I'm not well-versed in conifers, but do have a list at work from a presentation given by our Ag. Agent "Underutilized Trees & Shrubs". If I can remember, I'll bring it home; anything suited to our area should do just as well in yours. Right off the top of my head, two deciduous woody plants with good winter interest are the river birch (betula nigra) 'Heritage' and redosier dogwood. 'Heritage' is better suited to our hot summers than white birch, and is resistant to many of the pests and diseases; as it matures, it also develops a lovely an interesting exfoliating bark. There are a few different varieties of the redosier dogwoods now, with different coloration. They thrive in full sun to part shade, but will have better winter color in full sun. Winterberry holly is deciduous, and you need both male and female plants, but will have a beautiful display of bright red berries in winter - for the birds or to cut and bring indoors (use them as supports for your forced paperwhite bulbs ... great combination). I'm glad to see you've chosen the serviceberry (shadbush, amelanchier, etc.). Check the different varieties for the characteristics you prefer - some have more vibrant fall foliage than others. The berries are very attractive to wildlife (I didn't realize chipmunks climbed trees until I saw one gathering berries in one of the serviceberries at our park). The berries are edible for humans, if you can get to them before the wildlife does! They taste a lot like blueberries. One of my favorite local nurseries is also a good resource for information, rarefindnursery.com. Even if you don't order anything from them, you will find a lot of photos and information and I've always found it to be reliable. Ah, sweetbay magnolia (magnolia virginiana) - another native, semi-evergreen, very fragrant blooms (heavy in June, intermittently thereafter), seeds are colorful and food for wildlife. The undersides of the leaves are silvery, making a nice display when they flutter in the breeze. Choose an upright or multi-branching variety, according to your needs. Like serviceberry and river birch, they do well in a moist soil. Ninebark (physocarpus) is another deciduous native, for sun or partial shade. 'Diablo' is a dark red leaved cultivar with contrasting clusters of tiny pale pink flowers. I'm sorry, I should never get started.

I'm not so crazy about wildlife here and I have never really understood why people are so anxious to encourage it. The 8 foot fence keeps the herd of deer out of the roses (and yes, I do actually mean a herd) but doesn't do much to keep the plants safe from the gophers. The hordes of ground squirrels leave the roses alone but eat the fruit off the trees and destroy young vegetable plants. The odd rabbit now and then can be a problem but so far we only have them now and then. I hope it stays that way. Then there are the rattlesnakes. I do like the birds except for the crows, and I plant things that will encourage them. And we have planted lots of bee plants. As a result our garden just hums with bees. We set up traps for the yellow jackets which are not welcome here. All in all, with the exception of pets, wild birds, and beneficial insects, I'm actually not so crazy about animals. I much prefer plants. Probably why I am a gardener and not working in the field of animal care. Folly

I just opened my hose yesterday and saw this warning as well. The hose is made in China, surprise, surprise. The warning is there because of California law and the PVC that is in the hose. Practically everything in your house that requires rubber-like flexibility (extension cords, power cords) has PVC. This too is according to B&D who spins the exposure to PVC from extension cords, etc. as the same as using their hose. I kinda doubt that. One can choose to believe that or not. One alternative to PVC hoses is to use natural rubber hoses, or according to this article (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=3369894&page=1) use a hose made for RV's which is vinyl. I believe that somewhere between the assurances of B&D and the near paranoia of the ABC article lies the truth probably. Since the ABC article is from '07 I'm just going to hope that flushing the hose before use will be adequate enough, (brass fittings and all) and that the re-formulation of the PVC content of present day hoses has improved things. I live in a house that was built in 1891 that had cars that burned leaded gas driving by for x-number of years before unleaded, plus the general fallout that occurs from living in a big city like Chicago has probably done a number on the soil here anyway. I've amended the soil with topsoil and manure so if toxicity existed, then I've certainly diluted it. It's too bad that hoses have the potential to leech lead into the water. There are also many sites that discuss this as one has only to search for PVC, lead, hoses, etc to find more info.

A Child's Inspiration Wildlife Discovery Garden seeks native, pollinator friendly, beneficial insect inviting, edible... seeds. facebook.com/childsinspiration