Think what our neighborhoods could be like if everyone planted just one crabapple tree and a five foot patch of milkweed.

Martha

Here's the Great Crested Flycatcher

And here's the oriole.

Wow Liz,
That is just amazing. Beautiful pictures. I too have noticed a lot more bird activity at my house this year, since adding more shrubs and native plants. I did put in a simple bird bath fountain, and I think that has made a huge difference. I had a huge black bird bathing in it the other day, it was quite comical...We have a few Cardinals and Oriels that quickly pass in the spring, but this year we have Mourning Doves, Robins and House Wrens, and Meadow Larks nesting in the area.
Yes, I must get the Crabapple that I have been saving a space for..
Martha, you are so right...more milkweed for sure.
Debra

What gorgeous trees and birds Liz! It's great that you're providing food, water and protection for the wildlife. I'm looking forward to seeing more pics.

When I moved from Ohio to my 2 acres in the Florida sandhill, pine scrub 6 years ago I was amazed at the diversity of wildlife that lived in this unusual looking area. I've added more native plants and left what nature put here alone. Besides tons of birds and butterflies, I have some pretty rare and almost endangered species: gopher tortoise, Sherman's fox squirrel and indigo snakes to name a few.

My Mom and Dad live in a small apartment in a retirement village and have just a small patio and redbud tree. Mom puts out pots of flowers and manages to get hummers every year. It doesn't take a big yard to attract wildlife.

Every day is a new experience and I wouldn't want it any other way :)
Rhonda

Oh how fortunate you are to have such rarities, Rhonda!!!!
I remember Gopher Tortoises and Indigo Snakes from my childhood, to name a few. Thank you for providing habitat for these beautiful and little understood creatures...

John

John,
I had never heard of either creature until i moved to Florida. Sure glad they love my property :)

"perfectly ordinary 1 acre suburban lot in New Jersey." How many New Jersey homes have one acre lots?

Your pictures are great and I appreciate how you contribute here, Liz. I'm sure the wildlife really appreciates your yard. Most birds don't need a lot of room if they can access food easily.

There are a number of trees in Florida, where I live, that do what your crab apple tree does. I have a large loquat tree that the birds and critters like. Actually I have two, but one is almost totally covered by my Orchid tree now.

One animal that I have attracted that I don't care for is the raccoon. They defecate on my porch upstairs and they put holes in my screen. They also scare my dog and tend to destroy the bird nests in the area. I don't think they have a natural enemy, except the coyotes may kill the small ones. The coyotes have taken care of any stray cats in the neighborhood. They have also attacked my dog--a small Jack Russell. Cost me over two thousand dollars to have her treated after the attack.

She has learned, though. She doesn't let me get out of sight when I let her out in the yard.

I hope I didn't come across snobby about the size of the lot--I didn't mean to.

Actually, lot size varies a great deal in NJ. There are beautiful neighborhoods in northern NJ with 1/8 or 1/4 acre lots. I live in the central part of the state, and good sized lots are pretty common. My zipcode is certainly well-off, but with a 1-acre property we're at the low end of the price range. The new houses are all zoned 12 acres--mini-estates. Although a few people do have horses, most people just have McMansions on 12 acres of sterile lawn. It's a shame, when we could all do so much more.
LIz

Yes. When people like us see lawns we think of planting things--flowers, bushes, trees, vines. Most of our fellow citizens think "low care."

Can't say I blame them in some ways, but we could certainly educate them into having beautiful yards, with little care and many flora for animals that we want around (no raccoons, please).

I'm going to reduce the lawn some more this year...

Beautiful lawns are only low care for those who hire someone else to care for them. And they are usually a sign of heavy chemical use and generous irrigation. Liz gets a wonderful variety in her "small" yard because no one else has anything growing that provides food or shelter for creatures.

