Garden

[Lilysmom]

@JustJazzmom, you were smart to remove the plants.  I am sure you are anxious to get them back in place.  Smart to have some help getting the lawn back.  I bet it will look nice when finished.  The new garage sounds nice!

I find the repair job is always bigger than it looks.  The bed where we lost the two large spruce took a lot more work than I thought probably because I had to unearth buried plants (which did survive) as well as plant new.

Thanks for the info on Virginia creeper.  Post some photos before and after.  LM

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Yes, @Lilysmom,  the creeper is deciduous.  It has nice red fall color.

It is indigenous to this region.  Invasive?  I would suggest opportunistic is a better term.  So you might say about Campsis radicans (trumpet vine), or, for that matter, poison ivy.  English ivy is a pernicious pest that should not be planted.

I did not plant it here.  Nor did I plant the willow oaks that sprout all over, nor the redbuds, nor (tired of these guys) the red maples.  Nor the elm, nor the viburnum and other assorted oaks, and mulberry.  Eastern red cedar.  But I enjoy having them here on the property as nature intended.

I curate this land as a nod to Mother Nature and her gifts, not to control what happens.  I harness the vegetation to the point that my aesthetic and functional needs are met but that the echo of a real, wild nature is left intact.

Many, plant plants for "wildlife", irrespective of the need for habitat.. There is a beautiful magical interplay in the natural world that is a a thing to be revered.  The sounds, the wind, the play of light and the movement of water, all trigger responses in the wild kingdom.

These vines help to provide cover for young trees in the forest as they attempt to grow and take part in the succession machine of the forest.  They have a place.

Lecture over.  I'll leave you to your nice thread and garden delights.  Thank you as always for a glimpse.  

[goldensrbest]

Just lovely and so enchanting, are you having many butterflies this year? I had many last year,this year not showing up.

[Lilysmom]

@goldensrbest, not many so far.  I have seen some swallowtail but not a monarch yet.  My perennials are at least two weeks late and I wonder  if that has anything to do with it?  LM