The Monday May 15 Garden Class crew rescued Aster cordifolius (yes, it has a new name now) and added wood chips to the newly discovered large stone pavers. The back story is that one paver was discovered at the May 8 class when we attempted to plant a Swamp Azalea (Azalea viscosum). We attempted to move the large flat rock that was right where we hoped to plant the shrub. It proved to be too heavy, so we postponed the project. On Sunday May 14 I recruited my son and his friend to "plant one shrub and move one rock" as a Mother's Day present. We actually found six large stepping stones and decided to keep them in situ.
Here you can see the line of pots filled with the native Asters. To the left there are many remaining Asters to be the groundcover surrounding the Silky Dogwood, Fothergilla major, Witchazel, and Swamp Azalea. The crew also smothered an annoyingly large patch of Garlic Mustard and we (carefully) removed a young poison ivy vine that hitched a ride with a newly planted fern. All the new plantings were given a hand watering during the class, and I returned after lunch to additionally water the annuals (Alyssum, pansies and nasturtiums) planted last week. What an amazingly satisfying class! There is a dramatic improvement in the aesthetics of that Woodland Garden area with the discovery of these hidden stepping stones!