Thursday, February 26, 2009
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My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; indeed, I have a goodly heritage. Psalm 16:6
Posts
My Native Plant and Wildlife Garden
I live and garden in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
In 2000 I bought a house on a very ordinary .4 acre subdivision lot. It was a demonstration project for landscaping mistakes that had had 30+ years to mature. I spent two years ripping out overgrown evergreens and since then have been replanting with flowering, fruiting things, many of them east coast native plants.
My interest in planting for wildlife began as an attempt to create an enriched environment for the cats but has developed into a belief that plants in the landscape should earn their keep by providing food or shelter for someone, man or beast.
These are several of the things that inspired me to reduce the size of my lawn and give more space to native trees and shrubs:
Noah's Garden: Restoring the ecology of our backyards by Sarah Stein
Smaller American Lawns Today - Connecticut College
Less Lawn
I would be very pleased if you would leave me a comment, even more so if you would tell me about your garden!
In 2000 I bought a house on a very ordinary .4 acre subdivision lot. It was a demonstration project for landscaping mistakes that had had 30+ years to mature. I spent two years ripping out overgrown evergreens and since then have been replanting with flowering, fruiting things, many of them east coast native plants.
My interest in planting for wildlife began as an attempt to create an enriched environment for the cats but has developed into a belief that plants in the landscape should earn their keep by providing food or shelter for someone, man or beast.
These are several of the things that inspired me to reduce the size of my lawn and give more space to native trees and shrubs:
Noah's Garden: Restoring the ecology of our backyards by Sarah Stein
Smaller American Lawns Today - Connecticut College
Less Lawn
I would be very pleased if you would leave me a comment, even more so if you would tell me about your garden!
My other blogs
About Me
Garden and Ecology Links
- Chestnut research project
- Fletcher Wildlife Garden
- Garden Web - check out the Forums
- Interbay mulch
- Less Lawn
- Native Azalea photos
- NC Botanical Garden - Plant Sources
- Plant more trees - Green Belt Movement
- Plant trees: American Forests
- Smaller American Lawns Today - Connecticut College
- U. Tennessee Dogwoods
- Virginia Native Plant Society
- Wild Acres - Md. Dept. of Natural Resources
- Wild Ones - Natural Landscapes
- Wildflower/Wildlife Gardening - Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Community Action
Garden Blogs
Photos
Native trees and shrubs
Tree seedlings
Native wildflowers and grasses, seeds and plants
Garden Seeds
Own Root Roses
Fruit
Garden Books
- -Noah's Garden: Restoring the ecology of our backyards by Sarah Stein
- -Planting Noah's Garden by Sarah Stein
- -Growing and Propagating Showy Native Woody Plants by Richard E. Bir
- -Manual of Woody Landscape Plants by Michael Dirr
I stumbled on your blog thru blotanical using the tag word cat. I have a variety of cats on the farm and enjoy talking to others about their cats.
ReplyDeleteA little about my garden. It takes up most of my front yard. Flowering perennials, annuals, shrubs and mature trees. I enjoy birds so there is plenty of native food and shelter for them. Rhubarb, raspberries, sugar snap pea, strawberries and heirloom tomatoes are my food crops. Everyting else is ornamental.
I read several of your archived posts and looked at all the kitty pictures. You have a fun site.
Marnie
Thanks Marnie! Your garden sounds lovely. I don't do much vegetable gardening now since I'm surrounded by farm stands and farmers' markets. I do have my cherished asparagus patch and the young fruit trees and shrubs.
ReplyDeleteThe cats love the gardens. I try not to make it easy for them to ambush birds. No feeders, plenty of perching places out of cat reach.