In northern VA, packera aurea and viola odorata are useful additions to the base layer of your matrix: they spread to fill in and block weeds and are evergreen.

Don't use a woody plant as a structural layer plant (I'm differing with Rainer here). It's a great blessing to be able to mow or weed whack annually to control tree seedlings and brambles.

Aromatic aster is a favorite of mine (deer resistant, blooms for a couple of months). It seeds freely to fill gaps.

From what I've seen locally, you have to have a plan for controlling the woodies. What you are planning is *not* a natural construct, and will need input to maintain it.

No woody plants planned. The plants I mentioned are all.

I may be able to delay delivery until May when the rest of the plants are coming (also no woodies ordered) which would be great since I may be getting a knee replacement which would mean I would have to get someone else to do the planting. It would also give me more time to prepare garden area.

Cecily, I am waiting for Watermark Woods to notify me when they have aster in. I love those. I already have viola sororia (common violets) and will transplant some to help fill in if needed. The V. odorata aren't native here.

Mad_gallica, yes, matrices are not native constructs, but I do like the way they look. From what I have read, they are useful in creating a plant community that increases the "habitat and ecosystem function, while minimizingmanagement in future years" (Prairie Up by Benjamin Vogt).

Thanks for chiming in here. :-) . I will keep you posted when I make progress.

Good for your neighbors, Cecily. The only steep hill I have is in the back and I will be working on that next fall. We used to have an intermittent stream just over our property line, but the vice mayor who then became mayor and the entire council denied its existence despite the geologic survey paid for by the city several years before. So, they ignored the regs and approved a development that clearcut the forest, allowed building on unstable ground, and allowed a sewer pipe to be placed though a wetland and through the property of a neighbor rather than a much easier straight shot to a major road, but which would require a pump which would have cost the developer more money and heaven knows we don't want that, especially since he built four 8,000-9,500 sq. foot houses that were sold for more than $3 M. The intermittent stream is no more. We are still furious. Also, Alexandria is not covered by a Soil & Water Conservation District which is no surprise since our mayor and city council do not care a whit about trees (natives), streams, etc. It is very discouraging. We lost all our dedicated, knowledgable, and wonderful environmental folks due to them.

Thanks for the photo. It already looks good and will just get better and better.

Sorry for the rant, but it was such a lovely piece of property that sustained birds, wildlife, and which sequestered so much carbon, but is now a wasteland.

My understanding of matrix planing, which I am trying to implent in dry shade, so a different bunch of plants, is that you have 3 layers:

A base layer, which is often a grass. This fills in pretty much everything.

Seasonal interest --- you have many repeats of plants that provide color in different seasons. The chelone and Aquilegia are examples of this.

A few stars --- these might be shrubs. They tend to be big and showy. You may not need these.

So, I can't tell from your description if you ordered enough grass for your base layer. I'll assume you have. Good.

I'm not convinced you have focused on the different seasons. Do you have at least one season interest plant that will be in bloom each season, at minimum, spring, summer and fall, but preferably early spring to late fall.

Geranium maculatum tends to be short. Will it be seen over your sedge?

Most of your plants like it damp. Are they suitable for your hellstrip? Hellstrips tend to be dry. Is your site soggy? Lobelia, for example, likes soil that is medium to wet --- really meaning you can't let it dry out. Chelone is the same. Both of these like a bit of shade. They will not do well in a hot, dry, sunny hellstrip. My Aquilegia tolerates dryer conditions, but it doesn't thrive.

Obviously, I don't know your yard and your willingness to water all your soggy-soil-loving plants, but if you don't have soggy soil, I'd recommend choosing different plants.

I love veronicastrum virginicum, which should be native to you. It's fine with dryer conditions and my liatris spicata self-seeds like crazy. It took a few years, but it's showy, not too difficult to remove volunteers, but will be happy filling in for you.

Oh darn. I just fiinished a really long post about this, Sigrid, to share the details. Can't redo this moment, but will do so after a break from typing it all. Hit the wrong key. So stupid. I so appreciate all the details you shared and will fill you in in a bit. Sigh.

When giving advice over the internet, there's going to be a lot of stuff that doesn't fit the poster's circumstances. If my advice wasn't helpful, you don't need to explain why. Take what's useful and ignore the rest.

Sigrid, thanks for all those details. I didn’t list everything I have coming because the nursery only had half of the plants ready for fall delivery (I ordered back in January) and the other half were scheduled for May delivery. Now, since I am most likely having a knee replacement in September, I asked if they could just send everything in May. That also gives me more time to get the garden/yard ready for the new plants.

Yes, from what I have read, 3 layers is good, but plants can be placed in the matrix a bit randomly-not in rows for instance. I believe the Geranium maculatum (the flowers at least) can reach higher than the Carex which should only hit about 10 inches. I know some grow much higher, but this one shouldn't hide anything other than the viola I am moving from elsewhere to the matrix. I like the Liatris and the Veronicastrum, too. Will see if my local native nursery have those. Appreciate the recommendation! I have quite a few non-native azaleas in an island and then scattered elsewhere. They are amazing in the spring, so they will be a good backdrop before the other things start to bloom. Then the green background should set the matrix plants off nicely.

