Excellent advice above. What a delightful opportunity you have! One of our neighbors had a small woodland garden and it was stunning spring through fall, still nice in winter, as it had several broadleaved evergreens like rhododendrons, azaleas, inkberry holly, also hellebores, which hold their leaves well into winter, only look ragged in February, when the flowers are about to appear.

It always seems disconcerting to me when a group of trees are in an "island" (like your entire woods could be) but where the lawn is right on the edge of the island, or penetrating into the trees. It looks better if the trees are well into the island. The counterpart bad example using a real island surrounded by water is that the outer trees would be in the water instead of on shore, where the water represents the lawn.

But rather than an island of mulch, it would look better if it was an island of green, where the green was at some height higher than the turf ... 1' to 3' or thereabouts. Whatever groundcover would be used does not need to be planted more than the outer edge of the island and just a little into the trees ... say like a band about 10' width (depth). Of course, the groundcover would need to be something tough and dependable. Whatever you use, learn to start it from cuttings (roots or stems) so it doesn't cost a fortune. Mowing the lawn would keep it edged at the front and then allow it to grow farther back into the island as it wishes to do on its own. I would not place shrubs or small trees at the front of the "island" as it would just take away from the large trees. But as the island wraps around or connects to the sides of the yard, that may be a great place to plant such things if screening the side views would be useful to you.

Do not discard brush into the woods where it can stick up and be seen.

Get the grass into better shape with a nice, uniform complexion.

A couple of questions:

Generally where are you?(nearest big city) I would guess New England somewhere, based on the plants, but knowing more specifically will help.

What compass direction were you facing when you took your first photo?

I find this type of really abrupt shift from grass to full grown older native woodland really abrupt. I would create a nice clear edge to give the lawn a finished look, as Yardvaard suggested, but then would put in flowering shrubs and small trees as Kathy and AGSoM suggested, with an underpinning of critter-resistant groundcover and bulbs, to give you a medium height transition to the trees. I would use woody plants that naturally grow along the woodland edge such as dogwood, silverbell/Halesia, redbud/Cercis, Fothergilla, Chokeberry/Aronia,rhododendron (either evergreen or deciduous), holly/Ilex (either evergreen or deciduous), shadbush/serviceberry/Amalanchier, Mountain Laurel/Kalmia latifolia. You already have a bunch of white pines growing in the woods that will give you an evergreen backdrop as it grows, so I wouldn't add fir trees. In addition to daffodils, snowdrops are critter resistant. There are a lot of tidy groundcovers, so I will wait for more information before making suggestions.

Several factors will influence what will be best to plant and whether you can plant some under the edge of the trees or if you need to take a wider swath of the grassy area: location both generally and with regard to sun; deer; what trees are already there (you can post clear photos of twigs, bark, and the whole plant on the Name that Plant forum to get them IDed.) Some trees have shallow roots that are difficult to grow plants near, while other trees have deeper roots that share space better.

Are the woods actually your property?

[link:] A good groundcover for a wooded area ... not necessarily this exact type of fern, but one that grows where you are.

I should have asked this question 5 years ago, as everyone has given me great ideas. I'm located in St. Louis, MO. The first picture is facing North. The woods are my property....and there are lots and lots of deer. One interesting comment that stood out was from NHBabs, "I would create a nice clear edge to give the lawn a finished look, as Yardvaard suggested." Maybe that's the key. I need to separate the yard from the woods. I do like the ferns, but not sure if they would grow well in Missouri. It will hit 110 during summer. I started driving around looking at the back yards of many people, trying to get an idea....and I came upon this home....see picture 3:

Pic 3:

No, no, no (please) to the brightly colored rocks and masonry. I was unclear! You want something that will blend in such as a clean cut line (basically a deep V) or a single line of brick or patio block that will blend in as far as color and be sunk to level with the ground, but allow you to run the mower wheels on for ease of maintenance. It will give the lawn a clean edge or shape, not an in-your-face obvious edge. An inset mowing strip like I suggest is usually lined with a sunken edging to keep the grass from growing under it. Look at Yardvaark's long gentle sweep of a curve as opposed to the in-and-out wiggles of your photo, which don't have any visible logic.

I don't have any expertise in what will grow well in what will be relatively bright shade or even sun in your area (since the trees are to the north of where you will be planting) but a great resource to visit in your area would be the Missouri Botanical Garden. Visit several times over the year to see what appeals to you and how things do in different seasons: winter interest? flowers? healthy foliage?, etc. They have an online plant finder, but going there in person would be helpful to see actual plantings. Take photos, take notes, and then look up plants that appeal to you on their website and in other resources. If there aren't names, post photos (both of the whole plant and of closeups) on the Name that Plant forum.

