A Native Backyard: 2013: A Year in Review

A Native Backyard

Recreating a native habitat has been a dream of mine since I was about 18. It only took me 20 years, but I finally have two acres of land in the country with which to work (and play). My goal is to document the improvements I make to the property: restoring habitat & attracting birds and butterflies in addition to other wildlife.

Just the back yard!? Nah, I want the front and side yards landscaped in natives too.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013: A Year in Review

Happy New Year!

Posted by David at 7:39 PM

Labels: photos, Year in Review

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About Me

David: Recreating a native habit has been a dream of mine since I was about 18. My parents instilled a love of nature in me and my siblings. It only took me 20 years, but I finally have two acres of land in the country with which to work (and play).

View my complete profile

Restoring Habitat

To me, a manicured lawn must be like a desert to wildlife. What food can be found there? With regular mowing the grass never even goes to seed.

I've often pictured butterflies fruitlessly searching for the drifts of flowers that nature provides. What nectar sources do they find in our lawns? What many people don't think of are the specific host plants that each species requires for their eggs and caterpillars. Without these there will be no butterflies.

I've always been drawn to natural areas. My goal is to put back what has been taken away from most yards: trees, shrubs, rocks, native wildflowers, boulders, rocks, wetlands, etc. In doing so, I hope to attract a myriad of wildlife especially birds and butterflies, but I welcome the insects, arachnids, and other less cuddly creatures too.

My Ultimate Goal

I hope to see my project as close to completion as I can get it: mature trees in the woodland, masses of woodland wildflowers, lush hedgerows, shrubs, colonies of lowbush blueberries, a fully native meadow full of grasses and wildflowers that provide color and nectar throughout the season, a pond, a stream, a wetland, and...all of it teeming with life.

Natives and Invasives

I thought this was well stated, so I'm including it here:

From The Boston Globe 7.31.11 — New England Wild Flower Society

"To be clear about definitions: native species are those that are indigenous to a certain area. In the case of Massachusetts, native plants are those whose natural range has included the state since pre-colonial times. Non-native, or introduced species are non-indigenous species that have been moved to an area outside of their natural range as a result of human activities; and invasive plants species are those non-native species that disrupt and degrade the ecological diversity of natural habitats.

Japanese barberry, glossy buckthorn, multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet, garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed, purple loosestrife, Phragmites, Eurasian water-milfoil, and water chestnut are among the introduced, invasive plants that have over-run natural landscapes, diminishing their native plant associations and ecological diversity. According to Neyfakh’s article, some biologists view with admiration the spread of these invasive plants as hardy newcomers (are the same biologists, for similar reasons, equally approving of the emerald ash borer, the hemlock wooly adelgid, the chestnut blight, and the Norway rat?), but one must then ask why they are not just as successful in their regions of origin. A large part of the reason is that the herbivores, insects, pathogens, and competing plants that have co-evolved with these species are absent here, and, without these checks on their growth, invasive plants have a competitive advantage over native species which must cope with a host of natural controls. Until these controls appear in our natural landscapes, and, in the short-term, there is little chance that they will, invasive species will thrive at the expense of native species."

