Several years ago, with several global environmental concerns weighing heavily on my mind, I  decided to pour my energy and focus into the little .33 acre slice of suburban property that we own. It is my hope that by working to restore and diversify the ecology of our yard I can send a small, positive ripple out into the world.

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Even after all this time, I feel that I am still just beginning to learn the many various mini ecosystems that exist ranging from dry, full sun areas to mostly shaded riparian buffer areas at the lakes edge. As I explore each area, I try to identify and remove invasive plants and replace them with plants that are native and will better support a wider variety of local insects, amphibians, birds and small mammals. 

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I also began saving seeds from desirable native plants on our property. These seeds are stored or stratified and germinated to supply me with more plants. These include: white turtlehead, New York Ironweed, Joe Pye weed, common milkweed, butterfly weed and swamp milkweed. Below are some milkweed seeds prior to collection and then later as they are being tucked into soil blocks. Germination rates have been good with more than 75% of sown seeds germination.

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