Over on the other end of the pond, a bunch of existing dogwood shrubs needed dividing, so we transplanted them here, to back up the milkweeds. In front of the milkweeds are little bluestem, big bluestem, aster and fern divisions. A young Princeton elm anchors the far end of the “river.”
Seeds collected from Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) and Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) are almost as beautiful as the plant itself! These were immediately scattered all along the Milkweed River.
The west side of the back acre needed more wildlife-friendly planting. This long swath begins in the nearfield with evergreens to grow up and eventually block the view of the wood chip pile from the house. It then winds all the way across the field to the right.
On the left, variegated red-twig dogwood backed by white pine, in turn backed by quaking aspen. In center are yellow leaves of river birch. Moving right, a shrubby green magnolia contrasts with the brilliant red leaves of Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac). Above the sumac in the background, branches of a Princeton elm can be seen reaching toward the blue sky.
Multiflora rose and buckthorn are lurking in this jungle, bittersweet vines are choking out the aspens while knotweed is killing all other shrubs and young trees, October 9, 2009:
This photo was taken October 10, 2017:
Existing native aspen, juniper and pine trees have all grown. Willow, dogwood, magnolia and sumac shrubs are all thriving. Rudbeckia, bluestem, coreopsis, liatris and creepervine are holding their own, close to the ground. All 3 layers greatly minimize knotweed resprouts. Though we still occasionally encounter knotweed, it’s not the most troublesome weed anymore by a long shot.