book on the subject. Most authoritative. I look forward to its arrival. (I am a book nerd.)

moc ... Let us know how you enjoyed the book ... Doug

Now, this is why I peruse forums of plants I have no chance of growing (I'm in full-fledged deer country and you know planting Hosta is just putting out a salad buffet for Bambi). Great garden Dougald! I have a cousin in Ottawa, so I just might take up your offer at some point to really stroll through your little piece of shady paradise...

Dougald, I love your garden. Thank you for sharing.

Dougald, a couple of days ago now, my copy of THE GARDEN ART OF CHINA arrived. Paper copy, hardcover. Dust jacket lovely in color.

Thank you for recommending it. I began reading it, and don't mind coming indoors to relax with it after a hot morning in the garden. I'm not in a hurry to read it....and don't think I'll progress logically from page 1 through to the end. It invites dipping into it at random according to my interests, but so far, the first few chapters require reading to understand the concepts. It also shows illustrations, drawings and some older b&w photos. I'll have to look up the gardens mentioned to find additional photos of current era conditions.

Here is a picture of the cover. Great book about garden design and garden architecture, and the garden AS ART. as well as life.

bump for Dougald.
Thank you for introducing me to this book, Dougald. There is no email address on your GWeb profile page, so I hope you see this add-on to the thread.

I'm in process of reading the book. It is not one you read quickly, so I read a chapter and think about it.

The addition of rocks and mountains is something I'll have to think about for a long time. It is the way they also incorporate water into the garden. Since things are always symbolic of other things, I trust it will be in line with the Chinese style to find a suitable work-around in my garden. It won't be classical, but it will be as close a substitute as my location (and budget and capabilities) allow. I'm at that chapter about Chinese landscape art--paintings or scrolls, not actually in the garden--and that is where I'm lingering for a while. It must look natural even though contrived. What for me to do!

I get the ideas of "borrowing views" and creating long views, multiple changing vantage points with openings in the shrubs and trees, always framing a lovely prospect. Some architecture....provided by my Teahouse wall, the new latticed screen going in to break up the western sunlight and block the glare of two noxious street lights uninvited to the scene. Of course there are no large expanses of land here. Mine would be no imperial site since it forms a personal and private garden on a city lot. By Friday afternoon, the tall latticed 40 foot wide screen will be installed, and I can proceed to prettying up the last section of my walled garden. I am adding no gates....that is mentioned in this book too...but instead I am locating objects or features which will be framed in the two gateways and serve to invite one into the garden.

Of the two views through the openings in the latticed screen, one is of a crape myrtle (now in bloom) beside a pole with a bluebird nestbox on it. I will be able to see the comings and goings of the bluebirds building their nests and feeding their young, from the low deck off our bedroom. The other opening serves to reveal the darker territory beneath a sasanqua (camellia) where I recently located a white (plastic) tiered fountain. This fountain will not have water but will have ferns and tall spraying liriope planted, with pots of small hosta nestled in their midst. A Limelight hydrangea will provide more greenish white flower balls in that vicinity as well. This ungated opening near the door to the Teahouse is also visible from the deck off the back of our house, be it from the spot off our bedroom, or the area behind my kitchen. The entire back of our house--when the remodel is done--will be a wall of glass. It gives me an uncompromised view of the garden through the latticed screen....and privacy from all outside eyes. Except maybe for the small aircraft which pass overhead.

So thank you Dougald. I hope you see this. The book is delightful.

bump for Dougald ???
(are you there?)

He's probably outside. I would be. ; )

Don B.

Oh how beautiful! My next big project is to flagstone my entire front yard. its not that big but it is completely encompassed by a giant 5 story pine tree. You're pictures give me inspiration. Thank you for sharing.

I just came in and saw the post.

Am glad mocc, that you are enjoying the book. I have read through many times and have also had the advantage of visiting Chinese classical gardens at the Met Museum, in Vancouver and in Montreal. In particular, the Sun-Yat Sen Garden in Vancouver was a quiet retreat for me on many many occasions while I was in the city on business and also gave me a chance to meet many chinese immigrants who knew and understood the gardening principles.

In laying out my garden I concentrated less on the techniques like building rockeries and setting out ponds and focussed mostly on the principles for artistry (see p 39 onward) and then the principles of garden layout (p 49 onward). Most of the principles outlined are quintessentially oriental and in their depth are extremely difficult to grasp and apply in specific circumstances.

An old chinese gardener once told me - that it is not necessary to import expensive rocks from China. Local rocks will suffice and in fact are better. It is their principled use that counts in making an artistic impression. And he went on to include many other elements. The principle of enclosure counts - building a bamboo wall whitewashed with a tile capping does not.

But I feel rewarded when something clicks and the desired goal is achieved.

I hope you continue to enjoy reading and that from the knowledge you gain, you can grow your already extensive gardening experiences.

Cokomo - I actually reached a point where I enjoyed building the flagstone walks and I wish you every success in building yours.

To all who have offered their kind words, my thanks ... it has been a number of years in the making but patience and perseverance have generated their dividends.

Perhaps I can find a Chinese gardener in Mobile. We have VietNamese for sure, and a friend of mine is Buddhist and there is a Buddhist establishment on the outskirts here. I'll ask him to introduce me to a gardening advisor.

I am into mindfulness to a certain degree. Not formal Feng Shui.I wish to find some plants that are specific to a Chinese garden. I already have two or three tea trees--the camellia sienensis--pomegranates, ornamental gingers, two very old camellia sasanquas which are prolific seedling producers. These all sustain the structure of the garden.

The book requires study, not a simple straight-through read.
It is on my desk right now. Glad I bought it.

Wow - so nicely done. I especially love that first picture, and your flagstone paths are awesome.