backyard rewilding

This page is dedicated to the conservation efforts happening in our own backyard.

We purchased our home and property of 7.5 acres in December of 2017 and moved in the following April. Since then, we have been working to cultivate a biodiverse habitat that is native to the Northeast and contributes to conservation efforts on a local and personal level. Our focus is on planting native, de-scaling our lawn and monoculture spaces, enhancing our woodland areas, and removing invasive and purely ornamental species. We want to share our journey to show how big impacts can be happen in small places. Through the years, I have been documenting our progress via journal, photograpy, field guides and species identification apps.

bare beginnings.

The property from 2018 into 2019

2020 Plantings

  • Beard-tongue, foxglove – Penstemon digitalis
  • Beebalm – Monarda didyma
  • Black Chokecherry – Aronia melanocarpa
  • Jacob’s Ladder – Polemonium reptans
  • Jack-in-the-pulpit – Arisaema triphyllum
  • Moss Phlox – Phlox subulata “Emerald Blue”
  • Red Chokeberry – Aronia arbutifolia
  • Skullcap, Downy – Scutellaria incana
  • Smooth Blue Aster – Symphyotrichum laeve (lost 1st year to deer browsing)
  • Spicebush – Lindera benzoin
  • St. John’s Wort, Great – Hypericum ascyron
  • Violet, Common Blue – Viola sororia

2022 Plantings

  • American Elderberry – Sambucus canadensis
  • American Holly – Ilex opaca (did not survive first year)
  • Aromatic Aster – Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
  • Culver’s Root – Veronicastrum virginicum
  • Dogwood, Flowering – Cornus florida
  • Dogwood, Gray – Cornus racemosa
  • Eastern Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis
  • Golden Alexander – Zizia aurea
  • Highbush Cranberry – Viburnum trilobum
  • Hoary Mountain Mint – Pycnanthemum incanum
  • Lyre-leaved Sage – Salvia lyrata (did not survive first year)
  • Rose, Pasture – Rosa carolina
  • Rose, Swamp – Rosa palustris
  • Southern Arrowood (#2) – Viburnum dentatum
  • Swamp Oak – Quercus bicolor
  • Sundrops – Oenothera fruticosa
  • Virginia Mountain Mint – Pycnanthemum virginianum (did not survive first year)
  • White Wood Aster – Eurybia divaricata
  • Winterberry (#2) – Ilex verticillata
  • Witchhazel – Hamamelis virginiana
  • Wood Geranium – Geranium maculatum

2023 Plantings

  • Anise Hyssop – Agastache foeniculum
  • Beebalm – Monarda didyma
  • Black Cohosh – Actaea racemosa
  • Black-eyed Susan – Rudbeckia hirta
  • Culver’s Root – Veronicastrum virginicum
  • Nodding Onion – Allium cernuum
  • Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana
  • Pale Purple Coneflower – Echinacea pallida
  • Purple Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea
  • Spiked Gayfeather – Liatris spicata
  • Summersweet – Clethra alnifolia
  • Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias incarnat
  • Trumpet Vine – Campsis radicans

2025 Plantings

  • Bearberry – Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
  • Boneset – Eupatorium perfoliatum
  • Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis
  • Cutleaf Coneflower – Rudbeckia laciniata
  • Dog-toothed Daisy – Helenium autumnale
  • Eastern Bluestar – Amsonia tabernaemontana
  • Elderberry – Sambucus nigra
  • Heart-leaf Foamflower – Tiarella cordifolia
  • Obedient Plant (additional)
  • Sweet Goldenrod – Solidago odora
  • White Turtlehead – Chelone glabra

Soon-to-be Planted on New Property

  • Buttonbush – Cephalanthus occidentalis
  • Highbush Blueberry – Vaccinium corymbosum
  • Serviceberry – Amelanchier
  • River Birch – Betula nigra
  • Sweet Fern – Comptonia peregrina
  • Sweetgum – Liquidambar styraciflua

“There can be no purpose more inspiring than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us.” —E. O. Wilson