Martha

Liz, we do not think you are snobby about the size of your lot, I live in a more rural area, and lot size varies so much. We are just really excited that you have chosen to plant nature friendly plants as opposed to acres of well manicured lawn. I have a large corner lot, larger than most in my neighborhood, and I have way too much lawn. I am slowly reducing the lawn to more native plants, but it is a slow process. Here in the TX Panhandle trees are scarce, so I really am envious of your amount of trees you have.
We even have a Historical Marker on one highway, with a fenced Elm Tree designating the first tree planted in the Panhandle. Crazy right? When we first bought our house we had two diseased Elm trees and 3 diseased Weeping Willows. Wanting instant shade I planted 7 Cleveland Pears. I also planted a Sugar Maple and a red Oak, the dog ate both, 10 years ago. I have a lovely Shumardi Red Oak that I planted in 2007 that is doing well. Now I can't decide if I want more trees or full sun in my gardens beds, for the bird and Butterfly friendly plants. First World Problem!
Just enjoy your backyard habitat, as I am mine...

Unfortunately, Martha is right. I do get more variety because around me all is sterile. Birdwatchers call it a "migrant trap." There are so few places to land that birds concentrate in the one spot that has a bit of nature. There was just an article about this issue in the NY Times.

Debra, it's nice to have trees,especially a couple to shade the house. I think Shumard oak is native for you, isn't it? But I would Imagine the dominant native flora for you would be prairie, no? There should be a ton you could do in that direction. And all us sun-deprived Easterners will envy you your flowers and butterflies!

PS--I'm on a corner lot and I still have a huge lawn, too. I'd like to reduce it but it takes a long time to make these changes, I find. My mantra is "better next year." As long as a make a bit of progress each season, I consider it a win.
Liz

Here is a link that might be useful: Birdwatchers vs. dog owners in Prospect Park

What an interesting thread, Liz!

I'm so glad you've made your New Jersey acre a wildlife habitat, and the birds and butterflies are even happier about it! That crabapple is gorgeous! I have a small one I planted, plus some wild ones grow in the woods, but those in deep shade don't bloom.

I hate to brag, too, but I have 5 1/2 mostly wooded acres that we bought and built on 18 years ago. When we built the house, we picked a spot that was high and dry and the big trees were just pines. We nestled the house amongst the oaks. We lost most of the loblolly pines in Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and now I pull any loblolly seedlings that come up - they're fast growing, weak trees. All the remaining trees and shrubs have grown, plus I've added many, many native trees and shrubs that are wildlife friendly. I especially like viburnums - birds love the fruits, and they're very easy to grow, needing little care.

I'm fortunate to also have wildlife such as box turtles, skinks and lizards, even snakes, although they still give me the creeps. I've never seen a rattlesnake here, but my neighbors have, so one might have slithered through here. I've seen several copperheads, garter snakes, many black racers and chicken snakes, a few water snakes, and one coach whip. When we first bought the property I saw some type of coral snake, but I haven't seen one since. There are crawfish mounds in the bottom of the hollow, and I've found slimy salamanders when I dug up some wet soil down there.
We have so many different kinds of bugs, I can't begin to identify them all, but I really love those lightning bugs! Of course, I don't consider butterflies and moths to be bugs - they're too fancy to be called a bug. :)

It's been raining all afternoon, so I can't go outside. I hope you don't mind if I indulge myself and make and share a list of most of the trees and shrubs that grow on my property. I haven't done this in 18 years -

