I've read these forums off and on for several years now. It's amazing how many searches for gardening info bring up Garden Web forums! I bought my first house last fall and decided this week it was time to register and join in here. So many wonderfully talented and knowledgeable gardeners here! And, then, I find a forum specifically for Okies! One of the things I liked best about the house when I first looked at it was the backyard. There are just all kinds of plants. I have to wait to see what many of them are, although my neighbor next door has clued me in on some. The neighbors have a landscape pond in their backyard. One of the things I expected to miss about my last apartment (lived there for over 10 years) was the landscaping, complete with ponds, a stream and lots of wildlife including frogs and toads. I was thrilled to find out that the neighbors pond has frogs in it as I love listening to them. They were worried that the new owner (me) might object to having to hear frogs croak. I think we both got lucky! The backyard slopes severely and has some sort of evergreen planted all around it. Over the years many of lower branches have been trimmed off due to disease, according to the neighbor. Now they are very tall with foliage only at the top. Quite a few of them suffered a good deal during last winter's ice storm. There's still at least one sizeable branch that is broken and needs to be cut off. A couple in the back aren't broken but are badly bent over. I'm sort of hoping that the bent ones somehow magically recover as the birds and squirrels seem quite fond of them. I have already counted at least 15 different species of birds in my new backyard, and that doesn't include mockingbirds which I have seen in the front yard. I also saw a tiny mouse near the back fence a couple of weeks ago when I watering a spot that has some irises and a crepe myrtle. Last Monday evening I saw a baby rabbit in the neighbor's yard by my garage. Some of the plants (many of these I can't verify yet, just going by what the neighbor tells me) include crepe myrtle (3 in the back), a Rose of Sharon, irises, hardy hibiscus (looks like 4 of those), daylilies and some other lily the neighbor wasn't sure of the type, clematis out front, what appears to be a lilac someone tried to chop down that is coming back but is probably too close to the house for good air flow, and some boxwoods up next to the front of the house. The boxwoods look nice but stink so I am going to try to relocate them farther from the house in the front yard and create a flower bed with them as a back drop. To replace the stinky bushes up close to the house I have already acquired two blue hollies, four mini roses, a peony, azalea, hydrangea, blue lilac, and a romantica rose. I'm probably going overboard, but my gardening for the past 20 years has been limited to pots and whisky barrels on an apartment patio, and I'm just so excited to have a house with lots of room for gardens now! My biggest problem is that a large part of the backyard is heavily shaded due to the evergreens, and, especially around the perimeter, there isn't even much in the way of grass. Lots of weeds in the areas where there is grass. I'm looking forward to finding out all the creative gardening things I can do with my new house! I've probably rambled on long enough now. Going to leave work early today to have lunch at the Arts Festival then home to plant and transplant! Debra

My strategy would be to do what I can in the area that I have control over. The snakes seem to have their living quarters set up off your property (no control). They need space and prey to forage(you have some control). Establish a clear perimeter inside your property boundary. Mow a 10 foot swath and trample it regularly (daily if possible) . Don't ask me why but snakes hesitate to cross a path trampled by humans. Get rid of prey (toads?) and water sources. I had a pond in my backyard and my neighbor across the street allowed his pet python to escape. Three days later that python surprised the 'shaving cream' out of me at the pondside. I am deathly afraid of the snake that sees me FIRST. Trample heavily as you walk, walk slowly and swish a stick from side to side on the ground as you do so. You will allow the animal to retreat to safety in its harbor. I have one radical, last resort measure which I would try. Dogs mark their territory effectively with a particular bodily fluid. I would imitate their strategy by doing the same starting near the harbor. My sincere apologies to those readers who might find this last suggestion offensive but I really believe that collection and dispersal does not have to trangress the legal and moral standards of decency and that it would be effective.

Gotta agree that fire ants and the change of habitat have caused the demise of the Horned Toad in suburbia. Other natural enemies have increased as well: last time we had one in our yard was about four years ago - Mockingbirds and Jays killed it by divebombing it, just like they were always chasing the neighbor's cat out of our yard. Of course, it came into our yard from a nearby field, and was invading the birds' territory. That wasn't the first time we saw birds killing a reptile or snake, either. I'm glad there are still wide open spaces where there are plenty of horned toads where aggressive birds don't go. Don't get me wrong, I like Mockingbirds and Bluejays, too. Reminds me of a nature show I saw that was produced in Australia. The narrator on the show was lamenting the demise of rattlesnakes in Texas and the Great Southwest. He even said something ugly about the annual rattlesnake hunt in Sweetwater hunting the snakes to extinction. There are still plenty of wide open spaces left in Texas! Good luck with Fred, and if you have aggressive birds, provide him with cover in addition to the basking rock. Gary

Hi, Good idea! (Poison ivy is a native plant, though.) Try the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat Program. I raised $800 out of my classroom in just 5 months by selling snacks I bought at Costco. I got seeds from good people online, planted them in a portable greenhouse, in addition to buying native plants and planting them. (We created a native butterfly garden in addition to adding native flowers throughout the school grounds. A student's father donated his wood and work and made 4 bluebird houses. I just had to but the posts and make baffles. I recommend they do fund raising as well as seek donations. Bake sales, tag sales, etc. Good luck. (Here is the garden we created: http://community.webshots.com/album/348247343IHURcbhref> Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Habitats