I'm here, but at this time of year, with lots of snow still on the ground, I only drop in a couple times/month. (Most of my internet energy is focused on getting another dog) It was a lovely sunny day yesterday, +10C, and we had a small bonfire in our woods -- yes, I know brush piles are good, fires are bad, but it's fun to have one (we have many, many brush piles and downed trees in our cedar woods that was badly damaged in the 1998 ice storm)

Here!
Sorry I am late for roll call.
Loris
Confused? OK, one thread will likely fall behind and fade out.
Jancarkner
We had 86F for the official high here today, no need for a bonfire.
To anyone who drops in on this thread, enjoy your habitat!

dirt_dew,

Thanks for checking in. Good to know some people are still out there! I have seen people posting who haven't responded to either thread, so things are better than it looks based on these.

Lori

I'm here...installing a large NWF certified backyard habitat....I added pics to my link, which I'll provide, but for some reason, the link only takes you to the updates. Cold in coastal SE. I've been checking here every now and then...spend more time in butterfly garden. I also installed 2 orchard mason bee lodges, and a large bathouse. Looking forward to Spring and sharing photos!

msrpaul,

Good for you for going for the certification. I havent done it (yet?), but it does seem like a good way to educate people. Looks like your yard has a lot of potential. Good luck with it.

Lori

Loris,

I grew up in S Jersey (Woodstown)where I first started to love gardening. This garden has always been my dream, and now I finally can do it. We built this house in Summer 2004, and put in some large beds in front yard and by driveway. I'll send a link of photos from last year (first year of flowers..)

I think of S Jersey alot, climate is similiar to ours in Coastal SC, spring is just 3-4 weeks later, but alas, you don;t have those terrible fire ants! Maybe one day I'll move back and put a great garden there where I can get my hands dirty without worry!

I came back to post a question and have one answer before I even ask!
How many have Certified their habitat?
I have a small residential lot but I am certified.
Msrpaul
I have the large carpenter bees and they love the dead logs from big castorbean trees. These logs are beautiful "driftwood" when the thin bark drops off after the tree dies. The large carpenter bees like them standing or lying in the landscaping for "driftwood."
One of my "wild" carrots is bolting already. Sometimes I push the carrot tops into the ground right afer I cut them off to cook carrots. They reseed year after year.
I recently ordered an official sign from NWF to post out front.(have not received it yet)

Well of couse I'm here! Paul I love your pictures. I'm starting over yet again up here in IL, so anything I planted was just done last planting season.

My plan is to become certified. I have to tell you....2 things I don't miss about living in TN....fire ants and carpenter bees! Don't have either up here...and I'd never heard of the carpenter bee till we moved down there and something was making these perfect holes in an old bench I have. And the mounds the fire ants make! Good grief. I'm not big on using poison in my gardens, but those things had to go. I think we had 7 mounds....that appeared in 6 months time!

Terry

msrpaul,

If you were in the Pine Barrens part of NJ, my gardening here has lots in common with it, but some differences. I have more clay and I'm in a gardening zone colder than some of my relatives further south.

dirt_dew,

I tried--there had been a thread about whether it was worthwhile going for the certification, and a number of people said they had done so. I had no luck doing a search on the site for it though--must be too old.

Lori

Lori,

Woodstown...Salem County.....Pine barrens a bit north...lots of people don't know its cranberry city, you can even see the bogs from Goodle Earth....We had clay in Woodstown...LOTS of it. We also had horses....to take the 5 year old horse manure...and voila....excellent garden soil!

The certify thing.....food, shelter, place to raise young...oh what's the 4th I can;t remember....but it's worth it...also will be going for the monarch station thing....we're a bit east of their migratory paths...coastal South Carolina....but I get a few strays...I hear Cape MAy sees a great migration most years....and hope for more with my milkweed I'm adding...I figure if they can see it from up there...they'll find it...terryr...it's a tradeoff...long gardening seasons where you have to watch where you put your hands...and short gardening seasons where you don't...as soon as I find the best of both worlds (NOrthern California?) I'm moving...but the fire ants are marching...and no one knows yet where they'll stop....carpenter bees, we had em in NJ, have em here...but they don;t really bother me....it's the fear of walking into a fire ant mound at night that will keep you thinking....dirtdew....the carrots really grow back?

