Woodland gardens aren’t show ponies of dazzling flower color. Their beauty shines through in subtler, shade-loving foliage plants, in dappled light glinting through leaves, in cool shadowed paths that gradually reveal tucked-away art and secret hideaways. Such is the garden of Ann Munson, which I toured on the Madison Fling in late June.

A rustic wooden arbor with a clambering purple clematis invites you in and announces her garden’s name: Moor Gardens. Ann explains: “I live on a street called Midmoor, and every year I’ve added more and more gardens. So it’s kind of a play on those two words.”

The main garden, behind the house, stretches across a deep, 3/4-acre suburban lot. For 43 years Ann has been expanding her gardens and planting trees and shrubs — more than 250 of them! Today most of the garden winds under her collection of trees. Wood-chip paths meander around two ponds and a connecting stream, past mysterious found-object art, and lead to various hideaways deep in the garden, including a firepit patio in an open glade, a hammock under a pine, a mural-painted playhouse, and a rustic tepee.

Ann says, “My gardens allow me to participate in the ongoing cycle of life — seeking beauty, health, and creativity. I want there to be mystery, excitement, interaction, and health in the garden. I want color, design, natural critters, and the flow of the seasons made real. I want to look out my window at a natural world, and step out my door and do a forest bath.”

A poetic manifesto for a garden!

The deeper I wandered into the garden, the more it affected me. I soon realized why. It brought to mind memories of a wooded garden I played in as a child, with hidden paths under trees and sheltered hideaways.

Ann’s garden evokes a childlike sense of discovery when you come upon her artful vignettes, like a metal bird perched in a cage…

…or a masked, ghostly figure that seems to float above the leaves…

…or an intriguing relic from farm country that marks a bend in the path.

Ann clearly enjoys recycling castoff machinery into artful displays among the trees.

Oculus

A metal dino rampages through the understory.

In a clearing, a relaxed patio offers a mix of seating around a firepit.

And at the rear of the garden, a hideout emerges.

A blanket-brightened hammock for lazing…

…and a two-story playhouse for adventuring, built for grandkids. Is that Godzilla emerging from ocean waves?

Another mural adorns the front of the playhouse. Both were painted by Ann. I think the structure with the mirrored art is a garden shed.

Reflective surfaces bring depth and light into a shadowed space.

A place for grandkids to grow a few things, perhaps?

Just up the path, a rustic tepee is half-swallowed by vines.

An inviting forest hideaway for little ones

Peeking inside

A fiery begonia seems to grow out of a bird’s nest in a tree.

Trunks and tall branches make handy materials for a woodland arbor.

A sinuous dead tree seems to dance near a solitary bench.

Stained-glass dragonfly on a gothic wire trellis

One of the inviting, dappled-light paths into the garden

A wider view

Ann’s collection of trees includes some blue-green conifers that I love, like ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’ Korean fir.

Check out those frosted, curled needles.

A vertical view shows Horstmann’s Silberlocke with an even taller, and contrastingly droopy, conifer — a weeping Nootka cypress.

It’s gorgeous! I bet these conifers make the garden beautiful during a snowy winter too.

A pale lilac clematis

An open area near the house offers space for sun-loving plants.

Irises were blooming.

As were many other lovelies in the fir-fringed meadow.

Up next: Lilies, clematis, and alliums glow amid raindrops in the garden of Cindy Fillingame. For a look back at Jane and Duane Miller’s artistic, colorful, and semi-portable garden, click here.

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Digging Deeper

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

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