I think the mix sounds good for your purposes. Just remember, winterberries are male and female, so if you want berries on both the bushes next to the tree, a male pollinator needs to be in the mix somewhere.However, if one of your neighbors has a male, you may be okay. As for Confers' suggestions: I have found blueberries don't tend to do very well in our clay soil, however if you plan to amend, they might be okay. Barberries are not allowed to be purchased in NH (invasive) and the same with most honeysuckle. Gooseberries are also prohibited in NH as they affect the white pine population by hosting white pine blister rust.

The yellow tulip with red streaks looks amazing! We missed out our first spring in Utah when we realized, as everyone else had flowers coming up, that planting time was fall the year before. Well, I take that back, we did have some crocus that had been planted (prior owner surprise) within our front lawn! This year, we got the bulbs in, but our red bulbs came in mixed red, yellow, and red/yellow. Is that partially determined by the type of soil? Also, the northwest facing bed in the front yard is barely in full bloom (everyone south facing was blooming weeks before us in Highland)and the north facing clusters are just starting to send up the flower. My apples haven't yet started to blossom, but your Granny Smith looks amazing. What type of camera do you have, if I may ask, what resolution? You mentioned it was a hobby of yours, so I don't have hopes of taking similar pictures, but wow! I thought I came across your explanation of how to post pictures before, but a reminder would be great. The instructions on the site didn't help me much. I've got the linking down (except how to add multiple links) but I'm still at a loss for pictures in the thread. Thanks!

Very cool! But now I want more birds on it!

Well, I am pretty new at this too Connie. Anything I know now I have learned from this forum. There are a couple of things I thought of that might help. One is, I put out very little seed in the summer because at this time there tend to be LOTS of bugs, flowers, and fruit for the birds. I put out only Nyjer seed in the upside-down goldfinch feeder. I put out LOTS of water (four birdbaths, all around our property) and keep it fresh, and the water more than anything else attracts birds here in the summer. You may be seeing fewer songbirds this summer because they are finding enough food elsewhere. The other birds you mentioned will eat any food that is put out and take advantage. Doves love whatever falls on the ground, and the other birds are pretty pushy. Also, there are feeders that are designed to keep the larger nuisance birds out and allow only the smaller songbirds in (caged feeders for example). You might want to consider taking down your feeder just to see if your "less welcome" visitors leave. They probably will. Then you could start over a little at a time. I'm sure there is a lot that others will add that will be very helpful. I hope you can have some of your songbird friends back soon - Donna