Longleaf Pine
Spruce Pine
Loblolly Pine
Pond Cypress (I planted this, but native & local)
Dawn Redwood (I planted this, not native)
Atlantic White Cedar (I planted these, but native & local)
Southern Red Cedar
Black Willow (I rooted these, but native, local & small)
Southern Wax Myrtle
Odorless Bayberry
Pecan
Musclewood (Planted these & they're native and thriving)
American Beech (I planted it, but it's native and local)
Bluff Oak (I planted from local acorns)
Southern Red Oak
Laurel Oak (I planted it)
Water Oak
Post Oak
Overcup Oak (Planted but local)
Swamp Chestnut Oak (Planted from local acorns)
Chinquapin Oak (I planted)
Live Oak (Planted but native & local)
Winged Elm (I planted but native)
Tulip Tree
Southern Magnolia
Bigleaf Magnolia (Planted but native & local)
Pyramid Magnolia (Planted but native & local)
Sweetbay Magnolia
Anise Tree (Planted but local)
Small Flowered Anise (Planted)
Pawpaw (Planted)
Small Pawpaw (Planted but local)
Redbay and Swampbay (Can't Tell the Difference)
Sassafras
Witch Hazel (Planted but local)
Sweetgum
Downy Serviceberry (Planted but local)
Southern Crabapple
Wild Black Cherry
Black Locust (I planted)
Hoptree (I planted)
Winged Sumac
Poison Sumac (small)
Swamp Cyrilla/Titi
Large Gallberry
Gallberry
Possumhaw
American Holly
Yaupon Holly
Red Maple
Florida Maple (I planted)
Red Buckeye
Bottlebrush Buckeye
Devil's Walkingstick
Black Gum
Flowering Dogwood
Mountain Laurel (I planted but local)
Sourwood (I planted but local)
Huckleberry
Blueberry (V. elliottii)
Persimmon
Two Winged Silverbell (Planted but local)
Sweetleaf
Fringe Tree (Planted but local)
Devilwood/Wild Olive
Buttonbush (I rooted from local bush)
Elderberry
Arrowwood
Ash's Viburnum
Mapleleaf Viburnum (I planted)
Rhododendron Canescens (I planted but local)
Rhododendron Austrinum (I planted but local)
Rhododendron Serrulatum or R. Viscosum
Rhododendron Periclymenoides (I planted)
Rhododendron Alabamense (I planted)
Rhododendron Chapmanii (I planted)
American Beauty Berry
Parsley Hawthorn
Virginia Willow
Mimosa (I planted)
False Indigo (I planted)
Dwarf Huckleberry

These are birds that I consider 'regulars' that is, they're on my property for a decent length of time at some time of the year. This list does not include occasional visitors, even though they may live down the road! Kingfishers hang around my neighbors' ponds, there are red-headed woodpeckers at specific locations nearby, vultures and hawks, owls and turkeys and others have visited, and there are many other water birds that live around ponds and waterways. I even had the privilege of feeding a rufous hummingbird winter before last.

Here are my 'regulars' -

Mississippi Kite (becoming a regular)
Bobwhite (summer)
Mourning Dove (all year)
Yellow Billed Cuckoo (summer - love these!)
Chuck Will's Widow (They Sing all Night in summer)
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (summer)
Red-Bellied Woodpecker (all year)
Pileated Woodpecker (in and out all year)
Yellow Shafted Flicker
Downy Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher (summer)
Vireo that says "How Are You" (summer)
Vireo that says "Step to the Rear" (summer)
Blue Jay (all year)
Tufted Titmouse (all year)
Carolina Chickadee (all year)
Carolina Wren (nesting in the porch window molding)
Eastern Bluebird (all year on the property edge)
Wood Thrush (summer)
American Robin (winter)
Mockingbird (all year on the property edge)
Brown Thrasher (all year)
Hooded Warbler (summer)
Summer Tanager (summer)
Eastern Towhee (all year)
White Throated Sparrow (winter)
Northern Cardinal (all year)
Blue Grosbeak (summer)
Orchard Oriole (summer)
American Goldfinch (winter, mostly)

I had a lot of wildlife on my large, 1/2 acre lot in Gulfport, and I've seen lots of wildlife on even smaller lots, so, people who don't live in the country can, indeed, give wildlife a home.
I wish more people were into planting for butterflies and birds!

Sherry

Somehow my long post got posted twice, so I'm deleting the second one.

Sherry

This post was edited by misssherry on Fri, May 9, 14 at 21:13

Thank you, Sherry! This is really fascinating. Can you post the scientific names of the plants as well, for those of us who are not familiar with your neck of the woods?