Lori
Go to www.nwf.org
click "your yard" in the menu
click "certify your yard" on the left
??? you can get the application on screen to apply online or you can download the application
Msrpaul
Carrots certainly DO grow back and make beautiful greenery and "millions" of tiny flowers and seeds.

Msrpaul
I forgot to remind you what you forgot?
WATER is VERY important in the habitat here in Phoenix, Az.
Hi Terry
Is it still too quiet?
I have no experience with fire ants.(and no desire to have them) I do have other ants.

dirt dew....don;t know how they've missed you, unless you're in the desert...as they are found in Az now....

They really do forever change the relationship between gardener and garden....you can never quite so trustingly work 'till dusk and stick your hands in the dirt....everything always gets a 2nd look before you work it....too bad...they're in Ca now, midwest to Tn, and east to Virginia...

Water water....we have plenty of that hear....but one of my enxt gardens may be in the desert...where I build an oasis!

dirt dew, yea, to me it's still pretty quiet. There just isn't the posts of days gone by. I miss some of the old regular posters. Not that I don't like the newer members :o)

terryr,

They come back when it's time to dig and plant....so they'll show up from south to north!

Just thought I'd chime in.
I want to thank everyone on this site and this forum in particular, both past and present, for inspiring me to try create a wildlife friendly backyard (as small as it is).
My girlfriend and I have our first house (living in sin some might say) and the backyard was basically a clean slate (although I use the term "clean" very loosely). We are in the northern fringes of the Carolinian zone and we had read a study that said most of the native species in our area were being replaced by invasives or at least non-natives. However, the nice thing is our area of the city is still mostly oak trees. So what we decided was that anything we plant has to have wildlife value and be a native species. Of course we will have some non-native annuals, but all trees, shrubs and most perennials will follow that criteria.
I'm not sure how it will turn out, since we are learning as we go, but that's why I'm glad to have you people to consult. So please don't go away.
Thanks
Mike
Ontario, Canada

aw well shucks Mike! I don't think any of us are going away. Your small lot is going to turn out great, just like mine :o)
Got a question? Ask away!

Terry

dirt_dew,

Thanks for the information.

Mike,

Nice reading a post like yours. Ive also learned so much from the people on GW over the years.

Terry,

Good. Sounds like a commitment. :)

Lori

I'm new to your gang, and could use some input on my someday to be wildlife habitat backyard. I've posted a few questions and could use some input. I'm in coastal CT. Lots of migratory birds, a fox, wild turkeys, and Canada geese that NEVER SHUT UP!!! Can't they just draw straws for their nesting sites? Do they have to fight about it at 3:00am!!! Okay... I'm better now.

Hey rudy...I grew up(summers anyway)on Mason's Island off Mystic....God's country. Spent some of the time in Ivoryton...bushy hill lake. The water was wonderful. I visited 3 yrs ago, they let me spend the night and swim.....same tastes, same smells.

I've been posting here awhile, and on butterfly. There are some wonderful and helpful people here. I have grown leaps and bounds on their help. I am putting in a large and expensive backyard habitat....I did a lot of reading before I started (while waiting for the $ to come in!) and it was well worth it. But any size and budger works. True natives must be a priority, every time you use an exotic, you're helping to displace the native population already under stress. You can get good sized trees, they're a bit pricey, and the purists will tell you over time the smaller ones will catch them (soil chemistry), but in tree time, I need instant gratification now! A mix of hardwood and conifers will provide great shelter, and choose trees /shrubs with berries!

An excellent and beautiful tree that should be used instead of the ecologically worthless bradford pear is the Serviceberry. Birds love the berries (you can make pie with them if any left). Blueberries would do well as shrub in your area also. Try a couple of discreetly placed orchard mason bee houses (a gently native non honey making variety) that will greatly help in pollination, which you need to set good fruit. A couple of butterfly larval host plants may catch your eye, and will bring added beauty to your yard. Buy a GOOD bathouse, (has to have footholds and be waterproof-and large-500 bats) paint it dark-maybe your house color... (I live in an upscale deed restricted enighborhood and nobody knows there's one on my eave facing the street-it matches my siding! One bat eats 600-900 mosquitoes per hour, and if your house is used, you will be largely insect free for those beautiful summer nights by the marsh...

