Native Habitat Landscaping Project

The heat and humidity have been killer lately. I've decided to make a commitment to move 5 logs per day until they are all where they need to be. That's not much effort and it's still progress.

Couple of weeks ago I hired a professional to come bring my oak tree down. From the street it looked great, but from behind it was plain that lightning, bugs, and/or parasites were sucking the life right out. One of the major limbs was splitting and hollow. It looked dangerous. I'll be using all the parts of the tree. The minor logs are going around the edges to make borders and planting areas. The thick slices are getting hollowed out to make planters. The branches are for making mulch. But the planters and borders will break down! Yes, they will, and they will do it in about the same time it takes for the new plants to mature, which is great. The woody material will eventually be rich new soil, and I can put in new borders made from something else. I kept a tall stump. That's where the Little Free Library will eventually go, but there's a ton of prep involved before that. In the meantime the library can go on a bench.

This is one of my favorite native ground covers. This is Virginia buttonweed, which I was blessed with at my last home in North Carolina. I'm so happy to see it cropping up in my front yard. Heck yeah!

My house was built in the 50s. The landscaping was the epitome of 50s landscaping values. That is to say: turf grass and Asian shrubs. We are talking some highly mature plantings. Thick blanket of turf. Really deeply rooted shrubs. Realtor's dream yard. A complete nightmare for the birds and butterflies.