Busy Little Bee Part II

Well, I thought I'd separate my loooong post into two parts.  There are some updates on the bareroot plants I bought in February, as well as my fig tree.  

Here is my fig tree.  I'm so freakin' excited:



Now with more and bigger leaves!  Yay!

Some of the native plants I bought are showing signs of life.  Not sure what this one is.  It might be a buttonbush, two others are oak leaf hydrangeas, and the last one leafing out might be a hazelnut.  Can't remember.



When we first came to the property, it was overrun with vegetation around the fences, and barren in the middle.  To balance this out, my plans were to thin out the fence line, and start building up the middle.  Once it fills in, it will add dimension to the yard, and afford some meandering paths around to add interest and a tiny little woodland lot.  We added the firepit in the center in between the trees to be a focal point and for fire safety rules to be away from the house.  Gravel that was in front of the back door was raked up and repurposed.  Right now, there's still a lot of brown everywhere, but over time, it will change.  The leaf litter serves as a mulch to keep the weeds down and build up the soil, and affords good cover for insects and worms which are beneficial to both the soil and the birds.  We noticed that water continues to drain from our property up to a day after it has rained.  I think it's because with all the mulch, the water drains more slowly, and has a chance to seep into the soil, as well as keep erosion down, since the whole backyard is sloped.

I never noticed there were some interesting plants, so when I attacked the fence line with the lopers,  I found these:



A vine that suspiciously looks like some kind of scuppernog or muscadine grape.

And these:



Which appear to be some sort of brambleberry with LOTs of brambles.  Ouchy.

And these:



Most likely strawberries.  Not to be confused with these:



False Strawberries.  (It took until they bloomed with yellow flowers for me to notice the difference.  They will form tiny hard berries for the birds, though.)

And the last surprise is I got started on two projects that have been on the backburner:

Repurposed glass birdbath and butterfly food dish to go in the center of the herb circle:



And the salad table:



Whew!  That was a lot of work.  Going to drink and write and spin and relax for the rest of the night.  Cheers!