>> I love how many micro-environments you have going on your property.<<
I've been working on that, because different critters like different habitats, and margins are even better. So the main habitat types are the larger (south lot) and smaller (house yard, ritual meadow) lawn areas, the prairie, the savanna, and the forest yard and forest garden. Within those are the real micro-environments. The area immediately around the drainage hose always greens up earlier in spring because it gets extra water, which attracts extra heat. It's interesting to see what will grow where -- the woodland wildflowers usually do better in the small forest garden (which is sheltered and wetter) than the large forest yard (which is windy and drier).
>> Black cherries are one of my favorite trees.<<
I like them too, despite their tendency toward trying to take over the yard. I love the smell of the flowers in spring, they're so pretty. The fruit attracts lots of birds. Once they ripen, that thicket is full of wings for weeks. :D And they do provide a terrific visual screen; even with the leaves off, the stem density is so high that you can barely see anything on the far side. I think they also contribute to the damp shady environment around them, which makes for a fantastic moss garden.
Thank you!
I've been working on that, because different critters like different habitats, and margins are even better. So the main habitat types are the larger (south lot) and smaller (house yard, ritual meadow) lawn areas, the prairie, the savanna, and the forest yard and forest garden. Within those are the real micro-environments. The area immediately around the drainage hose always greens up earlier in spring because it gets extra water, which attracts extra heat. It's interesting to see what will grow where -- the woodland wildflowers usually do better in the small forest garden (which is sheltered and wetter) than the large forest yard (which is windy and drier).
>> Black cherries are one of my favorite trees.<<
I like them too, despite their tendency toward trying to take over the yard. I love the smell of the flowers in spring, they're so pretty. The fruit attracts lots of birds. Once they ripen, that thicket is full of wings for weeks. :D And they do provide a terrific visual screen; even with the leaves off, the stem density is so high that you can barely see anything on the far side. I think they also contribute to the damp shady environment around them, which makes for a fantastic moss garden.