Hello.... :-) I was searching for something and came across this old thread. I thought it would be nice to update a little. I recently created a spreadsheet to do an inventory of all the plants in the garden and I just counted out that I have 54 different native plants now. Not individual plants, because I have more than that, but 54 different kinds. Here is a review of what I have and how I feel about it, five years later.... Amelanchier has not done well for me, I don't understand why. I moved it twice but it does not perform. The winter moths do a good deal of damage every year to two shrubs, but even the tree I planted, seems to be diseased. Odd. Asclepias incarnata....I had to remove it. It was reseeding and coming up away from the original location. I also found that I just don't have a large enough area to do a good job of a sunny border. My garden is mostly part shade and shade. I love my native ferns and asters. Native azaleas have yet to perform, but have not been in the ground very long. I have one Baptisia australis and I love it. Very easy, very dependable and very attractive when in bloom. Lobelias have been performing well and although I am hoping they will attract hummingbirds, haven't seen one yet. Callirhoe from seed three years ago, this year looks like it will really be great. It's only the end of March and it is full of pretty new leaves. Clethra 'Hummingbird' ...a cultivar, but I really enjoy this every year. Fragrant, with very pretty leaves that always look great. That brings me to the Cornus racemosa. Oh boy. That was a mistake. I was inspired by Elaine's description of hers and I had no idea it was going to sucker and spread like this. It also has not bloomed or fruited in the four years it's been growing. It did amaze me how quickly it grew. It is already 8ft tall. It is large already from a small start. But I'm not sure it is going to work out. I really wonder how far away from the trunk this shrub will sucker. Every year it has traveled. I pulled them up the first year, but that barely slowed it down and I can't keep up with pulling them all every year. I like the shrub and if I had more room, it would sucker into a nice hedgerow. If I had more sun, maybe it would flower and fruit? I have a Viburnum carlesii right next to it that blooms, so I don't understand it. Unless you need a pollinator? LOVE my Hydrangea quercifolia ! I had to move mine a couple of times to find the right location but they are enjoyable at every time of year. Hydrangea arborescens are only two years old, but I am already liking those too. I've been disappointed that some of the spring natives have not increased very much, Mertensia, Tiarella, Uvularia, Trillium, Phlox divaricata and Iris cristata. One of these days they will I suppose. Last fall, I added Maidenhair Fern, Blueberry Bushes, Arctostaphylos, Gaylussacia, and Leucothoe. So it will be awhile before I know how those do. I tried Lilium candense and they didn't come back the second spring, which surprised me. Lindera benzoin has underwhelmed me and so far I have not seen any butterflies using it. I tried a native Lonicera and it did not bloom and died out. A hybrid, called 'Orange Mandarin' did just fine and is still there. I started Viola labradorica from seed and that has seeded itself around a little more than I would like, so I am keeping my eye on it. So...that is the basic review of the progress I've made so far. I have made many trips to New England Garden in the Woods and I'm always on the look out for native plants. :-)

Thanks all for your feedback. We visited the nursury yesterday and chose an ivory curl (looks like it will be okay space wise) and a Honey Gem grevilla as they seem to look best in the space we have available. We've got some cordylines and gingers to go in front of them and I think the colour contrast will look fantastic and help maintain our tropical look. We also visited the botanic gardens to see their mature versions and fell in love with the Parrot Tree "Schotia Brachypetala" which was swarmed with honeyeaters and lorikeets. There were none in the nurseries as it's not very common so we found one we were able to take a cutting from and hopefully propagate ourselves, just don't know what we'll do with it when it gets really big! We don't use any pesticides so we have abundant little insects in our yard, so now we just have to wait for the birds! Thanks again for your valuable input. Lauren

It is very expensive and you will need a couple strong people but if you would like to keep the size purchase thick chain, not the cheep stuff cause you know this stuff is heavy and it will get wet and get even heavier. If you want to keep it this size or cut in half and have two, whatever, measure from the top around the bottom back to the top. Many ways to go about it but wrap the chain and zip tie the bottom to stabilize that is not going to do anything more then hold steady and bring all four chains up to top and add another open link and then add a chain to that so that it hangs like a ball. the chain will show at first but will soon be covered by more frons as it grows. They are right it needs broken shade to look its best. Consider freecycle for your fruit, there are people that would really enjoy them and love the opportunity.

PacNorWreck, Do you leave seed heads on your plants? I am not a very tidy gardener - lol - but have always left seed heads on almost all my plants and have many varieties of birds that live in my trees and the neighbors. I have a hummingbird feeder that hosts about 6 different Anna's but of course not at the same time. We found that the shy Stellar Jays will come right up on the deck for stale bread and don't leave any for rodents. We also have several returning little birds - think they might be chickadees that find spaces in the pots on the deck to make their nests. There are owls and we hear and see them in the day and hear them at night. We no longer have a dog and the cats in the neighborhood seem to just use our property for access to the other neighbors. Do you have pets that roam freely? I also put out small bunches of lint from the dryer filter here and there on branches and in planters and it disappears and then can be found as padding in the nests. Many of the nests are quite low - 1 - 2 ft from the ground - and the birds seem to know that they are safe. They are particularly fond of the herb planters and once they start the nests we stop watering the plants so we don't disturb them. Good for the birds, bad for the rosemary and thyme! lol We don't use insecticides - garden has a great - bad bug vs good bug - ratio so we don't need them. Late summer the nasturtiums get aphids and after using water spray for a month or so, we know it is time to pull them out. Good luck getting them to come into your garden.