Buy a few cans of different colored chalk spray, and after looking at several design books ( I spend a winter drooling-you'll find them at Lowe's, bookstores etc) go out and start to spray paths, beds, berms for trees etc. Do it until you like it. Think lines of sight, places to "stop and small the flowers", and provide windbreak on perimiters for the butterflies. Lots of curves if you want it to look natural.

NWF has a decent website, and the US government puts out a nice book you can download that gives you good ideas (I'll try to find my copy and give you a link or email)

Hmmm...did I cover everything?

Most importantly, read over a couple good books, I'm really into the butterflies, and found a book on butteflies of my area, and the caterpillar host plant needed to attract them. I'm contantly amazed at when I put a host plant out, the NEXT DAY I'll see butterflies laying eggs on it!

If you look at some of my previous posts, you'll see aelier pics of the lawn layout...it's progressed since then, I'll try to update tomorrow.

msrpaul, thanks for the info. You were just a few coves over from me. I grew up in Stonington. Beautiful area. I'm in Milford now, but it's still nice to be near the water.

Ironcially I have zero mosquitos in my area. I have been in this house for 2 summers now, and have not seen a single one. I have no stagnant or fresh water nearby. The marsh behind me is tidal and salt water. I can tell whether the tide is rising or falling just by looking out the window. Great for crabbing or fishing.

The serviceberry tree, does it stand up to high winds well? That's the one problem I do have from time to time. It was straight winds that knocked down a huge Poplar tree that is now giving me the sunlight to plant a bird habitat.

I seem to have already attracted butterflies. I have several pavers sitting among my perrenials. I often find them basking there taking in the sunlight.

I am planning on avoiding anything non-native. I also want to play into the adjoining marsh. I don't want anything that's going to detract from the look of the marsh, or possibly spread into it.

I'll try that NWF website.

Hi! I just discovered this forum and am catching up. I live in Northeastern PA...about 75 miles north and slightly east of Philadelphia.

We have a very small property in a development where people are heavily invested in their yews at the foundation and postage stamp sized chem lawn treated gas.

One day I realized I saw no birds save robins, sparrows, grackles and starlings. And never a squirrel. So I began to research.

We implemented a habitat plan (homecooked) in the yard and got certified. Alas, I did not know quite enough about natives when I embarked and so some undesireables took over very quickly and I had a jungle. I also had a most amazing variety of birds and small mammals so I was absolutely hooked!

When we reached the jungle point about 1-1 1/2 yrs ago I tore out almost everything leaving my few native trees. Then I laid black plastic to kill off the weeds that had taken over. Meanwhile, I looked for a landscape designer who specialized in natives and natural landscaping so I could get a design that would work with the rather nasty slope we have in the tiny plot.

Last fall I found somebody and late this winter we received the final design. I loved it immediately....the designer picked out what was in my head and my dreams and put it on paper.

Since he designs for do it yourselfers, we are embarking (starting tomorrow with some hardscape) on the execution. Truthfully, some of it is too ambitious for unskilled do it yourselfers (I know my husbands shortcomings!) so we will hire some of it out. The front and side yards will be completed by Mid May, then we will screen in the patio, save a few months and begin on the back yard in the fall. We are using exclusively natives in the front and back...which will be the true habitat areas for my birds and mammals. On the side, because I love roses and fragrance, we introduce some landscape roses and lilacs and peonies and other non-invasive perennials with the natives.

I'll be posting pictures as we go along and look forward to reading this forum!

Robin

Robin, would love to see! BElivbe it or not, I also lived 5 yrs in ABE area....Love the summers, just hate waiting for them. LIke you, I knew nothing about "natives", was just the typical nursery sanderer, but learned once I started this project the importance of it!

Rudy, that's such a nice area. I don't believe Servicebarries get that large, they are along the lines of small trees. A poplar can reach 100 feet (sadly, you lost one of the larval host plants for the Tiger Swallowtail) But you can find other smaller hosts if you like em!

