The Backyard in 1996 Click on any image to see a larger view.

We are going to make over half the backyard woodland. First we planted a large native wildflower patch, and then planted trees and shrubs. We started out buying from nurseries, but now are trying to re-introduce trees and shrubs from local seed sources. This fall I collected these seeds or nuts from the woods behind our house: Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) White Ash (Fraxinus americana) Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) I spread most of the White Ash seeds in the wildflower area, the rest I will try and grow in pots in the spring. We also collected the following seeds from a local forest: Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) Dogwood (Cornus florida) Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) White Oak (Quercus alba) Red Oak (Quercus rubra) Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) We spread many of these seeds in and behind our yard, and kept some to plant in pots in the spring. We are hoping to re-introduce Spicebush and Mapleleaf Viburnum to our woods. Here are some pictures of the backyard in 1996. The seeds I talked about above have been planted in the wildflowers below the path. The plants that needed shade were planted in the woods behind the fence. These pictures are taken from the south-west corner of the backyard looking north with a wide angle lens (set at 35MM). The area at the left of the pictures and moving toward the camera is all wildflowers and our veggie garden. You will notice that over the year we killed more grass to expand the wildflowers around the garden area. We also mulched a large area from the east side of the house all the way down to the northeast corner of the yard. We wanted to make this a wildlife corridor so we planted Serviceberry, Viburnums, Sugar Maple, Dogwood, Spicebush, Black Chokeberry, Sassafras, Arborvitae, a White Pine, and a Black Cherry I transplanted from the side of the house. April, May, August, September, and October 1996 pictures of the backyard.