and ecologically healthier than I found them , the landscaping at Fern Cottage is where I dropped the most sweat and tears . When we bought the place , the yard displayed standard modern-day residential landscaping . A few trees , a few bushes , a couple of perennials , and some amazingly old tulip poplar trees . In all the years here , we ’ ve painstakingly grown this simple postage stamp acre into a lush , partially re-naturalized sanctuary for wildlife , framed with a few ( thousand ) perennials so beautiful that it is not uncommon for people to literally stop in the middle of the road and take pictures ! I ’ ve heard folk refer to Fern Cottage as “ that house with the tulips ” or “ the place with all of those ferns ,” or sometimes , “ The Moose House .” That last name refers to the 9-foot hand-carved goofy wooden moose we bought in Montana decades ago and plunked down in the middle of the front woods of the cottage . He has lovingly watched over the place ever since .
We planted hundreds of trees , allowed volunteer poplar , sassafras , maple , holly , hickory , mulberry and oak saplings to
flourish wherever they grew , and more importantly , allowed existing trees that were dying to remain in place as crucial habitat for nesting woodpeckers , bluebirds , flying squirrels , and bees . We did our best to control invasive species without the use of herbicides . ( Alas , Asian stilt grass has been our nemesis , as the only way to control it is using the dreaded glyphosphate , and that kills everything it touches , so sometimes we just left the stilt grass where it was .) We planted
native perennials and shrubs that bear fruit with wildlife in mind . We left dead plants in autumn to remain in place throughout the winter as essential cover for insects . We used organic fertilizers , primarily Milorganite , as deer deterrent , with some success . We bought a weed torch to burn weeds in the small lawn instead of using pre-emergent weed killer whenever possible . We placed birdbaths at ground level and on the deck knowing that water is a dwindling commodity since development in the county eradicates natural free standing water sources . We tried to re-establish everything : Food , Habitat , and Water .
And the result has been glorious . The sheer increase in numbers of songbirds that have graced this
16 plenty I autumn harvest 2021