Mt. Cuba’s Woods Path allows visitors to feel surrounded by nature, dwarfed by a canopy of tulip trees with woodland plants all around. Our new brochure highlights 24 native plants in the naturalistic gardens along this path. Read on to find out senior horticulturist, Sean Camilleri’s, top 10 Woods Path plants.
Black bugbane (Actaea racemosa)
Black bugbane has a large white flower borne upon a tall stem in mid-summer. This perennial can provide a vertical element in a shade garden, and its late emergence makes it a great companion for spring ephemerals.
Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Oakleaf hydrangea produces large white panicles of flowers that are very attractive to pollinators. This plant produces beautiful fall foliage colors that often last into winter, and the exfoliating bark and dried flowers provide captivating winter interest.
Orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
Orange jewelweed can be an aggressive plant under the right conditions. Although it is an annual, the plant self-seeds rapidly and often comes back year after year. Seed pods explode away from the plant when ripe at the slightest touch, lending another common name for this plant of touch-me-not.
Drooping leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana)
Drooping leucothoe has glossy leaves that reflect light, and small white flowers that are attractive to pollinators. It is a good plant for low evergreen screening.
Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
Tulip trees provide strong vertical structure in the garden, and their rapid growth allows them to cast shade even at a young age.
Alleghany pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens)
Alleghany pachysandra is a semi-evergreen groundcover that is well-suited in a shade garden. The flowers bloom early in the spring and are fragrant to attract pollinators. This native pachysandra is a good alternative to the invasive Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis).
Jacob’s-ladder (Polemonium reptans)
Jacob’s-ladder is a low growing perennial with terminal clusters of blue flowers. Their pinnately compound leaves add a nice texture among other spring blooming plants.
Florida flame azalea (Rhododendron austrinum)
Florida flame azalea is one of the earliest native deciduous azaleas to bloom with showy orange flowers. This species can grow quite tall compared to other native azaleas.
Rosebay rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
Rosebay rhododendron is an evergreen shrub that can become very large over a long period of time. Its habit and position as an understory shrub provides cover and shelter for a variety of wild animals.
Broad-leaf goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis)
Broad-leaf goldenrod is a fall blooming goldenrod that tolerates shade, allowing it to provide a bright pop of color when other woodland plants are beginning to go dormant.
Check out Mt. Cuba’s Woods Path brochure, featuring these plants and more! You can pick up a copy on your next visit to Mt. Cuba or download it for free here.