I was happy to see the recommended plants for my region with a note about which are container-friendly.  Since my yard is mostly shady, with sun only near the driveway, I might be able to get creative with large containers that would allow me to plant some sun-loving natives.  I also would like to stabilize the hilly bank along the road in front to prevent erosion.  We do have some mosses growing, so I'll do some research about whether that is desirable.  I do plan to add more native ground covers.  Our local master gardener organization has an upcoming seed swap, so I'll look forward to trying a few new things.

I am gonna' go practical.

I have some birdbaths.

I am gonna' put a branch, stick the branch in the ground, and have it be right above the bird bath. So the bird has the extra perch, to sip the water. I have put whole tangerines, stuck like a shish-kabob, on the secondary stems, on the branch, to attract birds, and bugs, which attract more birds.

Also, a lot of potted plants. 2-3 berry plants, around the perimeter, of the garden.

I will also add 'specialty grasses,' as mentioned, in the grassy areas. Switchgrass. And other grasses.

Last year, I left the perimeter, mowed less. I will do the same in '24.

And I have a small, weed garden, in the middle of my backyard.

It will have some potted plants, added to it, and a large dead branch, near the weed garden. Dug into the ground. So woodpeckers, have a stump of wood, to peck and hammer, while in my garden.

Lastly, native potted plants, with berries, will be added, like I said. And also, I will plant the complementary grasses, on the perimeter, and/or in the weed garden.

And as I have noted, un-mowed areas, grow unintentional wildflowers, that birds enjoy.

So I will expand the un-mowed areas. Form the perimeter, to intentional 'circles' in the lawn. bk

I have three rock gardens created by the previous homeowner. Over the years, I have tried to plant perennials, however, in the process of this course, I am inclined to pull up one of them that has a number random volunteer plants including tree seedlings. The area is last summer was heavily overgrown.Part of the overgrowth is due to some native mountain mint that I bought at botanical garden sale and planted a couple of years ago. I have pulled some up but the mountain mint is a vigorous reproducer. One of my other concerns is that there are two large rocks that have a top larger than the bottom and are perfect for snakes to inhabit or at least I am imagining so. We have removed several copperheads over the years. I'm envisioning removing a couple of knockout roses  and a beauty berry planted three years ago that could become a focal point in the garden. My questions what are the best plants, where can I buy these natives etc. I will use some of the links in this course to assist with this information as well as I sent an email to a native gardening group in my area and am hoping to hear from them.

I lost a couple of mature trees in my backyard last summer in a heavy storm. That opened up a bare spot in my otherwise heavily shaded backyard and the invasives have moved in very aggressively. I want to focus on that area and try to get native ground cover and fast-growing perennials in there.

I will transplant my trumpet honeysuckle to a better place, and probably add another one.

One thing I learned after I installed my pollinator garden, the pollinators including the birds found us. It didn't take long.  It really is "If you build it, they will come."

Once I know where my future garden will be, I will look forward to answering my question on the area's native plants. This class has provided so many wonderful resources, like the native plant databases, that I am excited to look into and find the plants that work for me and my area. From there my only question would be: What birds will I see?

Plans: I plan to focus on the front yard this spring. We have a blank slate in so many ways. We plan to keep the center of the front wild with bunchgrass, sage, some wildflowers I planted last year and rabbit bushes. There are three areas to focus on and I should probably select one to start with. Two are the beds on either side of the house near the port cochere that need plants. One side (right of the front door) has gravel and a weed controlling barrier in place. The other side is needing some work underground to drain water from the gutters away from the house so not ready for planting yet. We don't have plants now on either side of the house. The third area is between the gravel edging the circular driveway and the wild bunchgrass. I have ordered about 20 native plants and shrub but I need a plan on where to start planting them. I just signed up for a 4-session class on landscaping design at a nearby arboretum to hopefully get a solid landscape plan in place and then prioritize my projects. And I need to keep wildfire safety in mind as a priority.

I have great resources - the class materials from this experience, local native nurseries, Audubon pals who know a LOT, the arboretum. Just need to "dig in"

Can you tell from the photo it's windy in Ellensburg today?



