Finishing the Backyard Woodland

Yesterday, I finished most of the final planting in the area that will become my backyard woodland.  I still have to decide where I will plant the native Florida flame azaleas (Rhododendron austrinum) that are still waiting in pots along the edge, but I'm in no hurry right now. The extra time spent in their containers will serve to further develop their root systems (all of my new native azaleas seem to have been rather recently repotted at the nursery) and it will give me the time I need to best assess where they will do best in this newly designed plant community.

Newly planted and mulched

Another View -West to East

Nearly everything that I have envisioned planting here has been acquired and planted. It takes time to go through the process of planning. I hope that every one of these plants will outlive me, so choosing the right species and putting them in the right place is critical and can't be done quickly. Over the years, I have made a great many mistakes in my zeal to plant things. I've purchased plants that aren't quite right for my site because I liked them and wanted to "find a place" somewhere in my landscape. I've also added species that have taken up space, but added nothing to my overall goals for the landscape. Too often, I find folks in the native plant movement get carried away by their zeal to re-landscape and start planting without regard to any real plan. Some get what I call the "Noah's Ark" syndrome where they want one (or two) of everything in their landscape. Such landscapes become an unruly mess over time and often the overcrowding causes many to decline. We cannot "save" them all within our personal landscapes, we have to pick and choose what's best for us. To do that, we have to have a plan based on realistic goals.
Perhaps because I've failed to do this so many times in the past, it has become easier to be patient. I have seen all of the species I've recently planted fail and succeed in other landscapes. I have found certain species that I love, fail repeatedly and so I given up, and I've decided against using a few, like our native mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and red anise (Illicium floridanum) because they simply aren't apt to add much additional value to what I've already planted. Putting the brakes on is sometimes difficult when you love a plant and desire to have it near you, but tough love during the planning process is absolutely vital.
I do not envision adding any new woody species to what I have just planted - except for the azaleas. I have extra specimens of some of these, and I will hold onto them in case something doesn't take and needs to be replaced. If not, I will part with them at one of my future plant sales. This woodland is deciduous for a reason and its situated on the north edge of my property line so that it won't significantly shade the rest of my plantings and my orchid collection. 
I have mulched the area with leaves - mostly laurel oak leaves I raked from a client's yard about a month ago. As I've written before, I prefer mulches that are natural and which decay easily. Laurel oak leaves are not as thick and leathery as live oak ones. As they decay, they will enrich the soil and feed the soil microbes that are so important to a healthy/productive soil environment.  They will keep the soil beneath a few degrees cooler and maintain a woodland moisture level as well. As in a natural woodland, however, the leaf litter should not be too thick. The mulch is not designed to prevent weeds to the detriment of creating soil and root problems beneath. My leaf mulch will retard the invasion of many of the weeds I might expect, but I will pull the ones that make it through.
Eventually, I will add an understory, but it can wait until the woody species have fully acclimated. I've got some native dwarf wild coffee (Psychotria nervosa) that I've been nurturing on pots now for nearly a year. I'll likely also add some violets and some partridgeberry (Mitchella repens). I've got some of those in pots now too.
I will continue to post on the progress of this woodland. It is my hope, that it will eventually encourage more birds to this landscape than I currently have.