I don't have nearly so many species, of course, since it is a smaller lot with much less varied habitat. I will have to make up a similar list, though. Watch this space!

I just started keeping a list of all the birds that I have seen or heard in the yard. That includes migrants who I only see briefly and residents. I'm up to 36, having just started in March. I believe I heard a black throated green warbler today, but I didn't get a look at it so I probably won't add it to the list. I expect I will get to add a few more over the course of the year.
Liz

Sherry,
I'm so jealous of all of your trees. I have a large yard, nearly two acres, just inside the Grand Rapids city limits. I'm lucky because my property backs up to the interstate, and there is a large, swampy area that serves as the storm collection site for the nearby commercial strip between my property and the highway. That area has to be 30+ acres and it may as well be my back yard. So, there is space for wildlife. Unfortunately, there is a deep, muddy stream that separates me from that area, so I don't have access to easily carry plants or tool in to improve the habitat. And I can't build a bridge.

My own two acres is a mix of oak and large white pine. The oak are all tall and narrow and probably should be replaced. But, I know how important dying portions of the forest are to supporting wildlife, as well. So, I have too much shade to plant many new trees.

I did, just yesterday, plant four elderberries. I also put in four blueberries and about 15 raspberries. My plan is to continue to add native shrubs and small trees as well as shade tolerant understory perennials. I have a lengthy list of those sitting in milk jugs in my driveway. They are waiting for me to clear out another portion of invasive Lily-of-the-Valley, English Ivy, Vinca Minor, and Lamium. These are in beds close to the house and are mixed in with Trillium and Solomon's Seal and Virginia Creeper, which I'm trying to preserve. I also have the dreaded Garlic Mustard growing thickly in the wilder areas of my property and the two or three properties on either side of me. It's bad enough that I have to resort to chemical control. I tried simply pulling the plants, but the patches just get bigger and more dense each year.

Oh, and I have a full time job and four teenagers. No wonder I'm tired. But, my time in the yard is precious therapy. Sorry to drag on, but it's fun to share with others who understand the drive to work for this kind of change.

Martha

You have four teenagers living with you? Wow. I have just one and it seems to be a full-time job. It really depends upon the teenagers, though. The one I have is really very nice and easy to get along with. He doesn't drive yet, which is a blessing in one sense and a burden in another.

It seems like you are doing quite a bit to improve your property for wildlife. Are you planning on eating the blueberries and raspberries or are you growing them for the birds and other animals?

I have been fairly aggressive at cutting down trees on my property that weren't contributing to wildlife in a significant way. When I first moved in I planted a lot of Crepe Myrtles. I now regret it, because they seem to contribute very little to butterflies, hummingbirds or other birds. They produce many flowers, but even the bees seem to ignore them. I now use these trees as trellises for vines. If they don't support the vines, or the vines I planted have not turned out I have and will continue to cut them down.

What is so cool is to be able to create the landscape. I now sit in a chair during a large part of the mornings reading and enjoying the landscape that I have created. Right now there are so many birds, butterflies and other critters that visit that I feel like I'm in a movie theater watching a movie that has familiar characters, but there are surprising visitors and happenings that change every few moments.

I'm still not able to do much because of my back operation, but I am buying more plants and doing some very pleasurable thinking and plotting next moves.

Tom,
We hope to enjoy the fruit ourselves, but the spring blossoms will support native bees and other insects, which will contribute to the overall habitat. And I'm sure we won't get all the fruit. The elderberries, especially, I don't know if I know what to do with, so may just let them go to the birds. I also have a high bush cranberry an two viburnums that are for the critters. We don't have enough sun for a veggie garden, so we'll enjoy the fruits we can get.

Martha

It posted twice again! I guess they're trying to tell me to quit posting such long posts!

Sherry

This post was edited by misssherry on Sat, May 10, 14 at 12:37

We got 4.4" of rain yesterday! That's a lot, but it hasn't rained in 10 days, so we needed it.

