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I have a small garden surrounded by weathered "privacy fence" behind an old Victorian house in Bay City, Michigan. This is my first summer here - I moved in last October from a wonderfuly wooded lot, bringing with me (successfully) bloodroot, Jack in the Pulpit, possibly other things that haven't come up yet.)

I'm trying to get the flavor of a (tiny) patch of native woodland in the shaded areas. There are also sunny areas, and I put in a pond when I moved in. So, not much space (maybe 50x50 feet) and a variety of habitat. The two big trees are a (probably) white ash and a maple which seems most like sugar maple, although the leaves are not "by the book" exactly. Both well grown, one on the south fence line and the other on the east. I've planted paper birch and pagoda dogwood in lightly-shaded sites.

The pond is about 5 x 7 x 3 feet deep, in the sun, and my fish (goldfish and one koi) made it through this tough winter outdoors. One of the hardy waterlilies appears ready to bloom.

I want to encourage birds, find a way to keep the squirrel from getting all the food, and maybe invite (or import) some amphibians. "Noah's Garden" by Sara Stein is my inspiration, and I'm hoping to develop some microprairie where the back lawn area now is. Any advice about meadow/prairie in a mixture of sun and shade would be appreciated.

PS no kids, indoor cats, but a local cat clearly considers my yard her hunting territory.