Brentwood Rewilding Winter 2025-2026

In late Fall we planted a few more natives, this time opting for more shade-loving plants. So we placed them behind our house where the large trees will give them ample shade. We planted Solidago Caesia (Blue-stemmed Goldenrod) and Anemone Virginiana (Tall thimbleweed).

We were thrilled to discover that we have a decent population of Northern Zigzag Salamanders living on our property. The first one we discovered at night in our front flower beds. The second one needed to be rescued from our garage. And finally, when looking under an old board in our backyard, I counted at least 8 of them.

In our original circular native plant bed, we now have what seems like thousands of seedlings sprouting. I am worried that most of these are Horseweed but hoping that some may turn out to be Rudbeckia or Fleabane.

In early December we started laying down cardboard, followed by thick layers of leaves and then mulch. This effectively double the size of our native plant beds and we hope that enough of the lawn will be killed to start planting in a few months.

We also set out on the journey of starting native plants from seed. We are doing this by using a few 72-well trays, some empty milk jugs, and various other plastic containers that will create a nice green-house effect. As you can see, we will be trying to grow Helianthus giganteus, Baptisia australis, Geranium maculatum, Hibiscus laevis, Packera aurea, Eutrochium fistulosum, and Vernonia gigantea.