 

Resources

It's been interesting to read through everyone's posts! As for my husband and me, we plan to spruce up our pollinator garden with more native species. Eventually, we would also like to pull out the Japanese spurge (pachysandra terminalis) that is spreading through a small, wild area at the bottom of our property and replace it with native ground cover, logs, rocks, etc. to make it more bird friendly. We are fortunate to live in an area that has native plant sales throughout the year, so, moving forward, I'll be taking closer note of when and where these are held.

My goal was to expand the beds W to E on N & S edges of our yard and break the look of the typical Florida development homes. I planted majority (90%) native trees and plants for SE FL to provide food, water and shelter/nesting for birds. Within hours, a diversity of birds visited the yard and now have a safe place to feed, drink, bathe and even nest (a few weeks later). I participated in a local Audubon chapter program for native backyard landscaping. A wonderful experience.

• This week, I begin my practice gardening/landscaping at my local Wetland Center, so I am excited to be finishing up this course. I can finally put my newfound knowledge to use before tackling my own land! I will let my pasture/woodlands region continue being as it wishes for now. In the pasture, I have wildflowers growing ... wild ... right now, e.g. Primrose/Buttercups (Oenothera speciosa) with a mowed border along the fencing to allow for walking without trampling.


• I already have a small area behind my house that will be a perfect place to start my personal, hands-on gardening, as I already have numerous Passerines visiting due to my habit of not over-mowing and over-cutting back of plants, as well as two differently sized birdbaths with the much larger having a solar-powered fountain. Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) and Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris) are uncommon for us, and we had both visit this last weekend.


• We also had a pretty rare sighting for our area of a Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus), but we have the Cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) and Mesquites (Prosopis spp.) they love so much, and they are known to mingle in Texas, usually Southern regions.
  
  
  
  • Humans tend to not love Mesquites (Prosopis spp.), but they are interesting since they do not deplete the soil of nitrogen, as do most plants. Mesquites (Prosopis spp.) actually enrich soil by returning nitrogen to it, but we still have to be willing to be given that while they take a little more water than the average tree (Never ask if a rancher enjoys them, "NO!"). This is why I only keep them away from my homestead, but some do exist naturally in my woodlands.
  
  
  • I have a natural spring pond, so I will let them continue to be that little niche for the wildlife that know how to make use of them.
  
  
  • Gray Hawks (Buteo plagiatus) tend to prefer moving streams, which is why I am not shocked it showed up when I had rushing water moving as I am figuring out a new, safe water source for my birds. It showed up shortly and landed at the edge of the water. I was absolutely stunned but in a great way! They are not as big as my Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), so hopefully they stick to their favorite tall trees and are quick to travel my open-country pasture between the woodlands and my massive homestead trees! Luckily, I do have some strategically-placed evergreens in the center of the open-country pasture area that the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) loves to watch from the taller woodland trees, so smaller bird friends have a safe base if needed.
  
  
  
  

Now, I need to start adding some of the natives I have gathered in a document, since my region is so specific. Here is a small example based off of Ecoregion 4. Remember, a lot of common names are shared across varying species and genera, so do not follow my list for your area without checking first, but many of these are native and naturalized outside of my region, too, research first!

• 
  
  
  
  • 
    
    
    
    • Trees
      
      
      
      • Pecan
      
      
      • Black Walnut
      
      
      • Sycamore
      
      
      • Eastern Cottonwood
      
      
      • Burr Oak
      
      
      • Shumard Red Oak
      
      
      • American Elm
      
      
      • Cedar Elm
      
      
      • Common Persimmon
      
      
      • Deciduous Holly
      
      
      • Red Mulberry
      
      
      • Carolina Buckthorn
      
      
      • Huisache
      
      
      • Red Buckeye
      
      
      • Eastern Redbud
      
      
      • Mexican Plum
      
      
      • American Elderberry
      
      
      • Eastern Red Cedar
      
      
      
      
    
    
    • Shrubs
      
      
      
      • American Beauty-berry
      
      
      • Buttonbush
      
      
      • Fragrant Sumac
      
      
      • Autumn Sage
      
      
      
