Originally I started this post when I completed the process for certification. Going back to complete this has been a real interesting, eye opening experience. Having been 22 years since I first started all these gardens, one does tend to forget the details of the process. (Okay, I admit it could also have something to do with my age!!) I've had a few people ask me about native plants. I know I have a lot of plants, shrubs and trees that are native to this property. I had forgotten the research I undertook at that time to prepare for the landscaping and gardens,. I did not use all native plantings. It was just a thought in everyone's heads, put into practice by only a few knowledgeable souls. Concern for the environment and conservation were not major concerns in the 80's. But I had read a wonderful little book on how to create your own little habitat in your own backyard, and how this could be a trend to protect the native wildlife in the country. Lent the book out years ago, never got it back, don't even remember to whom --- sound familiar??
Just did a Google search to try to find it - as it didn't show up on the first few pages, I gave up the search. I'm not into scanning endless pages these days.
And as I review this whole process I am reminded of how thoughtful I was, in some ways, about identifying what I have on this property and how I wanted to develop my gardens with nature at the forefront. And I am being continually surprised this morning as I rediscover all the native plants I brought into the gardens. I did know they were native, just totally forgot that whole piece of my garden development!
I am surrounded by woods and wetlands on two sides of the property. our three acres are bordered on the south by Meadow brook, on the east by Route 140, with continuing undeveloped wetlands across the street, and two neighbors on the north, which are separated from us by dense thickets and plenty of trees. We planted a thick hedge with Privet, Ligustrum on the house side. This has given us a buffer from the street, which has a speed limit of 45 - it's state Route 140. This hedge also affords us complete privacy in our front yard. We actually have our own little paradise here when you walk into the back yard.
On June 27, I completed the process to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat. I will be posting a sign as soon as it arrives. This will be a way to educate others on how to create a habitat within their own yards. This is a wonderful program, which brings me full circle as I had created my gardens for this purpose 22 years ago, when no programs like this existed.
(still have no clue about the underlining)
How does one create a Certified Wildlife habitat? What you need to do is to provide the following on your property:
FOOD SOURCES For example: Native plants, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, nectar
WATER SOURCES For example: Birdbath, pond, water garden, stream
PLACES FOR COVER For example: Thicket, rockpile, birdhouse
PLACES TO RAISE YOUNG For example: dense shrubs, vegetation, nesting box, pond
SUSTAINABLE GARDENING For example: Mulch, compost, rain garden, chemical-free fertilizer
The above information is from http://secure.nmf.org
Consider working towards creating your own Wildlife Habitat. The following are photos representative of some of the criteria for becoming a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
This is a good example of how to create a thicket. This is an area at the edge of the woods, separating our property from our neighbors. Not only does it provide ground cover for wildlife, but it also provides a nice buffer for our privacy. The trees were all here. We let the natural plants grow up with some additional native plantings, Sundrops, Oenothera fruticosa to create a border against the lawn.
This is a way of hiding a mandatory retention basin, while creating a wildlife thicket on wetlands!! Our three acres are bordered on the south by Meadow Brook. Since we are on wetlands, we were required to construct this basin for runoff. During the wet months it becomes our own little pond, and stays full for the winter and into the spring months. It is home to may species, and is the annual stopover for a pair of ducks. Native Dogwood, Ferns and other plants have come up as wanted over the years, to create this little oasis in our back gardens. I have added Pachysandra procumbens, Allegheny Spurge as a border with the lawn, which we have been cutting back little by little each year.
A colony of native Violets, Viola Rosina has established itself on the left sloping bank under a native Crabapple tree, Acer.
These are some examples of food sources. This native Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, is the source plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. i collect the caterpillars as I find them and bring them inside to raise. I do this because otherwise they get eaten!!
This is a Dutchman's Pipevine, Aristolochia macrophylla, the source food for the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. As I have had none in the yard, I finally bought some eggs last year and had about two dozen butterflies I released. I am still waiting to see just one this year, so far to no avail.
This is one of several water sources we have. Our property is bordered on the south by Meadow Brook, and on the west by an open conduit running into the brook.
To the left of our house is a wonderful expanse of woodland, which goes right through to Route 1A. We've seen deer and red fox, to name a couple of the animals that visit us from time to time.
