Oh, Annececilia, you have precisely nailed the specialness (terrible grammar, I know) as it truly has become something of a family endeavour. Although the wood means different things to all of us, it has bonded us together better than any single thing I could have imagined. The youngest, Tas, has bought a second-hand cargo net to string between trees and is already planning ziplines, ropeladders and platforms. Naomi, my middle daughter, lives nearest the wood and is deeply involved, along with her daughter Phoebe Rosa, (our grand-daughter), making themselves a tipi to stay in (and scavenging timber for a tree-house) while my eldest. Rowan, already a committed gardener, has invested in many green woodworking tools and he, and my sweetheart, Reuben, have made a sawhorse (Champion, the lumber horse) and a pole-lathe with plans afoot to make charcoal, coppicing and other woodsy things. When we have children, I guess we start to think in a longer term than the next week or so and even the idea of 'legacy' has been sneaking into my thinking. Obviously, we have nothing to leave them with apart from their wits and even if we had money and property, I have seen families torn apart by the very things that had been meant to protect them......but a bit of woodland, too small for much and not saleable in parts (by covenant) really is something quite remarkable to sustain our family. Neither Reuben nor I have much of a family ourselves - I was adopted and Reuben's family are no longer alive......so our little dynasty starts with us, really. To to have this project, glueing us all together, is infinitely precious to me. I loved your story of remembrance daffoldils - such a special act of thoughtfulness which resonates every new season - what better celebration of life could we hope for?

Birdsong - I'm sure they did leave a "tip" but it's all out there in the swamp. Yesterday, on my walk, the swampy area up the road held robins, bluebirds, song sparrows, titmice, white-throated sparrows all singing away. It's a great "birdy" place 'cause in addition to the wetlands, a stream runs through the area, making it very attractive to the birds. I'm in Hunterdon County, close to the Morris County line. Re: the calendar - I figure it's all uphill from here - even if it should snow with the angle of the sun getting higher every day the snow won't stay around too long - says she with her fingers crossed. I probably just jinxed us. It does look as if we are headed for a couple of weeks of below normal temps. again.

I'm in a similar situation to yours. I'd say, based on experience, that it really depends on your particular environmental requirements. I've found, to the detriment of our wallet, that making plans and purchasing plants based on what's listed about a particular plants requirements often doesn't line up with how they behave (or not) on my property. For instance, virginia creeper, by all accounts, should thrive in my woodland. After three years the original plants are alive, but haven't grown in any significant way. I'm now taking a different tack: this year I'm just going to plant several kinds of plants and see how they do. Whichever plants show the most promise is what I'm going to plant en masse next year.

Hi Vegangirl, Took 3 measurements in 3 different spots around my T. grandiflorum, all were right around neutral (6.8 -7). These plants are all doing well but are grown in a garden not the wild. Measured the ph in a relatives garden where the same trillium (gave her some of mine last year) are not doing as well and ph was also 7. Not sure why they are not doing as well there they're flowering but seem stunted and two have what look like varigated leaves (virus? maybe too much sun when they were emerging?). Mine are in a fluffy humus soil that stays pretty moist, I might have added a little peat at one point. My "native" soil that is underneath the humus is very sandy and fast draining, great for growing lots of stuff. Hope you find the right conditions for your Trillium to do well.