Liz, warblers are the hardest birds for me to identify. The trees here, especially the red maples, sweetbay magnolias, oaks, sweetgums and the tulip trees in the bottom of the hollow, are real tall and wide, full of leaves for little bitty warblers to hide in. I hear songs and calls coming from that canopy all the time that I can't identify, and I'm pretty sure most of the mystery songs are some type warbler. I saw a black and white warbler once, so they may live here. Hooded warblers are the only ones that come down to earth often enough that I could ID them for sure, plus their song is easily identifiable.

Martha, sunlight is a precious commodity on my property, also! That's another reason I like viburnums - they're shade tolerant, even bloom decently in shade. And there are some plants I didn't mention, because I was enjoying making my list too much - Chinese privet, Japanese honeysuckle and Japanese climbing fern, ugh! These invasive Asians are such a thorn in my side! I pull the privet all the time, but it's still here, trying to completely take over, if it can out do the Japanese honeysuckle and climbing fern, that is. When we took our trip to Virginia a few years ago, I watched what was growing roadside to see how wide spread Chinese privet is, the 'privet line' - it stops around Birmingham.The only way to completely eliminate these plants is with DEEP shade - you don't find them in the bottom of the hollow under the big tulip trees, oaks, red maples, and sweetbay magnolias. So shade does have its benefits!

Four teenagers?! Oh my! At one time I had two, and that was a handful! You need gardening for wildlife as stress relief! I don't know how you find time for a full-time job in the middle of all that! You're amazing!

Tom, the birds get a lot of the blueberries, from both wild and cultivated (12 bushes) I grow on the edge of the property by my garden in the rare sunny space here. Most of the wild ones, Vaccinium elliottii, are loaded with green berries right now. They're a pain to pick, because they're small, and they don't ripen all at once, just a few here, a few there. But since there are so many this year, I told my mother I'd pick some for her to make blueberry muffins with, and I'll pick some for myself. They are much better in the muffins than the big, cultivated types. By the way, there's a bush on the edge of the woods that's easy to reach, so I fertilized it one year with manure and a small amount of chemical fertilizer mixed in. It's become a real big, thick bush, but now it never flowers so no berries! At least it didn't, I'll have to check it for this year's crop. I have wild blackberries that I'll be picking, then I want to pull them up to keep them from overtaking the false nettles. 'Don't know how much good this does, because I've pulled them up, scratching myself badly, numerous times, but I guess all it takes is one little piece of root left in the ground for them to get going again. They're native, but they grow like foreign invasives.
I'm like you, I like to sit on the front porch and read and listen to the birds!

