Backyard Forest Restoration

Category: Forest Restoration

  • Watch for Pathfinder and White-Flowered Hawkweed

    If you are ridding your backyard forest of weedy Nipplewort and/or Wall Lettuce, try not to inadvertently remove any indigenous Pathfinder or White-Flowered Hawkweed. All four plants have similar structural appearances, their ranges overlap, and they can all survive on “sunflecks.”

  • Weeding – The Essence of Backyard Forest Restoration

    Recently, bending over to remove an Herb Robert from a patch of Bleeding Heart, it occurred to me that hand weeding is the very essence of backyard forest restoration — at least for idealists like myself who are trying to achieve ground covers and shrub layers comprised almost solely of native plants. Weeding can be…

  • Improving the Balance in the Soil Seed Bank

    “Even the weeds look lovely in May.” From Arthur Lee Jacobson in his book Wild Plants of Greater Seattle. April comes and goes. The rainy season begins to wind down, but the soil remains moist. Days grow longer and highs begin to flirt with 60 degrees. Nighttime lows no longer drop into the 30’s. All…

  • Compost Heaps in the Backyard Forest

    What should we do with all of those invasive plants after we’ve pulled them out of the ground? My preference is to compost them on site to help maintain local soil fertility, and I’ve developed a few preferences that I thought might be worth sharing.

  • Elk Hill in Spring

    I was feeling grateful on a recent spring morning as I walked through the forest on Elk Hill. It seemed like the years of restoration work had all been worth it.

  • Weed Whacking Bad Edges — Some Pros and Cons

    Last year, I began weed whacking a few “bad edges” to see if it would help prevent the weeds from recolonizing adjacent “good areas.” I have some preliminary opinions on some pros and cons of this practice.

  • Should We Plant Conifers in Our Backyard Forests?

    Should We Plant Conifers in Our Backyard Forests?

    Should we be planting conifers in our backyard forests to eventually replace the existing large trees?

  • Trailing Blackberry X Himalayan Blackberry Hybrids

    Does the native Trailing Blackberry hybridize with the invasive Himalayan Blackberry, and if so, what does this mean for backyard forest restoration?

  • The Useful Garden Fork

    The garden fork is a useful tool for loosening soil prior to removing invasive plants and for planting natives.

  • Two Easy Wet-Season Transplants

    Large-Leaved Avens and Fragrant Fringecup are evergreen, perennial forbs native to the Puget Lowlands. I’ve had good success “rescuing” and transplanting both during the wet season without irrigation.

  • The Bradley Method

    The Bradley Method

    Published in Australia in 2002, “Bringing Back the Bush – The Bradley Method of Bush Regeneration” encapsulates the principles and methods developed by sisters Eileen and Joan Bradley based on their years of work restoring portions of a natural area in Sydney.

  • Fire Ladders and Douglas Firs

    Fire Ladders and Douglas Firs

    Though wildfires are rare in Puget Lowland forests, when they do occur mature Douglas Fir trees can be killed if fire reaches their crowns. One way this can happen is through “fire ladders,” which can be prevented by pruning the lower branches of Western Redcedars and Western Hemlocks.

  • How Soil Fertility Benefits from the Roots of Plants

    We know that most plants need fertile soil for optimum growth, but how does the fertility of the soil itself benefit from the plants that grow on it?

  • Hedera Etcetera, Part Two

    Hedera Etcetera, Part Two

    In terms of controlling erosion, is it better to allow existing blankets of “Seattle’s worst weed” to remain on steep slopes?

  • Hedera Etcetera, Part One

    Hedera Etcetera, Part One

    Backyard forest restoration begins with the removal of Ivy. There are two main types growing wild in Northwest forests. Is it important to be able to tell the difference?

  • Mosses and Lichens

    Mosses and Lichens

    In the Puget Lowlands, mosses and lichens add to the beauty of our backyard forests, and now, saturated with moisture from the fall rain they have awakened from their dry-season dormancy.

  • Rescuing Sword Fern and Bigleaf Maple

    Rescuing Sword Fern and Bigleaf Maple

    The wet season has returned – time for fall planting. I have been rescuing Sword Ferns and Bigleaf Maples and moving them to spots where they have a better chance to grow to maturity.

  • Disposal of Invasive Plants and Other Weeds

    Disposal of Invasive Plants and Other Weeds

    For disposal of invasive plants and other weeds, my preference is to compost them in the same general area in which they grew, but sometimes that is not a good option.

  • Mycorrhizal Associations Between Douglas Fir and Other Tree Species

    Mycorrhizal Associations Between Douglas Fir and Other Tree Species

    Does Douglas Fir form mycorrhizal associations with Red Alder, Western Hemlock, or Western Redcedar?

  • Mycorrhizal Applications for Backyard Forest Restoration

    Lately I have been considering the purchase of a mycorrhizal fungi inoculant to mix into the soil with my Fall/Winter tree plantings.