I started my emphasis on natives and naturalizing vegetation when I moved into my current house with its woodlands yard. Then, as friends moved into houses and wanted yards that looked landscaped but took little or no maintance, natives and naturalizing plants fit the bill. However, in the past ten years or so, native plants are now preimer in our area and often less than affordable. What we've found is that there is quite a bit of vegetation available FOR FREE at construction sites! To discover what will grow well in your location, drive around your neighborhood and extended area looking for healthy looking vegetation living in the same general conditions. - In our area, there can be many different conditions just within a small yard. - It will help to grab a field guide to native vegetation so you know what it is you are looking at. Don't forget to consider native and naturalizing vegetation from the next environment, state, or area beyond yours; sometimes, your specific location may have adequate conditions for not so native vegetation to survive. Sometimes, a location does best with "same old boring" vegetation or, vegetation that shares many of the same characteristics. In that case, plan for a predominace of that type of vegetation trying to create a canvas of texture differences for visual flow and interest; often you'll find that many of your natives/naturalizing for a given ecosystem all flower at the same general time. Then, sparingly use bits of stand-out color whether it be a 6" flower, 6' shrub, or 60' tree just as the books talk about specimen plantings to draw they eye through the space during the various seasons. Use "garden decor" whether it be a permenant hardscape type item or a smaller moveable object to provide visual interest while your plantings are growning or to fill in a boring space in the off season. Baskets, or even dug-in pots, of annuals or perennials can be used to provide some color and interest during those first couple of years; or even for that off-season color as needed in the permenant plan. If an area is sunny, I've found that vegetables such tomatoes are a great way to fill in an under construction garden space; the goal being to fill the space and provide some color as opposed to actually growing a crop. Oddly enough, rubarb is an hardy, inexpensive temporary space filler with interesting folliage contrast; it even seems to grow in reasonable shade in a woodlands garden when top dressed with a little bit of bagged, composted, steer manuer every spring. I've found that there are three keys to the surviablility of construction site recoveries whether they be natives/naturalizing or old landscaping plants. The first is to try to get as big a root ball as possible. The second is to try to match the soil conditions/ideal soil conditions for that plant as much as possible in the destination location. (i.e. I always try to plant a piece of rotting wood 4"-6" below any woodland ferns I transplant and duplicate forest litter type soil in the actual hole.) The third is that I water often and well/deep that first year. Depending upon what and where I'm planting recovered or nursery purchaced plants, I try to soften the eventual "natural" conditions with temporary vegetation. In our area, we were originally primarily forested with forest-edge or forest-recovery vegetation. Or, we had grass plains/meadows surrounded by forest-edge/forest-recovery vegetation. Or, we had wet-lands - also predominately surrounded by forests. Our hardy conifer trees. larger decidous trees, and native shrubs typically grew up and out of other cover vegetation from grasses to full sized trees whose life-span was in the 50 year range. The temporary vegetation is used to serve two purposes: 1) shade the plantings thus reducing moisture loss through through the foliage and protecting delicate new foliage growth. 2) temper the soil conditions for both tempurature and water loss. In a landscaped, neighborhood type yard I tend to use tomatoes plants and/or bulbs (including bulbs, tubers, and corms). In a more natural-setting type yard, I've been know to use the same, naturally ocurring weeds, "native grasses" whether naturally occurring or dug up and planted (while the seed heads can add interest, one has to assess the spring weeding versus deadheading chores), and native or naturalizing annuals and bi-annuals with an actual flower which are more often than not planted with visual interest in mind (just look at your roadsides and vacant lots for ideas but again, consider deadheading any seeds versus weeding any seedlings). If you are planting with actual, native vegetation you absolutely need to temper any tendancies towards fertilizing. Natives are used to certain types of soil conditions and water conditions as opposed to regular feedings. You may find however, that you need to "soil condition" or ammend the soil that is in your particular spot. In nature, nitrogen is provided by the natural breakdown of organic matter whether it be leaf litter, dead annuals such as grasses and weeds, and a proportionally small amount of animal waste. Most ecosystems also have nitrogen formulating vegetation and/or nemotodes that live on particular vegeation's roots as well as naturally ocurring worm casings. It does not come in the form of gigantic pumpkin forming in-organic fertilizer. Like wize, all of the other required nutrients are formed as a result of naturally occuring events from wild fires to soil microbes doing their decomposition thing; not exactly conditions you would welcome into your living space. Do pay attention to the new growth on your natives with an eye towards missing soil components. In our area, we often need to maintain or generate a forest floor leaf-litter (or conifer needle) soil type. It is not uncommon to have to add some calcium or iron periodically. On the other hand, if an area is planted in grasses the soil may need to be sweetened with some lime. If you do feed your natives with a fertilizer do try to use a well balanced organic fertilizer. Organics break down and become available to the plant as the soil conditions are equally correct for accepting the nutrients. Typically, this means that your vegetation is also at its best conditions for acceptance of the fertilizer. More importantly, it is the "soil critters" from insects to worms to microbes that make a soil ideal for all plants and especially natives that you can ultimately do little or no maintainance of. Organic fertilizers also tend to promote the growth of "soil critter" populations. In nature, most vegetation goes through a spring growth spurt followed by sun generated, energy and growth spurt and ending in a slow down of new growth towards July-September in preparation for winter. Do take care to reduce all fertilization and even your watering as fall approaches; you want your plants to drift into their winter dormancy. You mentioned looking at the ODNR site. Do search out the DNR sites of surrounding states, the extention sites of your own and neighboring land-grant or AG schools too. And, since the Mississippi floods (was that the late '80's or early '90's?) there has been a Federal emphasis on farmers protecting water-sheds including soil errosion miles away from a water source, wet-lands, and water-ways. I can't remember if it is the US AG Department of the USDNR but, one of them has a program through which farmers can can get variances to the regulations, with the appropriate paperwork, based upon how they are able to document that their plan will work for them. Typically two projects per state per year are featured and they involve native or naturalizing vegetation to solve a particular concern. Not all are stream sides. The Federal site had project demonstrations/descriptions up and running before many of the States' sites had much.

