Managing plants on my property in Windfall, Indiana, USA

Blueberries shouldn’t be a problem, they’re not invasive, and the flowers will attract pollinators, while the berries attract birds. (Plus they live forever… I have some that are 50+yrs. old.)

Glad you chose Serviceberries and Basswood! Serviceberries are a great native choice, the berries are attractive to birds, and Basswood will be wonderful for attracting pollinators. I have an enormous mature basswood that is my favorite place to observe bees. When it is blooming, it attracts many native species, especially bumblebees, and literally hums like a vast beehive. It is a joy to stand under. It also blooms fairly late in the season, so it provides nectar during the period between early spring trees and late summer/fall wildflowers.

I don’t know what the laws are in your state regarding the selling of invasive species, so maybe check out state resources before buying. Looks like your state Dept. of Natural Resources has a website for that:
https://www.in.gov/dnr/rules-and-regulations/invasive-species/terrestrial-invasive-species-plants/

Happy planting!

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I’m jealous of your fungus list! Come share more stories in this thread: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/monitoring-gardens-and-spreading-the-message/26094

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Sorry I haven’t replied for a bit. @Smschnerremd I wouldn’t mind something like that, maybe in the future.
@danly I chose the Basswood mainly for the pollinators. Indiana Native Plant Society shows all of the pollinators that should be attracted. It will also just give some variety around here. My next thing will be adding some plants around the walnut trees. They’re killing the Spirae bush they grew in, but its not native so I’m fine with it. I just think of it as easy plant control.

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Native plants (with at least one desirable property) thriving under my Black Walnuts:
Pawpaw, Asimina triloba
Redbud, Cercis canadensis
Pagoda dogwood, Cornus alternifolia
Spicebush, Lindera benzoin
Black Raspberry, Rubus occidentalis
Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum
Spring beauty, Claytonia virginica (for other spring ephemerals ask me in the spring)
Fringed loostrife, Lysimachia ciliata
American Germander, Teucrium canadense
Hairy woodmint, Blephilia hirsuta
Tall bellflower, Campanulastrum americanum
Ironweed sp, Veronia sp
Wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia
Browns-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia trilobata
Cutleaf coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata
Drummond’s Aster, Symphyotrichum drummondi
Calico aster, Symphyotrichum lateriflorus
Broad-leafed spiderwort, Tradescantia aubaspera
Wild Rye sp, Elymus sp
Beak grass sp, Diarrhena sp

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Last week I was pulling some mulberry saplings. There was a pretty thick stump by the concrete stands that I’ve been cutting for several years. I found out you have to take the roots out, or else it will just keep growing back. I tried to dig it out, but our little tractor couldn’t pull it. My dad had a guy with a backhoe dig it out while I was at work. It did some damage to some of the trumpet vines.

Trumpet vines are a tough native, so I predict it will bounce right back unless it’s roots were pulled up with the mulberry’s

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It’s not the only one there. The rest of the green behind it is also trumpet vine.

I just dug out three more mulberries, and trimmed the berry bush that’s growing up into the ash tree. I have a list of stuff for fall planting, just need to order it.

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I just finished planting Virgins Bower, Pennsylvania Sedge starts, and Wild Ginger by the walnut trees and dead bush. Hopefully everything does well there.

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Local conservation groups might have a nectar and fruit calendar for your area, otherwise I would recommend setting up a spreadsheet to collect the flowering and fruiting times of plants.
I have used such a calendar to analyse the plants in my garden, allowing me to look for plants to fill in the gaps discovered.

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I did some more planting today, the last for the year. Golden Star Sedge, Dwarf Crested Iris, Wild Stonecrop, and Bearberry. I’ve been building skirting around the house trailer, and wanted something that would stay short so I hopefully won’t have to use the weed eater around it. The Iris, one Stonecrop, and Sedge went on the South end of the house. The Bearberry and another Stonecrop went by the concrete stand. Funny thing, I was ordering from the live plants list, and didn’t think of just getting grass seed until after ordering live plants twice. Oh well, next year.




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I’ve noticed a bit of damage to the bark on my 2 basswood trees. I took the cages down 2 or 3 weeks ago. I’m guessing it’s from rabbits. Should I put the cages back up, or is this not concerning?

From seeing all the lawn in the original photos I was thinking prairie as well.

Monarch Gardens is a native prairie landscaping company I’ve come across on social media, they have a lot of nice examples of aesthetically pleasing prairie gardens on their website here: https://www.monarchgard.com/portfolio.html

Depending on what the original habitat in your area was or other factors, another long(er)-term option would be recreating a forest type of garden with native understory shrubs and flowers and paths underneath.

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Rabbits will only eat bark as high as they can reach. Porcupines eat bark, as do deer. Deer could certainly do that high damage, and they are said to be fond of saplings. If you have deer, and you’ve removed all the non-native stuff they like to eat, maybe they are out for revenge? I wouldn’t put it past them…

I think the highest point was only about 8-10 inches up. There are deer around, but I’m not sure just how close they’ll come. I’m right on the edge of town, but there’s only a small tree line down the road, and a tiny semi wooded area of the neighbor’s property. The fields are all down, so that would be a lot of open space for then to go through. I don’t know their behavior though, so maybe.

I’ve never seen a procupine here, or anywhere actually.

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Sounds like it’s time for a trail camera! (-:

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I agree. A lot goes on out there at night. I would also put the fencing back up. Critical time for those saplings.

I browsed most posts here but didn’t notice everything and was just wondering if you had identified the Mulberries. Again I probably missed the discussion up above (one is native, one is not).

We had several of the non-native species, here in Raleigh, NC. I left one, and removed the other 2. That one yields a lot of bird-fruit but I confess, it also yields a lot of saplings that I then have to go pull up. I’m getting older and the life of that Mulberry is limited now…

And then it turns out, I found a couple specimens of the native Mulberry across the street (we have a buffered zone around this 5 acre “meadow”; old lake now dried up).

Sorry for the late reply, I’m not on here very often. All of the mulberries were either the invasive white, or likely hybrids. I’ve pulled all of them. I’ll also get the fencing back up this week. Thanks.

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It’s getting to be late in the gardening season for you.
Please post the wildlife you see over the winter!

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