Planning the Front Yard

Since moving in, I seem to have focused more of my energies and thoughts to the far reaches of the property and less near the house--I think mostly because we still need work done on the outside (soffit & fascia, gutters, paint job, and, hopefully, a covered porch one of these days).

Still, after neglecting it for far too long, I am longing to create more habitat and beauty out front.  I have added things through the years, but few and far between.  Over the years, my vision for the property has become clearer.  Lately, I am thinking about adding some small trees in front of the house--something that, originally, I was trying to avoid.  Lately, I find that I want something beautiful to look at when looking out the front windows.

Today, I began labeling what I already have added...and what I may want to add.  I will post this to Wildlife Gardeners as well...and hopefully get some suggestions for trees (small trees or large shrubs) that I wouldn't have come up with on my own.

This is an aerial shot from last year--mid-to-late summer, I would guess.

Native Habitat Design Plan

Even a week later, I never got around to taking after photos of what I did last weekend.

This weekend, I took the first step to creating a master plan for habitat.  It is not perfect, but this is what I envision the property to look like in the coming years.

I began by drawing in some changes over top of an aerial view 

of the property.  The driveway currently does not extend to the

barn, the stone patio has yet to be extended, and the large pond

 and stream are still in my head. 

The general placement of the trees and shrubs is fairly accurate.  I

plan to add the meadow and its paths.

My 'Would-be' Woods

This is what I spent most of my evening doing. Luckily, I am off from work and have time. I've noticed that winter really gives me a chance to see 'the bones' of what I have without much distraction. It also allows me access to an area I can't access much in the height of summer--although I kept my path more open my second summer here than the first.

I look forward to seeing the transformation as I add more trees, understory shrubs, and forbs (wildflowers, ferns, and such). I know it will take a while, but this can be one of the 'before' pics.

Although not labeled yet, I have added a witch hazel above the boulder pictured above, three shagbark hickory seedlings, a six-foot ash tree that I've had in a pot for about 15 years, a spicebush tree/shrub, a transplanted wild cherry, box-elder, and another ash that I found growing too close to the house. I'd like to add two sycamore seedlings I found growing in the flower bed. I'm considering a tulip tree and another white oak (I planted a 3 ft one on the far edge of the woods (the beginning of my meadow (or possible savannah). I'll have to create a list of other trees and understory shrubs that I want to include.

The ash tree was kept in a pot but the roots and some upper branches were trimmed at times to keep it health and manageable. Unfortunately, once it was planted and just when I thought it was growing out of the reach of the deer, a deer bent and broke the main stem. I'm hoping it will recover this spring.

I look forward to seeing this progression! I have to stop calling it 'the would-be woods' --"the will-be woods' doesn't have the same ring to it, so maybe I'll end up calling it 'the woods'.

What I Found There

Above is a partially labeled list of what was already on the property before we purchased it. The red astric (*) indicates a non-native. In the past two years, I have added quite a few native trees, shrubs, seedlings, forbs, and grasses. Many are lost in the expanse--but I know where they are and 'visit' them on my walks through the yard. As they grow & spread and I add to each area, they will become more pronounced and noticable.

Our Two Acres

Hey, so far the blog has lit a fire under me. I have wanted to create several aerial view plans of our property. Today I actually created the first one. Considering that I wasn't able to use the program I intended to, it turned out better than I expected--but not as good as I'd envisioned.

This is what I started with two years ago. I have made some small changes and hope to update the plan to reflect the changes. Then as I make more I will continue to update. I'd also considered creating a 'future plans' design.

The structures shown from left to right, the garage, a greenhouse, and the house with deck.

There are several trees on the property, and I intend to add more. So far, I've added quite a few seedlings. I will elaborate on this in a future post. Also, I will try to list the trees that are currently growing on the property.

Until next time,

David