There are still more than ten weeks until the danger of the last frost of spring has passed here at DomEc, but plans are in the works for the spring planting season. The main landscape design plans for the home have now been made, starting with the large plants. Last fall an order was placed with Chief River Nursery for a number of natives that will help occupy what is now lawn space.
A sun-scorched corner of the property will receive a Paper Birch. They plants are known for surviving dry, rocky sites and hopefully the shade it provides will reduce evaporation in the surrounding soil where several of our milkweed plants are located. The site may prove to be to sun-scorched for this northern species, but it is the best option I could find to substitute for the Gray Birch that I actually wanted to plant in the site. In addition, birches are great natives that support many insect and bird species and also have great aesthetics because of their textured or colored bark. If you choose one, be sure to purchase a native variety-- There are now many species and hybrids of Asian origin available in this taxon.
Unfortunately, a late summer heat wave killed the sapling American Chestnut that was planted last year. The upcoming order includes a replacement, which hopefully will survive the summer; this time under closer supervision. An American Plum will be added to a portion of the landscape in a yet-to-be-determined location, to be chosen for one of several possible sites. This plant may provide food for animals and humans alike.
Finally two domestic apples will be planted. While our push is always for natives, the greater purpose is sustainability. Home grown produce is a far more sustainable option than flying in fruits and vegetables from warmer climes hundreds or thousands of miles away, so appropriate domestic crops are the sole exception to our "natives only" rule. In this case, the apples also play host to many insects and birds despite their Asian origin, though probably not as many as native crabapple species.
Deer control is the grand challenge for all of these plantings and those already extant on the property. There is a temporary fence being planned to create several deer 'exclosures' around some of the beds. That project will warrant a post in its own right.
Warm weather is on its way!
Showing posts with label native landscape design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label native landscape design. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Species Updates
After a long summer we needed to make some updates to our species lists. With the addition of many new bird sightings and new plantings like the chokeberry, Swamp Milkweed, Cardinal Flower, and other, the list was becoming a bit outdated. Unfortunately, we here at DomEc didn't have the availability to make these updates incrementally over the summer as we would have liked.
We logged our first reptile at DomEc this summer--a young Black Rat Snake. We don't have a category in the sidebar for reptiles because they are so rare here. The same is true for amphibians; none of which have yet been logged. Hopefully that will change. Birds are now up to 106 species with Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and Cape May Warbler added in just the last few days.
Sadly some of the native plants didn't survive the heat wave and lack of rain that has afflicted the Domicile Ecophile property this August. The American Chestnut seedling was one of the victims. Many years ago a fallen tree created a hole in the canopy along the eastern edge of the property. The chestnut had been planted in that hole in hopes of one day replacing the missing tree. There are Eastern Poplar seedlings around the property. One of them might get transferred in as substitute.
Butterfly Weed, a milkweed species, is now finally reproducing on its own. About half-a-dozen seedlings have come up around the small hillside patch that was planted in the summer of 2014. I suspect that since it is a temperate species the seeds may require a form of stratification (temperature changes to break down growth inhibitors in the seed). Temperate plants often employ growth inhibitors to prevent them from germinating late in fall and dying in winter. I suspect our new recruits are born of the 2014 seeds, not the plentiful 2015 crop that is blowing around the property now.
The Dappled Willow that was part of the horrendous (but typical) exotic-based landscape installation present when we took over the property has been pulled. Many of the exotics are now being removed in conjunction with the vinyl siding project that is ongoing. Two Burning Bush, two huge Japanese Barberry, and the willow have been removed so far. In time these will all be replaced with natives or (human) food-producing plants. More updates to come...
We logged our first reptile at DomEc this summer--a young Black Rat Snake. We don't have a category in the sidebar for reptiles because they are so rare here. The same is true for amphibians; none of which have yet been logged. Hopefully that will change. Birds are now up to 106 species with Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and Cape May Warbler added in just the last few days.
Sadly some of the native plants didn't survive the heat wave and lack of rain that has afflicted the Domicile Ecophile property this August. The American Chestnut seedling was one of the victims. Many years ago a fallen tree created a hole in the canopy along the eastern edge of the property. The chestnut had been planted in that hole in hopes of one day replacing the missing tree. There are Eastern Poplar seedlings around the property. One of them might get transferred in as substitute.
Butterfly Weed, a milkweed species, is now finally reproducing on its own. About half-a-dozen seedlings have come up around the small hillside patch that was planted in the summer of 2014. I suspect that since it is a temperate species the seeds may require a form of stratification (temperature changes to break down growth inhibitors in the seed). Temperate plants often employ growth inhibitors to prevent them from germinating late in fall and dying in winter. I suspect our new recruits are born of the 2014 seeds, not the plentiful 2015 crop that is blowing around the property now.
The Dappled Willow that was part of the horrendous (but typical) exotic-based landscape installation present when we took over the property has been pulled. Many of the exotics are now being removed in conjunction with the vinyl siding project that is ongoing. Two Burning Bush, two huge Japanese Barberry, and the willow have been removed so far. In time these will all be replaced with natives or (human) food-producing plants. More updates to come...
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Our FIRST Video!
Posted below is our first video. It's just a demo really. We needed a place to test out settings, formats, and generally just see what the contest will look like when it is actually live. This is not to say the content is fake: It is a legitimate video of activities happening here this week. The production value, however, is a bit low and some of the editing a bit rushed. Eventually we expect it will be deleted and replaced with a more formal version with a better intro. Enjoy and feel free to give feedback on this very early attempt!
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