Liz, the tree list with scientific names -

Longleaf Pine - Pinus palustris
Spruce Pine - Pinus glabra
Loblolly Pine - Pinus taeda
Pond Cypress - Taxodium ascendens
Dawn Redwood - Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Atlantic White Cedar - Chamaecyparis thyoides
Southern Red Cedar - Juniperus silicicola
Black Willow - Salix nigra
Southern Wax Myrtle - Myrica cerifera (wintering birds love these!)
Odorless Bayberry - Myrica inodora (these, too!)
Pecan - Carya illinoensis
Musclewood - Carpinus caroliniana
American Beech - Fagus grandifolia
Bluff Oak - Quercus austrina
Southern Red Oak - Quercus falcata
Laurel Oak - Quercus laurifolia
Water Oak - Quercus nigra
Post Oak - Quercus stellata
Overcup Oak - Quercus lyrata
Swamp Chestnut Oak - Quercus michauxii
Chinquapin Oak - Quercus muehlenbergii
Live Oak - Quercus virginiana
Winged Elm - Ulmus alata
Tulip Tree - Liriodendron tulipifera
Southern Magnolia - Magnolia grandiflora
Bigleaf Magnolia - Magnolia macrophylla
Pyramid Magnolia - Magnolia pyramidata
Sweetbay Magnolia - Magnolia virginiana
Anise Tree - Illicium floridanum
Small Flowered Anise - Illicium parviflorum
Pawpaw - Asimina triloba
Small Pawpaw - Asimina parviflora
Redbay and Swampbay - Persea borbonia & P. palustris
Sassafras - Sassafras albidum
Witch Hazel - Hamamelis virginiana
Sweetgum - Liquidambar styraciflua
Downy Serviceberry - Amelanchier arborea
Southern Crabapple - Malus angustifolia
Wild Black Cherry - Prunus serotina
Black Locust - Robinia pseudoacacia
Hoptree/Wafer Ash - Ptelea trifoliata
Winged Sumac - Rhus copallina
Poison Sumac - Toxicodendron vernix
Swamp Cyrilla/Titi - Cyrilla racemiflora
Large Gallberry - Ilex coriacea
Gallberry - Ilex glabra
Possumhaw - Ilex decidua
American Holly - Ilex opaca
Yaupon Holly - Ilex vomitoria
Red Maple - Acer rubrum
Florida Maple - Acer barbatum
Red Buckeye - Aesculus pavia
Bottlebrush Buckeye - Aesculus parviflora
Devil's Walkingstick - Aralia spinosa
Black Gum - Nyssa sylvatica
Flowering Dogwood - Cornus florida
Mountain Laurel - Kalmia latifolia
Sourwood - Oxydendrum arboreum
Huckleberry - Vaccinum arboreum
Blueberry - Vaccinum elliottii
Persimmon - Diospyros virginiana
Two Winged Silverbell - Halesia diptera
Sweetleaf - Symplocos tinctoria
Fringe Tree - Chionanthus virginicus
Devilwood/Wild Olive - Osmanthus americanus
Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis
Elderberry - Sambucus canadensis
Arrowwood - Viburnum dentatum
Ash's Viburnum - Viburnum ashe
Mapleleaf Viburnum - Viburnum acerfifolium
Piedmont Azalea - Rhododendron canescens
Florida Azalea - Rhododendron austrinum
Swamp azalea - Rhododendron viscosum probably, but could be R. serrulatum - authorities aren't even sure
Pinxterbloom Azalea - Rhododendron periclymenoides
Alabama Azalea - Rhododendron alabamense
Chapman's Rhododendron - Rhododendron chapmanii
American Beauty Berry - Callicarpa americana
Parsley Hawthorn - Crataegus marshallii
Virginia Willow - Itea virginica
Mimosa - Albizia julibrissin
False Indigo - Amorpha fruticosa
Dwarf Huckleberry - ?Gaylussacia dumosa?

Sherry

That's just amazing, Sherry. Your property must comprise most of southern Mississippi and Georgia.

It takes you, what, a week to walk through all your property?

I'm just astounded by the number and variety--and by the fact that you can recognize all these trees, bushes and birds.

You are simply awesome. Don't know what other words fit.

Thanks, Tom! It IS amazing how many different plants I've managed to cram into this 5 1/2 acres!

Sherry

That's quite a diverse group of trees. Some day I want my yard to grow up just like yours.

Martha

Me too!
Liz

dr.liz,
In answer to your question, is my area considered "Prairie" In the Texas Panhandle we are in the High Plains, which is considered "Cold Semi Arid". We have extremes in temperatures of 40 degrees in a day. We have semi desert plants, Yucca, Mesquite, Sagebrush, Buffalo grass, our only native tree is the Cottonwood, and I believe some desert willow. Elm trees have seeded themselves tremendously over the past 60 years, I am constantly pulling them out of my flower beds. We have adopted many trees from Oklahoma and Central Texas, the Shumari Oak is one that does well here. We have an amazing Canyon just south of us, "Palo Duro Canyon" the second largest canyon in the US. The soil is hard clay, slightly alkaline, but the wonderful thing is, it is very adaptable with the right amendments. I am trying to grow as many native plants as I can, but I do love pushing the limits with Clematis and Heuchera, neither of which I realize are great for butterflies, they are in my special, need extra attention flower bed.
I am looking forward to next summer when we hope to remove our lovely Bermuda turf, (water magnet) and plant "Red Yucca" lots of Sedum, and many other native or xeriscape plants. I know the neighbors will be shocked, but it will be better than looking at their lawns that they do not water anymore. I really admire the people here that have changed to xeriscape more than those who have just chosen to let their lawns turn to dirt, which is exactly what we do not need in our drought situation.
Debra

