30 Taconic Rd
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Over the last few years, we've built new gardens around our wooded backyard, adding paths and seating areas surrounded by native understory trees, shrubs, sedges, ferns and perennials of all kinds with the aim of successional blooming throughout much of the year. There are still elements to be built - like a small pond - and always more plants to be installed, but the progress so far has been wonderfully encouraging!
2026 will be the garden's third year, and I've already been seeing more butterflies and bees, as well as salamanders, frogs and fireflies. It's really delightful seeing all the life in the yard.
The goal is to minimize the lawn in the back, and completely remove it in the front, creating a healthy, functioning understory that both we and the critters that inhabit the property can enjoy and benefit from.
I'd estimate that over 75% of the species planted are native to our county, with a few that are native to various areas of the East Coast.
Existing canopy trees include sugar maple, red maple, black birch and various oaks.
Newly added understory trees include hollies, redbuds, dogwoods, amelanchier, and arborvitae.
The various shrubs & vines include spicebush, witch hazel, hazelnut, eastern wahoo, common ninebark, inkberry, blackhaw viburnum, shrubby St. John, sweetfern, clethra, fothergilla, oakleaf hydrangeas, wild hydrangeas, New Jersey tea, Carolina allspice, bottlebrush buckeye, blueberries, dwarf bush honeysuckle, and coral honeysuckle.