The Front Yard Click on any image to see a larger view.

The Front Yard (October 9, 1999) Pictures of the front in May 1999 (top left), August, and July (bottom). The large tree is a River Birch, the bushes against the house are Bayberry, and the small shrubs that appear to the right of the sidewalk are Sweetspire (Itea). In with the Sweetspire are two 'Heritage' River Birches and 20 or so Black Eyed Susan that decided to blow in from the back yard. The circle of flowers on the right is our butterfly garden. Purple Coneflower, Yellow Coneflower, and Liatris spicata make up the perrenials with Little Bluestem and Sideoats Grama for grasses. A White Fringe Tree (green clump on the right) and three Tupelos, two too small to see, are also in this garden. You can see the prairie garden, behind the River Birch, in the May and July pictures.

A Prairie Garden (October 9, 1999) This is the large circle that we are turning into a prairie garden of sorts. The tree in the center of the lower right picture is a 'Cimmaron' Green Ash. The tree visable to the left in that same picture is a 'Commemoration' Sugar Maple. Between these two trees, too small to see, are two Chinquapin Oaks grown from acorns, they are only 4 inches tall. I have also managed to start two hickory trees protected in a wire cage (not visable). Near the middle of the circle we planted five Black Chokeberries (Aronia meloncarpa) and one Red Chokeberry. Purple coneflower is visable near the front, the taller flowers in the back are Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). Behind and mixed in with the Yellow Coneflower are Big Bluestem and Indian grass, both planted from seed in the spring of 1998. Little Bluestem, Prairie Dropseed, and Sideoats Grama are planted near the edges of the circle. We have also planted Butterfly Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, and Common Milkweed in among the grasses. 1999 was a drought year, hardly any rain from June till late September. Everything survived, but the flowers stopped blooming by the middle of July. In the September picture (top right) you can see White Snakeroot and, if you look closely, an Aster blooming. Three New England Asters that I grew from seed this year are blooming now.

- Older Stuff -

Amelanchier arborea (Serviceberry 'Autumn Brilliance') Planted in March of 95. This was a large tree and it suffered all year. It bloomed well, but did not set any fruit and looked weak. I would plant a much smaller container grown tree if I had to do it again. Currently 11' tall, probably the same size as when we planted it. It set a lot of bloom buds for this year Bloomed from 4-16 to 4-21. New growth looks good and leaves are a rich, dark green. Looks a lot better than this time last year. As of August the tree still looks great. This time last year the leaves were ragged and a brownish green color. Bloomed April 3, 1997, 13 days earlier than last year.

Spring 1997 tree in bloom Closeup of blooms

Betula nigra (River Birch) We planted this tree in Late March 1995, 13' tall. This was a large tree when we planted it and although it didn't show any stress, it only grew a couple of inches during 1995. Attacked by leaf pests and a lot of dead branches this year. As of August the birch has recovered somewhat. About 1ft of new growth so far, still growing. The pest was aphids and they dropped black stuff all over the lower leaves and on the plants below. Showing some signs of chlorosis so I applied aluminum sulphate to help acidify the soil. Over 1 ft of new growth during past month, as of Aug 18th.

Chionanthus virginicus (White Fringe Tree) Planted in April 95, this was a small container grown tree. It grew 7" in the first 2 weeks of June and stopped. I understand that this is normal for this tree. Currently 3'10" tall. I have fertilized (early April). Bloomed 5-19 to 5-28. We had about 5 inches of rain during this period and blooms held on very well. 2 inches new growth in 1996. Picture shows 1996 bloom.

Spring 1996 Picture Fall 1996 Picture

Hamamelis vernalis (Vernal Witchhazel) Bloomed during the end of February into March. Planted during a warm spell in the beginning of March 96. It was in bloom when I planted it but the persistant leaves hid most of the blooms. Very healthy looking all year, about 6 inches of new growth. Fall (Oct 20th) picture shown here.