Debra, if I were you, I'd just HAVE to plant some downy paintbrush, Castilleja sessiliflora, or any of the other particular varieties of this beautiful wildflower. It's host to buckeyes, so it's valuable in addition to being useful. I've tried it, but it dies here, too wet and humid.

The book Butterfly Gardening for the South by Ajilvsgi lists and shows pictures of many plains plants useful to butterflies.

Sherry

Sherry, I will add that on to my list for next year as well.
I did get a copy of Ajilvsgi's new 2013 release, Butterfly Gardening for Texas and it is wonderful.
It has a great garden plan for the high plains, and just full of new information and was well worth the $25.00, it is a sturdy paperback, very nice book if anyone else has been considering it. Love it!

I've so enjoyed reading through this tread. My thanks to all who contributed and who take time to plant for the wildlife.

Sherry, couldn't help but relate to your story regarding your blackberry canes. I, too, have been fighting the spread of Blackberry canes. I don't know if they were planted by the prior owner or by the neighbor behind me but even with me cutting each cane over and over during the growing season, they had spread so badly they were even beginning to show up all over my small grassy area in the backyard, not to mention the garden beds. Strong canes with terrible thorns that catch at fabric and skin, no matter how carefully the canes are handled.

Last year I could see I was losing the battle so I purchased brush killer and carefully sprayed in the spring with the first spring flush of growth, everywhere I could spray without hitting other plants (I used a tall hollow cone to try and contain the spray to each cane). I managed to set back the growth somewhat but couldn't eliminate everything and managed to also kill spots in my lawn.

Didn't want to attempt that process again but with this spring's blackberry cane again sprouting all over, I decided to try something new. I cut each growing cane I could reach down to about 6 inches above ground, soaked a cotton ball in full strength brush killer, placed the cotton ball on top of the fresh cut, covered it with a plastic sandwich baggie and used a rubber band to hold all in place. I am proud to say the cane's are dying, even the ones growing up into my neighbors flower beds, where I couldn't place cotton balls. I'm hopeful that with a season of doing this, I can get rid of the underground roots that spread so far and wide.

Blackberries are wonderful but for a small city lot, some can be terribly invasive and destructive. Of course, I would not place these covered, soaked cotton balls in an area where pets or small animals might roam. I don't know if wild animals would sense the danger but I doubt if domesticated pets would know to leave them alone. I've wondered if an inverted flower pot placed over each cut cane, with a heavy rock on top, would be enough of a deterrent to keep animals from investigating?

My hope is this season will see the end of the blackberry canes on my property! :-)

Mary

That's a good idea, Mary, about the brush killer. I don't think anybody has planted these blackberries, they're just the typical natives that grow roadside. You're right, there's nothing as invasive as these things!! My dogs only play in the fenced front yard area, don't go where the briars are, so they'd be alright. Rabbits and squirrels visit that area, but we've got so many rabbits and squirrels, I wouldn't mind if a few croaked! I'll probably try brush killer eventually, because I can't fight these things just by pulling them.

Sherry

Sherry and John,
I put seedlings in the mail for you last night. I'm afraid they aren't going to arrive until after the weekend, so we'll just see how they survive the trip. I have tons more seedlings, so if they don't make it, I can try again earlier in the week so they don't have such a prolonged transit. I had them all packed up and I was at the postal shop, so I decided "What the heck". Let me know how they look when they arrive.

Martha