[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Dang, just remembered, I’ve got tree/shrub seedlings to buy."

We took out two HUGE trees in our back yard a few years ago. (Both were dead and wanted to fall on the house.) The grass has grown and the dirt has settled so this season we're going to add an 'Autumn Blaze' Maple and/or a Honey Locust to the back yard. If I have my way - probably both!

Not sure if they grow as far south as your place, but any of the Locust trees are great for songbirds - they have a lot of spines along their branches which deter egg-sucking raccoons and snakes from climbing them to steal eggs from songbird nests.

[FamiliarFace]

I love both of those trees. We have a few of honey locusts in our backyard, but I would LOVE to have a maple with that much red! Just gorgeous.

[Pollard]

I’m talking fruit and nut trees and shrubs. Food Forest.

I do like ornamentals, preferably native. Can’t wait to see my orange lilies flower this year. Goats liked the buds. Dug them up down the road and they multiplied like mad. Gave half away one year. Had some surprise lilies. Will see if I still do this year. Still need some wild daffodils. Some kind of maple grows wild here. Will have to find out what kind. A lot of people have some kind of shrub that turns into a mass of yellow flowers in early Spring. Need some of them. Need to become that crazy person that always has a shovel and pruners and stop by some places. Mind if I do a little clipping/digging?

Not quite native but will likely grow here is that red twigged dogwood which would have looked nice this past two weeks with the snow.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Diana; Locust trees; Thorns to stop the raccoons is great, but not so nice when you need to do tree work. Locust trees can also have problems with Mimosa web worm and extensive networks of roots that sprout new young trees.

I have a thornless locust tree in my front yard. I love the shade in summer and low branches. My neighbor hates it and of course the shoots all over his golf course lawn. I have new trees popping up 50 and 60 feet from the trunk.

Be careful....

(Good night!)