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Naturalization of my Property

Backyard - Woods area

(Summer 2002)

The woods area is the first area that I started work on.  When I moved in, the only things growing in here were trilliums and the buckthorns, as well as some serviceberry trees.  Since then, I have planted hundreds of various woodland native plants. The area is now jamb-packed with growth.
  
Here what the woods area looked like before I had done much with it. This is actually a view of the neighbour's woods area (my apologies to the neighbours for using their area as a negative example!).

 

  
Jun/02: Here is a view looking back towards the rear of the house.  It was taken from inside the woods area.  

I have removed many of the invasive small European Buckthorn trees, but have left a few to continue to provide shade while other shrubs grow up, such as dogwoods.  Prior to removal of the hedge, the house was not visible at all from here, and very little light found its way into this little woods.

The small tree in the foreground is one of the buckthorns that I have trimmed down to let light into the woods.

Notice the dogwoods that are growing up in the foreground.  They sprung up by themselves once the buckthorns were removed.

  
Jun/02: Here's a few photos of various sections of the woods. The pond is visible in the background in the upper left photo.
  

  

  
Quite a difference from the "before" picture, eh?!

From the beginning I always had small trails through the woods area. At first I placed flat natural stones to step on. Their uneven surfaces and erratic placement created a balancing act to walk along the trails. When plants started to grow up between them, they became even more difficult to negotiate, especially for visitors. Then I tried wood chips. These washed away by the second summer. The photo at left above shows one of these trails.

In Jun/02 I placed cedar rail borders along the trails, and covered them with a few inches of mulch. Here's a couple of photos of these new trails.

  

  

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Naturalization:  Before  •  1999  •  2000  •  2001  •  2002  •  2004  •  2005
Before & After Comparisons  •  Plant List  •  Animal List

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