When I was a kid we would walk down to the Chapel on Enders ISland (our house overlooked it from Mason's) and play in the area there. It's truly one of the most beautiful shorelines. The cove that separated the 2 islands-we had a dock there, I would go clamming barefoot in the mud, and could swim, fish, row, and sail....at 10 yrs old! You could wander for hours and not have to worry about anything bad happening (other than stubbing your toe!)

MrsPaul...I am IN the ABE area....Northampton PA. What brought you here?

Robin

Robin (just so you don't miss tye typo, it's Msrpaul!) My first wife was from Bethlehem, (I'm from S Jersey) and I went "back to school" and got my degree from Allentown College (Now DeSales Univ)...completed in 1994. Lived there 5 years.

Her parents till live there, and in fact are visiting next week.

I remember all the periphel towns, Emmaus, Northampton, Easton...Mr. Bethel (we lived there a year)....driving to Water Gap was wonderful, 611 in the summer is the most beautiful ride.

Hello, Im here. Started a new home based business so havent been by in awhile, but it is going to enable me to finish off the second story 3 seasons room and turn it into an office TAX free! Whoopie! I am going to have an office that looks over my woods!! I am going to be in HEAVEN! I may not get much work done but well, who cares! LOL

Lisa,

That sounds wonderful! Thanks for checking in.

Lori

msrpaul, I am an absolutely dyslexic typist. Always. You will see. I grew up in Allentown and graduated from Southern Lehigh High School although born in Virgina. graduated from college in 94? You're still a kid! LOL My DH is from Northampton and he is convinced the center of the universe is here so here we are. Cool how small the wrold really is, isn't it?
Robin

Robin, it's beautiful country in the summer, the rolling hills have a magical beauty to them, and of course, Bethlehem is beautiful in winter ( I hear the river where Steel was has all changed)..oh well.

Actually, I went "back to school" in the adult program and gradated in 94, 14 yrs after graduating HS, so I'm walking with shades of grey....(sigh). A small world it is.

rudysmallfry -- had to giggle at your "geese" post! Funniest thing I ever saw was on the Navy Base in Newport where I work....about 50 geese and their babies held up all the young sailors marching in formation down the middle of the street, duffles bags, etc. ... waiting in parade formation for the dang things to waddle across the street.. LOL

Checking in from Mystic, CT. A big "Hello" to those of you also from this area! We are about 100' from Mystic Cove. It's a beautiful area.

Thanks to this Forum, I got motivated and received certification on our site last summer. We have many people ask what it's all about. What a wonderful way to speak a couple minutes about habitat.

I hung out on the Cooking Forum for most of the winter & spend a lot of time on the New England Gardening Forum during the growing season but check in here regularily although I don't post frequently.

Happy Spring!

Triciae...wow!

We had a house on Mason's ISland overlooking Ender's Island. this was in late 1960's early 1970's. Visited 3 years ago, the people were so nice and let us in. Then went to the chapel at Enders. It's an incredible place. As a kid I knew that water like the back of my hand...the currents, I would row all over that place. Still a family or 2 I know that lives there....

There's a small lake on MAson's ISland (seemed much larger when I was a kid) I would fish there in the summer.....and our house had a dock on Thank God Cove.

Ahhhhhh...what memories...

I posted my sign just after daybreak Thursday. Now anyone can see my wildlife habitat is certified!
Just before sunset today I spent an hour watching the pair of falcons that is nesting in my palm tree. They were preening side by side on the first new flower stalk. It has not opened yet so the view was unobstructed.

dirt dew, that is cool! Both being certified and watching the falcons. I'm wondering how long does one wait before being certified. I looked at the registration form and it just sounds like they want more mature plantings then my little twigs. That look like they're planted so far apart, but once they grow up, they'll fill in the space nicely...

Hi all. I've been lurking here a bit. I spend most of my time on Far North, but this was interesting to me as my goal is to make our (triple lot) nature friendly. I had to laugh at the post about geese...we live across from a bird sanctuary that is right on the migration path for ducks, geese, swans, seagulls, etc. so we get a lot of noise too. (Though DH and I love watching them come in by the thousands, so it's well worth it for us.)

