in nature, there are layers... high tree canopy, understory small trees, shrubs, groundcovers.

The closer you can come to reproducing that, the more "natural" it will look.

You didn't say how much sun it gets, especially when those trees are leafed out. How is the soil? I had a similar situation and I created a shrub border with lots of evergreens for winter interest too. My edge was terribly dry soil because of all the large trees sucking up all the moisture. Sun and soil are big factors in your choices. You want to pick plants that fit the conditions well so you are not fighting keeping them doing well.

I think if you just put plants here and there without a mulch bed, you will be fighting with the lawn encroachment issue too.

What I did with mine was in the fall, I did a "lasagna" garden... newspaper, grassclippings, shredded leaves. That kills the grass easily and creates the bed. The mulch can be more "natural" with leaves and pine needles, but it is important to keep the plants happy (no lawn, less weeds, retain moisture).

So, I didn't answer your question on what to buy, but I hope I gave you something to think about. foundation is key.

Agree with Wendyb's advice (especially about the lawn encroachment!) I wondered about the tree leaves (sun), too. If I were you, I think I might spend the spring and summer making note of sun conditions (go out every week or two, make note of the shady areas, sunny areas, "dappled areas" which will change as the season progresses), maybe getting some soil tests of that area along the boundary, then do some planting in the fall.

I would think of informal native shrubs with a "natural" growth habit like mountain laurel (there are some exquisite varieties out there and it's a native and evergreen), andromeda, the viburnums (again, tons of options and many are natives), native witch hazels, etc. I also agree with Wendy about the natural "hierarchy" that steps down -- in a natural woodland -- from the tall tree canopies to taller shrubs (or small understory trees -- native dogwoods, redbud), to lower shrubs. If deer aren't a problem, what about some azaleas of differing heights? I'd go for a mix of things that are evergreen and deciduous but with winter interest (berries, interesting branch structure like the red-twig dogwoods). You could do some beautiful things with that space.

I wouldn't have thought of lilacs -- they will want LOTS of sun, and will get leggy easily without it. I would avoid groundcover, too, unless you are planning some hardscape to separate it from the lawn. Otherwise, you'll be pulling lawn out of the groundcover and vice versa constantly.

Just my two cents... GORGEOUS site! But take your time and research the plant options, as well as the conditions (light and soil) before you buy anything (unless your husband really enjoys moving plants! :)

Yes, I agree, especially that you don't want to run out and buy lilacs!

I'd take this as a fun opportunity to research native plants, which will enhance the transition between the obviously man-made lawn and the relatively natural woods. The number of interesting and unusual natives now available is really amazing.

I hope you don't really mean "mulch bed" - if you mean applying an organic mulch between the new plants to help them get established and to help keep the grass and weeds out, then that's a good thing. You really DO need mulch around anything you plant, and planting without it will only succeed in making it look more "natural" after the demise of whatever you plant. Just choose a good neutral mulch that will quickly turn grey or brown.

I'd consider planting something dense and twiggy (or evergreen) to screen the view of the house that's slightly right of center in the photo. It could be planted within the border of the woods, not along the perimeter of the lawn.

Aside from shrubs, there are many native (or native-looking) groundcovers that would enhance this forest-edge look. You're right to consider planting pockets instead of a solid border around the whole property, IMHO. A little informal and curving path of stepping stones meandering through the woods could be planted with early spring bulbs and native woodland wildflowers, beckoning visitors.

Do you have a lot of deer in those woods?

Thanks for all the feedback!

By not wanting to mulch, I just mean we don't want a 4 foot wide band of decorative mulch running along the border of the grass. We have lots of those out front, and they're lovely, but they're very manmade and we want something a little more natural out back. Here's a pic of one of our mulch beds out front if I'm not making sense:

We do have deer--a family of 4 and they're so beautiful! :)

Love the idea of something big and evergreen for winter screening from the neighbors. We just planted 5 eastern white pines along the right property line to give us street privacy. Any ideas for specific trees for evergreen privacy in the back woods area?

We've been there for 2 years so we have a great idea of sun exposure throughout the days/seasons. I've been whining about wanting to do this since we moved in, but this is the year! The mid point and to the right get full sun or nearly full sun all day. The left side gets lots of shade with a little sun, so we'll need plants with different exposure preferences.

Re: groundcover. What if we just plant it a few feet away from the grass--back into the woods line a bit more? Is that safe? or do you still foresee problems with the grass?

Thanks so much for all your suggestions!

Ah... then no azaleas or rhododendrons if you have deer. Stick to deer-"resistant" natives like the mountain laurel or (didn't mean to imply it was a native since of course it's not) the andromeda, of which there are many beautiful varieties and which deer will NOT eat unless they are desperate. (I bought a beautiful native Weston's azalea at the Conservation District sale last year ... and every single bud was nipped off during the winter. What a disappointment!)

A good nursery like Mahoney's will be able to suggest deer-resistant shrubs that have natural, unstructured growth habits.

What is that new tree (I think?) that looks like it's on the right, with a mulch mound around it, near the back of the lot? How big will it get?

Honestly, with the native shrubs -- that will bloom, have berries, all kinds of interest going on -- you can do all kinds of things with that space.
Have FUN!

Ah, I hadn't noticed that new tree. Here's another suggestion.

Cut the lawn back towards the house, to this side of the 2 trees that are in the lawn are now, so they're not standing in the grass anymore but are in this new garden area. Work on the soil in that new area so it turns into good garden loam, using the lasagna method, or rototilling, as you prefer. Make this new space your "transition garden", full of wildflowers and native shrubs. Keep it informal, with swaths of a few kinds of plants, instead of clumps or single specimens of lots of different plants, and place them "naturally" instead of in formal rows or triangles. Interplant the whole thing with spring bulbs, mulch it and add a spreading groundcover.

There's a bit of a "corner" on the right at what looks like the end of an old stone wall. That'd be a great location for a secluded, informal sitting area. If that wasn't in the lawn, you could have some medium-height shrubs most of the way around that, and a clearing in the center with some comfy but informal chairs, creating a really nice little nook that felt like it was out in the woods for sunny spring days.

The simplest approach might be to stop mowing the transition zone, and watch what pops up on its own. Much of it might be invasive, but pull those up, and you might be amazed at what else will make an appearance. Native asters, goldenrod, sedges and native grasses. All of them natural to our landscape and highly beneficial to birds, butterflies and other pollinators.

That would be your lowest maintenance choice because anything that pops up there is telling you they like your conditions enough to grow completely on their own :-)

That tree you see is cleveland pear we planted last year. so that will get 20-30 feet tall, which will then shade that area once it gets big. hadn't thought of a few years down the road!

we have several azaleas and a rhodie that we chose and planted before we realized we had deer, but they've been fine so far. they tend to prefer the buffet at my neighbors across the street. :)

that's actually not an old rock wall--it's attached rock ledge that runs deep underground. it's all over the property. how we were able to build on this lot without blasting rock is beyond me! we got very lucky!

ok, so the shade of the pear tree worries me because it doesn't provide shade now, but it will in a few years.

I keep seeing the rocks in the wooded area (I like rocks). The back yard lawn is rolling, which makes me think that there is rock ledge under some of the rolls. Also the wooded area is on a slope leading down to the lawn, so maybe there is rock just under the lawn on the edge.

I would do a little digging in the lawn, or poke a rod down, and see if there are rocks that can be exposed. If you have rocks all over the property, as you say, then it would look very natural to expose some of them, running into the lawn, and you could do some nice natural planting around the rocks.

This could please both your husband and you - natural looking rocks with structured planting around them. Rocks look good in the winter, too.

Claire