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2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 a little about myself acorns aerial view alder alnus Amelanchier canadensis American redstart April Aquilegia canadensis aronia arrival Asclepias incarnata Asclepias syriaca Asclepias tuberosa asters August autumn babies backyard bird count backyard slope bald eagle Baltimore oriole barn swallows barn swallows. bat bat house bear beatbox bee bee balm bees before and after Bekka bench berries berry producers biodiversity birdfeeding birdfeeding birds birds birds and berries birds bathing black gum black walnut blast from the past blue heron blue jay blue Lobelia blue vervain blueberries bluebird bluebird babies bluebird pair bluebird sighting bluebirds bluebirds nesting bluebirds return bobcat Bombycilla cedrorum book boulder bouquet Bringing Nature Home brown creeper brown thrasher brumating brumation brush brush pile brushpile brushpile birds buck bugs building a pond bumblebees bush clover butterflies butterfly butterfly weed buying plants cardboard and leaves cardinal cardinals Carolina wren casualty catbird catching up caterpillar caterpillars catkins Cecropia Moth cedar waxwing cedar waxwings chestnut oak chickadees chipmunk chipping sparrow choke cherry chokeberry chrysalis Clematis viriniana cliff closed gentian cocoon collecting seeds columbine comment common milkweed comparison competition Cornus alternifolia Cornus amomum Cornus florida crab spider creating a path creating places to sit crow crows cup plant daisy fleabane December deck deer deicer design plan Diapheromera femorata digging the pond disguising the liner documenting biodiversity doe dogwood domestic cats dragonflies drainage ditch drawing dusk Early snow Eastern kingbird egg eggs elderberry Elm emerging growth encounters enriching soil Erigeron ever vigilant exposing the boulder Fall fall color fawn February February winter feeding young female hummingbird female red-winged blackbirds Filipendula rubra first day of spring first firefly first post first red-wing blackbird of the season first robin fish fledgling fledglings fledglings/fledging flicker flowering dogwood flowers fox freeze frog frogs from the bay window frost fruit fry game cam garter snake gathering seeds GBBC Gentiana andrewsii GIF golden Alexander golden eagle golden ragwort goldenrod goldfinch goldfinches grackle grasshopper gray squirrel Great Backyard Bird Count Greek valerian green frogs groundhog habitat hackberry hairy woodpecker hatching hatchlings hawk hazelnut hedgerow Heliopsis helianthoides hemlock hemlocks highlights hillside by the road host plants house hunting house sparrows house wren Hummingbird hummingbirds Hyalophora cecropia Hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens ice ID ideas in order of appearance indigo bunting insects invasives It's happening! January Japanese honeysuckle July juncos June just add water juvenile juvenile bluebird juveniles landscaping larvae late snow laying eggs learn something lightning bug link Locust Borer - Megacyllene robiniae locust tree locust tree saplings Lucky finds luna moth male and female flowers Malus coronaria March May meadow meadow in the making meadowsweet melting snow mentoring milkweed mini-boulders missed shot monarch monarch butterflies monarch caterpillar mosquitoes moss moth mourning doves moving rocks moving water mugwort mulch multifloral rose my pride and joy natural plant communities nest nesting nestlings nests new additions new look New to me new year newest additions no photo northern flicker November nuthatch nuts Nymphaea odorata Nyssa sylvatica oak oaks obedient plant October ordering plants oriole Our first year here Our two acres outside the eindow owl ox-eye sunflower pagoda dogwood path penstemon digitalis phlox Phlox paniculata phoebe photo photos pictures pileated woodpecker planning for the streambed planning the meadow plant associations planting dead trees planting plugs planting seedlings planting seeds planting trees plugs pocket woodland pollination pollinators Polyphemus Polyphemus moth Polyphemus moth cocoon pond pond and stream bed pond and streambed pond ideas pond in winter pond liner pondlife porcupine possum potting up praying mantis praying mantis egg case privet procrastinating projects providing food Prunus virginiana purple finch pussy willow quaking aspen queen of the prairie Quercus prinoides rabbits raccoon raising young raspberries reading red oak red-bellied woodpecker red-twig dogwood red-winged blackbirds redtop grass removing invasives return road crew robin robins rocks rocky outcropping rooting elderberry Rosa carolina rose-breasted grosbeak rufus-sided towhee Sad News salamander same view different season sassafras seating areas seed heads seedheads seedlings seedpods seeds seeds germinating September sequence of blooms serviceberry sexual maturity shelves shrubs signs of spring silky dogwood Silphium perfoliatum silver maple silver maples similarities simple joys slugs smothering invasives snag snails snow snow day snowstorm sparrow sparrows spicebush spicebush butterfly spicebush butterfly larvae spider Spring squirrel squirrels staghorn sumac Stella Storm stone patio stream streambed sulphur butterfly sumac summer summer sowing sundrops surprise swamp milkweed sycamore Take Note Your Destruction is at Hand Tallamy terraced path Thanksgiving Day thaw the good- the bad- and the ugly the would be woods thinking spring three-fer toad touch-me-not towhee trail cam transplanting tree cages tree frog tree sparrow tree swallows trees Trillium trumpet vine tufted titmouse updated look Verbena hastata vernal pond viceroy video violets visiting bear visitors walk walking stick wasp water water feature water lily water strider weeding weird wetland What I'm working with what the property has to offer what will be the woods WHIP program white admiral white oak white oake white-throated sparrow wild geranium wild ginger wild turkey wildflowers winter winter interest winter seeding winter sowing witnessing nature wooded slope woodland woodpecker woods wooly bear caterpillar working in the winter working in the yard working in winter working in winter wildflowers world of wonder wren yardwork Year in Review yellow jackets yellow warbler Zizia aurea Zonotrichia albicollis

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