The May apple, a native of much of the country, is actually too large for most small wild gardens, but find a place for it if possible. In spring it is fascinating to watch the stumpy stems push up through the ground and the foliage slowly unfold to wide flat leaves. Then come gold-centered white flowers and finally the “apple” in chartreuse and nearly two inches long. (It is edible only when fully ripe.)
CARE. Rich woodsy soil. Shade, or partial shade.
PROPAGATION. Root division.
SPECIAL USES. Wild-garden planting.
(Additional plant listings suitable for woodland gardens can be found in Chapter 15.)
CHAPTER 14
MINIATURE TREES AND SHRUBS
There’s a chamaecyparis that forms a fluffy, green two-inch ball by the time it’s seven years old; a cone-shaped Norway spruce that rarely grows more than twelve inches tall; a one-foot rhododendron with deep-crimson trumpet flowers; a nonfruiting viburnum that makes a two-foot globe tightly packed with ivy-like leaves. There are junipers that form plush carpets; ericaceous evergreens with neat mounds of twinkling flowers over shiny teardrop leaves; deciduous shrubs with golden blooms, seeds in silky pea pods, and green stems that look leafy the year round.
That is just a tantalizing hint of the fantastic variety of little trees and shrubs, and how they can steal the show in the garden. We have three magnificent pines on Pine Tree Road (it may have been named for them) but our guests are more likely to comment about the starry cushions of Leiophyllum buxifolium beside the front walk. We dug and lugged tons of rock to make beds for our favorite roses, but the small edging plants draw more attention. When the rock garden is a mass of flamboyant spring color, we’ll be asked the name of a heather that’s not even in flower, or the juniper (Juniperus procumbens nana) two inches high that spreads like velvet over a rock.