The brief
Construction had churned the ground around the cabin into bare, compacted soil. The owners wanted it to look as if the woods had simply grown back up to the porch, with nothing that needed mowing.
What we did
We loosened the compacted soil, brought in leaf compost and planted more than 2,000 plugs: native ferns, wild ginger, woodland phlox, sedges and spring ephemerals, in drifts that thin out into the existing trees.
A path of local fieldstone and pine needle mulch links the drive, cabin and creek. A small rain garden at the bottom of the slope catches roof runoff before it reaches the water.
A year on
Coverage was close to complete by the first autumn. Upkeep is one spring visit to cut back and pull invasives.