Hi All, Before I start the main yard I'm chatting with a contractor about the side yard. There is a narrow cement sidewalk strip ( about 40 ft of walkway), with about 12 inches of dirt on the side. Nothing will grow there, not even shade plants. 1. dig out and reset fence posts (6ft high stockade, 9 years old fence) and reuse the panels and posts? 2. OR Do you advise new posts and fence panels? 3. Has anyone used modified stone? on the house side is about 4 ft wide area about 20ft feet in length that Joe is suggesting modified stone and then using sand and bricks (have bricks) to make a small patio I don't have a price yet but Joe and I were discussing - reset the leaning fence posts. He is suggesting new fencing in that area -it is 6 panels long, (4x8 panels). instead of 6ft high I would redo in 4ft high fence panels, the rest of the main yard would remain in 6ft high stockade. On the other side are parked cars, not something I to see. Thanks, Carol Monkey Story_ as a teenager my sister had a friend, Susan, who had a monkey. As many know monkeys are messy house pets. For a while Susan , who was an usher as a local movie would bring the monkey to work with her - apparently that did not work out well, and the shoe store next to the movies actually had live monkeys living in the front window! yup, monkey got to be with other monkeys and I assume had a happy monkey life there.

yep thanks... i normally will fertilize with a standard fert.. like jonathons, or peters/etc... but ran out- as to storage, in my garage i always store my plants/bulbs/etc off the floor... but the garage never goes lower then 55/50f... i have a pretty large greenhouse room (30x20), but between my hibiscus/hot pepper/other outdoor plants, i have little room, and what room i have i really prefer plants that flower.. plumeria,/others that go dormant r a waste of space in the room over the winter...

Wow!!! Thanks everyone for offering your ideas, insights and helpful information! I'm so very grateful for the time you took to help me learn about the trees and to give me some factors to consider based on weather, tree characteristics, and my home's size & scale!! As a point of clarification, the trees are not free. Residents pay 25% (approx. $80) and the Village pays 75% (approx. $270). I have not yet talked to anyone in the forester's office, but I don't think I have a choice other than their list for planting in the parkway. Technically the parkway is Village property; so that's why they pay the majority. If I wanted to plant another type of tree, I'd likely need to plant that in my yard. The front yard is so small, I wouldn't want a tree smack in the middle of the yard, plus...with all the other projects currently on the list, I appreciate the lower cost point for me to add a tree or two. Upon reviewing my list closer, the Kentucky Coffee being offered is the Espresso, which I've learned is seedless, which is helpful. I totally understand and even appreciate that trees are messy. :-D I'm someone who enjoys raking and greatly values all the seasons. I love watching the life cycle of nature, including the leaves coming into bud and then falling. The "messy" concern is knowing some trees do tend to drop even more debris and/or can be a bit problematic with their seeds, berries, etc. As one who also loves the bees, butterflies and birds...some berries and seeds are lovely as they help sustain my flying friends. This afternoon I connected with a local arborist who is coming to trim a few trees in the backyard. He echoed many of the comments listed above. So....after reading all of your feedback, considering the arborist's comments and tuning into my own heart voice, I've ranked my choices to the Village in the following order (The form asks us to rank each 1-6) 1 - Espresso Kentucky Coffee 2 - Common Hackberry 3 - Red Sunset Red Maple 4. Frontier Elm 5. Ivory Silk Japanese Lilac (While this is available for everyone, I think this one added as a choice for homes that are near overhead utility wires - based on a note on the form) 6. Exclamation London Planetree Again! I greatly appreciate everyone's time and assistance! If there are any final comments, I'm sure I could wiggle my selection based on availability up until the end of March. :-D Thank you!!