This area adjacent to the bird bath has a small Cedar, Chamaecyparis thyoides, growing next to a Swamp Maple, Acer rubrum, also known as Red Maple, Scarlet Maple. (Okay, I did not know that. I never liked the name Swamp Maple, I always thought it sounded derogatory. Now my Maple will be know as Scarlet Maples, as I have a Red Maple out front (which is actually burgundy!!) ) This has created a small thicket and offers cover for the many varieties of birds who visit the bath and feeders.
The Cedar sprung up a few years back and decided to join our gardens! They are also in the woods, and now we have several all over the area. Take note of the small tree to the right of the birdbath. It is a dogwood. Notice the small trunk coming up to the left of the main trunk. It is a feeding station for birds; see following paragraph.
I have allowed most of the native flora a chance to show me what they've got before I make a decision about whether it gets to stay or not. I've made the mistake (several times) of letting something come up in a certain area, only to find out down the road that it was actually an invasive species which has choked out the previous occupants of the area. Many times it is just by trial and error that you are able to determine what is best suited for your own garden. I truly believe that whether a plant not just survives in your garden, but thrives, is determined by things way beyond our control; it is that "it" factor. Like my two Climbing Hydrangeas, you can provide the perfect soil, light, water, and location, but I believe it is ultimately up to the plant whether it is going to thrive or not. You can tell if a plant is just "getting by", or absolutely screams at you when you walk by "I just love it here!!", "Hello! Look at me! I am loving it here! I just love you!" If you listen with your heart you will hear it!!
This Spirea, meadowsweet, is one that I purchased. It also creates a nice little thicket. The other day a beautiful red chipmunk was running around its base.
This is another view of what I call the Birdbath Garden. We have lost many trees over the years. We kept the tall stump of this one because it has a Clematis growing on it and also because it serves as a great feeding station for the birds, as well as the few squirrels here on the property.
The Dogwood behind it got trampled by a huge section of the Scarlet Maple behind it this past winter. It was such a sweet Dogwood, which was very slowly making some growth progress. Well, the tree fell right on top of both sections of the little Dogwood, crushing it in entirety. As is was in the winter we were unable to get to it right away. The main trunk was curved to the ground under the weight of the massive trunk, and the side trunk was snapped off, leaving the small broken trunk rising from the ground. We got out as quickly as we could to get the big trunk off the Dogwood, but it was just to big for us to handle it.
I was in the middle of recuperating from hand surgery, or I would have been out there working on a rescue right away. How so very frustrating to have to watch it suffering and be unable to do anything to help. It was several weeks before we had enough help to get the Dogwood free of the trunk's weight. The Scarlet Maple suffered from two large tears to the main trunk, which we still have not be able to get treated. The Dogwood was just a mess.
Patience is necessary when dealing with nature. As it was winter, I was unable to determine what damage was incurred by the Dogwood. In early spring when all the other Dogwoods were getting their flowers, then their leaves, this little one showed not even a flicker of life.
And so goes the circle of life. Some things survive, others don't. But in the face of destruction, sometimes you can find a way to benefit from the fallout. That little broken trunk from the Dogwood, was destined to be cut down, as it was just a broken twisted, unattractive stump in the Birdbath garden. It was on my to do list of pruning, along with the main little Dogwood itself, which had no spring growth. I kept meaning to get to it, but couldn't physically do it due to the hand recuperation process.
So on the day I was planning to have hubby do pruning, I went out in the gardens to check out all that needed to be done. Imagine my utter surprise and sheer joy to see a couple of leaves unfolding, coming to life, on the Dogwood!! Such joy - this little tree had indeed survived the winter's calamity after all!! Now the tree is very sparse and not of the beautiful graceful form it once had, but it is alive and has struggled to do so, so that it will have a place in these gardens for as long as it wants. We do not toss out the people of this world who are not perfect. We need to give our plants and trees the same opportunities.
A further note: The small broken trunk was also destined to be pruned down - after all, it was dead, and of no intrinsic value, right? I was getting ready to cut it off, when I looked out and saw a baby Tufted Titmouse, Parus bicolor, sitting on it waiting to be fed by its mother. The mother would got to the feeder, get seed and feed her baby. Okay, little trunk - YOU CAN STAY!!
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