There Were No Fences

  Expectation is defined as the feeling that good things are going to happen in the future.   Without it, we become depressed by what may lie ahead, and with it we plant seeds for tomorrow with a belief that our efforts will lead to something worthwhile.   Though I have never been accused of being an optimist, I believe that my life is rich with expectation. We live in a world that is rife with things to be depressed about: the future effects of climate change and biodiversity collapse, the invasion of sovereign nations with no real purpose other than to secure power, and the loss of empathy for the unfortunate to name just a few, but we move ahead with the expectation that we can turn things around for the better.   Without expectation, there would be no need to plant this landscape with native plants. What would be the point? The truth is that I have accomplished a lot over these 4+ years that some might have thought unrealistic.   I expect to accomplish even more in the years ahea

Downy Serviceberry - Amelanchier arborea Littlehip haw - Crataegus spathulata Flatwoods plum - Prunus umbellata The small deciduous woodland that I planted soon after arriving here in my new (rental) home in Holiday is entering its fourth spring and it is maturing nicely.  It contains most of my favorite woody trees and shrubs - virtually all deciduous, and a great many that are not native to my "zone". I am vehemently opposed to planting zones as a determinant to what to plant.  Planting zones were established solely for giving guidance to fruit and vegetable gardeners as to when the last frost was likely to occur.  It was about such things as "don't plant your tomatoes in central MN  until after this date because they might freeze."  It was NEVER about determining what species of plant you could successfully grow in your landscape.  It truly makes NO difference to your planting palette unless you are using frost-sensitive native species north of their toleranc

  There seems to be a lot of discussion on the social media pages I subscribe to about "freedom lawns".  I've yet to fully see such a thing defined, but I take it to be an area where the "lawn" is allowed the freedom to be what it becomes; unfettered by the "control" of the property owners with minimal management other than the removal of the most aggressive nonnative/invasive species, and no inputs such as additional water, fertilizer, and pesticides. Of course, not everyone seems to have the same definition, but all of the ones that I see come pretty close to this.  If the ecological movement to create "living landscapes" has degenerated to this, the movement has lost... Benign neglect can never equal a purposeful planting. It's just never gong to be close to equivalent, unless perhaps you are not starting from a typical suburban lawn setting and have the advantage of beginning with a landscape that is already mostly natural.  Above, is