For those who are interested, my name is Verena and I'm in central Alberta. DH and I bought an older fixer-up-er two years ago. The large yard was the selling point. :-)

Hi Verenap.. glad to have you with us all! I'm in R.I. and fiance and I bought a cute little cottage on a lake, which hadn't been taken care of outside. We've been busy planting perennial gardens, and using alot of the natural plants that were here already. This year it's so pretty for the first time. Love my birds, and have some crazy squirrels that keep us entertained for hours. Have a wonderful summer all!!

Terry
Wait until you are committed!
If, you are dedicated to enjoying this wonderful planet and putting back more than you take out so that you help insure that something is left for the future, do NOT wait. Fill out the form honestly and completely, and see if you qualify.??? Do you provide food for some form of wildlife? Do you have a birdbath, pond, fountain, or some other way to provide water? Do you have some cover to provide escape from preditors? Do you provide a place to raise young?
I have some large "driftwood" logs for the large carpenter bees to nest. Some undisturbed vegetation is good for beneficial insects. Flowers provide pollen and nectar, and later seeds. Tiny birds love the hollyhock seeds.
Every habitat has a beginning. Keep up the good work!
Verena
You speak of geese. Late this afternoon I looked up and HIGH in the sky was very large V! It came from the southeast and crossed over me to the northwest. Maybe coming from over Mexico and heading for BC? They were too high for me to hear the noise. Here and there one would drop back and veer over to take a "higher" spot in the social order.
Msrpaul
I have no experience with the killer bees yet either, but they are here too.
Navymom2226
Happy summer to you too!

dirt dew, I don't think you can get anymore committed than me...unless you're the other hundred people here at wildlife! I have 2 birdbaths (actually 3, but that one sprung a leak) and I have a bird spa (yet to be installed). I don't feed artificially currently (except for hummers)....I see mostly house sparrows and I AM NOT feeding them. I've got 2 bird houses that have yet to be put up...seed and berries will be provided when they "grow up" some. I do have cover. When we removed all the privet, and had to throw it out back for the city to pick up, it was full of sparrows, so I'm not sure about having a brush pile. At least not yet...let's get these sparrows outta here first! Oh, and I didn't even know what a carpenter bee was until we moved to TN in 03, and now that we're home again, I hope to never see another. I suppose they have a place, but they sure are destructive little buggers. I definitely think that this summer would be a better time to fill out the form...hopefully by then I can have my bird houses up...which I've been putting off because of all the sparrows....and my plants will be filled out more than they are now. Because of your encouragement, I'm going to go visit their site again.

Terry

I did it! I filled it all out on line and they're sending me my certificate and my sign!! I qualify even without my houses and bird feeders up! WOOHOO!!!

Springs in full swing here...I post updates on my wildlife garden on butterfly, haven;t updated in a week and a half...but will take pics tomorrow. Have a family of chickadees raising their babies ina bluebird house by my backdoor, and a family of bluebirds in the middle of my backyard. Have lots of bird traffic now that trees are going in my yard....it's so beautiful in the morning....have monarch cats, BST cats, pipevine swallowtail eggs, tiger swallowtail eggs, zebra swallowtail eggs, and spicebush swallowtail eggs....have a red bellied woodpecker family in the treeline, and flowers growing everywhere...I just expanded a flowerbed in the front yard as well.....

Life is good. PS Navymom....stay away from those bees..luckily they haven;t moved east.

Terry
Good for you! I was hoping you would not wait.
Congratulations!!!
I never feed. The hummingbirds eat tons of insects. They need the protein, too. They always get nectar from the banana flowers. They also drink from the holes the woodpeckers make high on the stems of the banana plants. The ground is undisturbed in much of my yard so there are seeds and insects in the mulch for other birds. I have flowers year round and let them set seed. There are lots of berries. I leave some of the pomegranites on the trees year round. They split open and the birds use them like feeders. The lizards find all the insects they need. I never use poisons in my yard.
I have enough cover that the American Kestrel Falcons and hummingbirds both nest here. Hummingbirds are desirable prey for the Kestrels but they co-exist here in my habitat.
I have not had damage from the large carpenter bees. They prefer the large logs to painted wood in buildings.