      
    
    
    • Succulents
      
      
      
      • Pale-leaf Yucca
      
      
      
      
    
    
    • Vines
      
      
      
      • Cross-vine
      
      
      • Trumpet Creeper
      
      
      • Coral Honeysuckle
      
      
      • Virginia Creeper
      
      
      • May Pop
      
      
      • Prairie Rose
      
      
      
      
    
    
    • Grasses
      
      
      
      • Big Bluestem
      
      
      • Sideoats grama
      
      
      • Canada Wildrye
      
      
      • Big Muhly
      
      
      • Indiangrass
      
      
      • Little Bluestem
      
      
      
      
    
    
    • Wildflowers
      
      
      
      • Columbine
      
      
      • Purple Coneflower
      
      
      • Coralbean
      
      
      • Cardinal Flower
      
      
      • Turk’s Cap
      
      
      • Scarlet Sage
      
      
      • Indian Paintbrush
      
      
      • Texas Bluebonnet
      
      
      • Brown-eyed Susan
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

I am 84 yrs old and need hekp in making my small yard more attractive with native plants that are easy to maintain.  I'm thinking of small segments at a time.  Do I need to removse all of the grass.

Pacasandra is nicely spreading.   I have a large back hedge of  various ninebarks.  just need small areas of perennials low maintenance flower beds.

Although it's early I've started gathering some native shrubs to replace the invasives.  I will be adding highbush cranberry for fruit, shelter and insects.  I am also looking to add a spicebush and some native grasses for an area of the yard with more moisture.  A pollinator garden including some mountain mint as well as a container with some nectar flowers are in the plan for this spring too.  Really looking forward to planting season!

My first thought is that I would like to plant a hedgerow near to our ditch line. I've picked up some spirea, and Scouler's Willow, honeysuckle, and Indian plum. I am quite excited to create what I have noticed on other hedge rows of bird habitat. I am going to start meadowscaping with some yarrow, and look into nesting boxes. Though I am told that I need to be careful with whole size as they can attract a European House Sparrow, which competes with native birds.

Mostly our invasives have overwhelmed our property.  I've been whacking away to bittersweet, multiflora rose, oriental barberry and euonymus. Hoping to do some planting this year.  It was interesting that none of the "landscapers" wanted the job.  They seem to all want to spray fertilizer on lawns and mow.  Just seeing how much interest this course has generated encourages me that this might change in time. Nice to know there are fellow native plant folks out there. Thanks!

I planted elderberry, dogwood and arrowood. Also started a butterfly garden. Can't wait till spring I plan to install a small water garden.

Enjoyed the class!

 

I wish I had had this class several years ago. I ordered bulbs a few years ago and got grape hyacinth. I didn’t realize they are so invasive and not a native species. I’m trying to replace the plants in my front yard with bird friendly and native species. I realize that I have to clear out the grape hyacinth before I do any more planting. They take over everything!
I have an incurable bone marrow cancer with damage to my spine. I’m trying to dig up the grape hyacinth, but I’m having a tough time getting it all out since I can’t bend much due to pain. Any ideas on how to get rid of it?
After starting this class, I did plant native coneflowers and salva. The birds, bees, and butterflies seem to love it.

I have a small yard in both the front and the back, so the plants and trees have to be on a small scale.

This course has been so helpful.

 

I would like to create a new hedgerow in my backyard. I purchased a couple of elderberry plants first because I know they grow tall and would be great as a backdrop for the hedgerow. I have five very large invasive fire bushes that were planted by previous owners and have gotten really big. I started by cutting down most of one bush and was stopped by my neighbors behind me because they claim that the bushes are on their property. They said they are having a survey of their property done, but considering the price tag on having a survey, I think they will not have it completed. They just want me to go away. Other than getting my own survey (I am confident these invasives are within my property line) any other suggestions on how to proceed? Also, the neighbors said I could not plant elderberries because they attract bears. Any other suggestions for another large bush? I am sort of at a loss on how to proceed.