Our entire property is part-sun to shade, even the he11strip. I also have blue-eyed grass and Allium plus woodland phlox and another small grass there now. Lots of trees. Watering is usually only necessary in August for the most part.

Here is the full list:

Spring blooming plants-

Aquilegia canadensis 72 plugs sun-part shade, medium H2O

Geranium maculatum 32 plugs sun-part shade, medium

Tiarella cordifolia 32 plugs part to full shade, okay in dry

Anemone canadensis 50 plugs sun-part shade

Summer blooming plants-

Lobelia siphilitica 72 plugs sun-part shade, medium to wet

Scutellaria incana 50 deep plugs part shade, dry okay

Symphotrichum cordifolia 50 deep plugs full sun-part shade, dry to medium

Later blooming plants-

Chelone glabra 50 plugs bloom through October, part shade, wet

grass and fern-

Carex flaccosperma 32 plugs-part to full shade

Polystichum acrostichoides 32 plugs, evergreen okay in dry

I know there were a few other things I said in the post I lost. Maybe I will remember at some point. Oh, part of the reason I am doing this is because DH goes out with his weedwhacker and cuts down whatever. Years ago, he told me that he recognized hosta while at the same time whacking all the astilbe which he did at least three more times despite having them pointed out to him-they finally gave up and are no more. This year, he went into my native area and the Virginia Bluebells, tradescantia, and monarda are gone. Sigh. Thank goodness that area is mostly shrubs. Of course, that doesn't always stop him-just lost a 2-ft. tall native Hydrangea to the infernal whacker. The matrix area will be completely off limits.

Thank you all so much for sharing your wisdom and encouragement. Please keep it up if you have other thoughts. Off to do more chores to get ready for my DH's niece and her family who will arrive on Friday.

Trying to do something like this myself

and mostly too new to have advice.
I have enjoyed reading Ben Vogt articles/ books , though his locale is Nebraska. I’m in Z 7 also but summers are hot and no rain for weeks at a time, rocky soil that is hard to plant s large area at once, , so getting things established outside of reach of a hose, and even then , is difficult. Plus, deer. I have trouble getting or planting enough background matrix. Am going to try Pennsylvania sedge in some dry shade. Have planted some prairie dropseed and little bluestem in the sunny dry areas but they are not thriving. Achillea cultivars ( nativars!) may become a stalwart. Calamintha, Nepetas, thymes. I think I have some volunteer sedges that I’ve not identified for sure as native vs opportunistic, but I’ve refrained from killing- they grow, they stay. Blackberry, Virginia creeper, tree volunteers ( oak, sweet gum) and dreaded privet pop up everywhere.

I’m getting some plant self- expansion , yay mountain mints! in areas which are dry but may get a bit of moisture from being at bottom of slope beside a drainage creek( it dries up in summer) , but the driest areas are hard to get things to grow vigorously.

Plus a lot of die- back of perennials in winter let some weed seeds get established and not always shaded out by the emergence in spring.

I am probably not going to be exclusively native due to harsh conditions- Mother Nature doesn’t care if plants die or intruders survive. So may add more Autumn ferns in shade, and hellebores, maybe even clumping liriope, because they survive and help prevent erosion, slow down rainfall to soak in, & are bits of evergreen. Bigroot geraniums.

If my advice wasn't helpful, you don't need to explain why.

Sigrid, I just wanted to share the details of what I ordered and the numbers, etc. Did not intend for you to think your advice was not helpful . It was. I am sorry if I offended you.

Cyn that's a great list. You've clearly put a lot of thought into this project. I'm glad you're repurposing your violets. I wonder if you might also have prunella or erigeron available? My lawn includes large patches of violets, prunella, erigeron, sedge and scattered ferns so I use those as the base for planting beds. As the planting beds widen, the lawn decreases proportionately. I'm keeping a section of lawn because we enjoy walking about in the evening. Like Marmiegard I've been doing one section at a time.

I mow the planting beds annually in late fall to kill the maple and tulip poplar seedlings. I don't want to crawl around on my hands and knees pulling woodies and forest succession never ends.

In a front yard planting I wouldn't use anything that grows taller than about knee high. Taller plants may fall over in strong storms to cover sidewalks and driveways and then you end up cutting them back. Plus, I want a clear view of the street for security.

Marmiegard, I'm including non-natives in beds close to the house. Beds that border the treeline are all natives. To my eye it looks more appropriate that way.

You didn't offend me. I was just making a comment appropriate to my advice and everyone else's. Take what's useful, ignore the rest.

Thanks Cecily. I know that I thought of both the Erigeron and Prunella, but maybe I didn't order them because Izel wasn't offering them. I think Prunella is so pretty, too.Erigeron. Maybe Watermark Woods lists them. I need to make a run out there come spring when the site is ready. Also glad for the reminder of mowing. I do try to avoid tall plants bc I am terrible about staking. Just lazy, I guess. And I need to remember to lay out some paths so I can walk around the garden both to take care of it and just to enjoy it.

Marmiegard, I laughed about the killing and not surviving. That happens to me, too. I just figure they weren't happy, so I try something else. Ha.

The landscaping fellow I contacted is not getting back to me, so I need to find someone else soon. My knee is definitely being replaced in September (saw the ortho today), so I want everything at least started before the surgery. Either that or if the surgery is early in September, I can have them start in October which will allow plenty of time for the weeds to die.