Ditto NHBabs comment on the wiggliness of the stone edge ... it matches nothing in the picture so doesn't make sense. Instead of adding niceness, the wiggly line adds a messy quality to what could otherwise eventually look serene. What I do like about it is that the stone band is of a width that fits the scale. It looks like it might be 15-16" wide. Another thing I don't like about it is that it is mismatched stone. There are block and there are rounded beach rocks. That makes it like like it's make of leftovers from the bargain bin of stone. Another thing I don't like is that it is raised above grade ... just sitting on top of the ground. It would look better if inlaid into the ground like a small walkway that would accommodate the wheel of mower. It's new and it's going to get all kinds of weeds and grass growing in between the rocks. Probably the most practical way to weed it is with a periodic spray of herbicide.

I wasn't offering the picture of ferns to suggest that exact plant. It's just to say look how good a nice line of some perennial/groundcover looks. Nice and thick, no trimming of height to bother with. Just edging. But if you used something like that, it would eat up a nice stone strip, making a person wonder why they bothered to build it. The easy way to "edge" such a planting is with the riding mower, automatically, every time the grass is cut. It would be the easy way out. Consider also that you could develop a distinct separation between woods and lawn, create a good groundcover, and then, later, if you decided that alone wasn't enough, add a hardscape border for extra pizazz.

I'm in Florida (where it's also hot) and ferns are commonly found invading wooded areas. Many people bring them into their yards because they're free and found everywhere. They are tough as well as being invasive. The one's we have tolerate a good bit of sun and very dark shade. I'm sure some kind of fern grows just about anywhere it ever rains. But it's not the only plant type you could consider.

What about something like the following? It's been raining a lot, so lots of mud. But, place this kind of a stone in the ground just like the yellow line above?

...this would go from one end to the other. Then remove all the grass between the rock to the woods and fill in with plants, like a fern. Since I have neighbors on either side of me, I would assume I would curve the ends towards the woods, in lieu of just ending?

Thanks again for these great ideas.

I see some appeal in your neighbors yard. I drew on the photo to show a defined lawn edge without the above grade edging which I disapprove of and lacking the squiggly line.

If I lived there I think I would enjoy looking past the plants into the woods. I show some plantings with space in between so the woods floor is still visible. I like the look of the trail into the woods so I left it.

I would not plant anything in the woods. You don't know what might grow if you stir up the soil. I'd leave well enough alone.

This is one of the worst cut and pastes ever but it shows what I mean.

You would maintain this new border as any other. Weeding when needed and edging the lawn from time to time with a sharp square spade.

I think if you use a 6" or 8" stone mowing strip in that large space (it looks a fair distance from the house) that it will be lost, barely visible from the house.

For how to integrate the bed line into the rest of the yard -- the part we can't see -- you need to return to the exact location from which you took the first picture, and from there aim the camera right, and then left, snapping pictures that show the flanking space and slightly overlapping with the first picture you already took. If you don't return to the exact location and only pivot the camera, the new pictures will not coordinate with the original. If you can't find the spot, just take all new pictures from a single vantage point that is in line with the center of the scene.

You would not curve the bed line toward the woods.

Hi once again...

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. You mention 6-8" being too small. I will show you a picture to get an idea how far from the house. Are you thinking big? Like this size: http://www.hgtv.com/design/outdoor-design/landscaping-and-hardscaping/beds-and-mulch/landscape-edging-ideas-and-options

Here's a picture from my deck to the woods:

Another angle:

Here's the request: you need to return to the exact location from which you took the first picture...

From left to right: first picture is of my neighbor's yard

Just to keep adding more pictures, here's what the backyard looks like from my deck:

Thank you once again.

Tom

To my eye, a 6"-8" mowing strip would be just fine. I would want a clean edge to the lawn, but not one that stands out as a feature. It is backing up to a relatively natural area, so why pull attention away from the beauty of the woods or the clean shape of the lawn with a fat line? My goal for the mowing strip would be just to give the lawn a shape, unlike currently where the lawn just sort of bleeds irregularly into the edge of the trees. I also wouldn't restrict the plantings to lower shrubs, but I like stepping up plants from lawn to shrubs to trees, not as a solid wall, but with some low planting/groundcover, and then shrubs and small trees such as dogwoods and serviceberry both interspersed along the edge of the woods and just into the woods to give additional interest.

I don't have time now, but I'll look later this week to see if I can find some photos that illustrate what I am trying to explain.

Sorry, but I needed the photos added to your first picture. All the new ones are from way too close to the woods. I'm looking for a wide, distant view. The new photos would overlap with the original.