Our plan is to expand our native plant areas to other parts of our yard. It's an easy decision to first make changes where grass or non-natives don't thrive or require high maintenance and watering. Probably the next area we will tackle is a corner of the yard that gets full sun and where the grass turns brown mid-summer. This course has offered invaluable online references for choosing the right plant for the right area. We are also fortunate to have an area untouched by development (amazing!) on Long Island called Hempstead Plains where visitors can see native flora that once covered much of Long Island. Native gardening is such an enjoyable and doable way to help reverse some of the human impact on the environment.

 

 

 

 

 

looking for pagoda dogwood

I appreciated the lists of Bird Academy's favorite plants for each of our ecoregions. I live in southeastern Michigan, so my ecoregion is #8 Eastern Temperate Forests. Trumpet Honeysuckle vine is one of the recommendations. I have a fence that is on the outskirts of my Hummingbird Courtyard area, so I'd be able to see hummingbirds at a vine on the fence, if I was sitting in the patio. I'm also very interested in the Highbush Blueberry shrub and Chokecherry shrub/tree recommendations. Will have to check into native plant nurseries in the area to see if they are locally available.

The bird support islands around my apt are in 2 small trees with plenty of perches and cover, but without easy climbing for the 5 (five!) cats the local feline hoarder lets run the neighborhood. Three are semi feral and of no use to anyone, actually none of them are of any...Anyway, not to be undone by a cat, the feeders are strategically placed in the upper branches which are too dense for easy climbing access for the worthless cats and the birds have leaf cover and branches for taking turns or respite. A second sparrow  nest in the house side vent and the parent birds enjoy the seeds. They are, like most bird parents, being worked hard sporting insects for four demanding fledglings.  I also have a bird feeder on the ledge of each south window one with black sunflower seeds, the other with a songbird mix and cracked grains. These are also safe with no cat access. And ever helpful, the jays alert when food it out. So helpful !
While I would love to plan a birdspace of more permanent nature, it's not in the plans right now. I am glad for the lilac trees as they provide the cover to, meanwhile, support as I can.

This course has given me some helpful ideas and also confirmed some of the steps I've already taken. We live on 7.5 acres in southwest Michigan most of which is wooded. The house is surrounded by a about an acre of lawn and formal gardens. We are working in a two-pronged effort to remove invasives and migrate lawn areas to native plants. There is a teardrop shaped area of lawn in the middle of a driveway turn-around with a couple of trees and bushes in it that we selected as our first native plant area. Beginning 2 years ago, we stopped mowing it and are planting natives a little at a time. There is an organization in our area that has a native plant sale every spring so we've purchased some each year and worked hard with Liquid Fence applications to keep the deer and rabbits from eating them! Most have survived and the ones planted last year are now blooming. We're also experimenting with various ways to kill off the grass. Meanwhile I've been on a campaign to pull garlic mustard and oriental bittersweet when I go for my daily walk through the woods. My husband cuts down the larger bittersweet vines that had already wrapped their way around tree trunks. We also have multiflora rose to not in as great a quantity. We're in our 70's and only have so much energy to devote to this each day! I'm starting to wonder where we could hire a part-time gardener/forester.

I am an avid gardener, in the Montreal region (now classified as zone 6), and I do try and use many native plants. I was given a birdfeeder for my birthday this spring and very much enjoy watching the birds come around. I've been surprise to see mainly cardinals! There are also white-capped chickadees and chipping sparrows (I am trying to distinguish between the different kind of sparrows!). I've also found that with the birdfeeder there are more birds all around--often waiting their turn :). And I have a monarda plant under my office window, where I've seen hummingbirds quite often--very wonderful! I wish I could do without a lawn (a serious pet peeve of mine), but our newly bought house has rather a large garden, which I now have to tend by myself. I did take a quarter of the front yard and made it into a flower bed, where I now often see birds grubbing around the still new soil :)

I have a lot of Virginia creeper that loves climbing up my house. I'm going to dig up the garlic mustard that is along my driveway and put the Va creeper in its place - it's shady with lots of trees so the vines should do fine there. Lots of chipmunks and a turtle are under there so it may be a good spot for more native undergrowth