From your pictures it appears that the lawn and woods are continuous along the back of all of the houses in your development. Do you like this, or would you prefer to create some privacy or distinction in your own yard? It also seems that you enjoy your backyard mostly from the elevated deck and whatever rooms are on that level. In that case I think the view from there is important to share. Do you actually use (or even want to use) this backyard, or just develop its scenic potential? Do you consider the sweep of your neighbors' backyards a plus or minus? I'm not making a judgement myself, but it does influence how you landscape your own piece of what is now a commons. I do have a judgement about the stone border you admired. With all due respect, I think it is dreadful.

Here are a few photos. In all three, one can clearly see the shape of the edge of the lawn, but not what creates it. I like this look, and it can be created with a subtly colored/camouflaged stone or brick edge. (If the photos embedded in this thread are too small, follow the link below each to get to the photo set for each and you can click on the photo there to see a larger version.) The all look to be relatively newly created and so plants will get larger and fill in over time. You don't want to overplant and create a dense thicket. Having sight lines into the woods or a path to a shady seating area under the trees would be nice.

In this first one, I am not particularly fond of the abrupt in/out edges between the grass and wood, but it does have a variety of plantings of different heights, some of which are just outside the tree line and some within the trees. There are small flowering trees, some medium flowering shrubs, and low-growing groundcovers between.

Grand Rapids Exterior · More Info

http://www.houzz.com/projects/29439/grand-rapids-residence

In this second one, I would add plantings outside of the tree line, a combination of trees, shrubs and evergreen groundcover as I think that the transition from grass to established woods is too abrupt, but again here there is a clean edge, a combination of flowering shrubs and smaller trees set into the understory. This one, like the first photo) is taken in very early spring before the leaves fully fill out, so it is likely to look fuller/denser when there are more mature leaves.

Traditional Landscape · More Info

In this third photo, ignore the patio in foreground and look across at the far side of the lawn. Another clear edge and a combination of ornamental small trees and shrubs that transition to denser native woods beyond. The birches were probably already there, and they cleared around them and then added the shrubs. I prefer groundcovers to the bare mulch look - more attractive and easier maintenance.

Perched Lake and Mountain Views · More Info

Thanks for the great pictures. I do see what you mean about the edge. "subtly colored/camouflaged stone or brick edge..."...it sounds like I want the edge to blend in, rather than stand out. From an earlier request....Instead of 3 separate pictures, I just panned the whole back yard. My backyard is within the yellow lines. And Kaiasei, great questions. We have a walk-out basement. We walk out of our kitchen onto a screened in porch that overlooks the backyard. Now that the kids are grown, we don't use the backyard like we did (soccer, baseball, etc). It's mostly to look at the woods. So....view is important for scenic reasons. I would prefer some distinction to the backyard. For the last 5 years, I've been looking at it trying to figure out what to do. The sweep of my neighbor's yards is a minus, as they are not doing much with it. I've even thought of pine trees on each side of the yard. And as for the stone border, I haven't seen anything that's WOW...that's it! I do see how a line a few feet back from the woods will work (yellow line above). Not sure how the ends of the line would work. I stopped at nursery and they have lots of various ferns that could work. Just still looking. I want to do this right, so I'm open to try anything.

Thank you everyone..:)

Well, that is about the view I am looking for but, unfortunately, it does not work for me to have you create the panorama. It's too shrunken and distorted. I need to see normal focal lengths and more detail.

Given your desire to create more of a sanctuary distinct from the common sweep of neighbors, I would use a flexible hose or rope to lay out what will be your "bay" in the linear lawn. Not a total enclosure, I assume, but the arc of a circle that gives you enough depth to plant on the sides and leaves enough lawn and sun for you to enjoy from your deck. This will give you dimensions of both depth and height for you to work in your layers of understory to groundcovers. I would imagine a pair of trees or shrubs as anchors at the back two corners. By tall, I mean 15-30 feet, not towering conifers that will overtake the trees and the yards.

Thanks Kitasei & Yardvaark. For the pictures this time, no panoramic views....just 3 shots. First is facing left, middle and then right. Good idea about hose. I will do it this weekend.

Thanks!

This is an idea about extending the bed forward as it nears the side lot lines in order to accommodate medium/smaller flowering trees. How far forward is a factor of how much privacy and screening from the neighboring properties you wish to gain. It could wrap much farther forward and transition to a narrower bed with large shrubs. It's been suggested that a variety of plants be incorporated as the "groundcover" planting, but personally, I think variety will diminish what could otherwise be a strong, solid statement and a serene look. You mention that redbuds might be too large, but I can't see that this would be the case. It's the woods coming forward. Decide how much, if at all, you wish to screen out neighbors. Where the bed line meets side lot lines it would tie in at 90*.