my yard and your tied eyes

Here are some of the trees and perhaps a few shrubs in my yard. These are simple identifications for many of you, especially since some are natives that were here since, well, forever. I just know you can ID them with both eyes tied behind your backs.
Please holler if/when I get some wrong. I am very interested in learning correct information about the fascinating things surrounding me.

I will try to make sure these are matched up correctly. The trees are so big that sometimes I can't see which trunk the branches are attached to.

Here's the first one. A classic.

Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir)? Whatever it is, it's beautiful.

I got to honeymoon in the Pacific NW during the summer of 2012. Good choice. :)

Ditto to Douglas-fir, all the pics

Resin

You are correct! It is a beautiful tree, too! If you look in the first picture, behind the tall Doug-fir, are a whole bunch of shorter ones. When we bought the property, neighbors told us that the prior owner (since 1946) was a logger. When the various logging companies would log and reseed back of our house, he would go up and "liberate" seedlings and plant them in this woodlot. He chopped/split/stacked all of the wood that they heated the house with from wood on the property. You would think he would have had enough of cutting down trees during his day job, but I guess not. Other than the little woodlot trees, the native trees on our property are second growth.

By the way, if anybody's out in the Pacific NW some time, please send a Dmail. I am happy to be a tour guide.

Pseudo, did you make it to the Hoh Rain Forest? 140-170 inches of rain per year and sooo interesting.

These are all the same type of tree, too.

#1: I can't guarantee that the big trunks in the first pic belong to the tree we are identifying; the little tree in the middle is what to pay attention to.

#2: The second picture is to show that the tree is a little scruffy looking from far away.

#3 & #4: But, as you get a closer look, isn't it beautiful? Especially those cones.

#5: Here's one growing out of a nurse log.

So how big a property do you have? Is it mostly wooded?
I'm imagining many planting opportunities!

Hi Weerobin.

We have 5 acres. It's about 60% or 70% wooded. We are out in the boonies, definitely! There have been so many planting opportunities that I have created more garden areas than I can maintain. It's a good problem but still a problem, nonetheless. This year I am foregoing the vegetable garden because I know I won't have time to maintain it. Sniff. :-(

The back of the property is mostly native plants, with a few invasives that sneaked in. Besides the woodlot, there is only one tree in the back area that I know of that was planted by a human, and that was before we moved here. The rest is au naturel with a few modifications (in some areas we picked up fallen trees/branches, etc., and we did a little limbing up).

Beautiful Momlady, that's a gardener/nature lover paradise! Thanks for the tour.

Whew, Resin, I'm glad I said to not pay attention to the trunks. Anyway, once again, you got it!

This beauty was planted by us. It's not native to our nearby area but is native to some areas in Washington. It wants a little drier climate than what we provide. Since we love them, we thought we'd try it out on a small hill that we made. The idea is to provide quick-draining soil. So far it has worked.

Another native, one of the most important components of the Pacific Northwest Indian culture.

Another native. The first 3 pics were taken today and the last was taken a couple of years ago in the fall.

Another beauty, a small understory tree. Ignore all the big trunks; it's that bunch of small trunks in the fourth pic that is relevant.

A change of pace...

#1: Pines HATE it here.
#2 & #3: Unknown tree fungus.
#4: No idea.
#5: Years ago, a logger out here used to tie trees into knots.

One last one for the day. This is a native shrub. It's about 6 to 7 feet tall.

OK, see you later, Pseudo, Resin, Weerobin, Mipii, and anyone else who's along for the ride. I have some more to post another day. I didn't realize that there was so much stuff growing near our house.

Okay, I'll nibble...
Set 1 - Quercus garryana
Set 2 - Cupressus nootkatensis
Set 3 - Acer macrophyllum
Set 4 - Acer circinatum
Set 5 - Pinus ponderosa
Set 6 - Oplopanax horridus

Wow, what a yard. I know what you mean about initial planting plans creating excessive maintenance requirements down the road. I cleared my woods of unwanted invasives and planted the whole place up, not realizing how quickly the invasives return!

Edited to add: Maybe that's what they mean by 'invasive'?

This message was edited Jun 1, 2014 8:52 AM

I am tremendously impressed! Mipii, you got all excepting set 2! And Resin, you were right on in your correction of set 2!

Weerobin, it is discouraging, isn't it, to try to keep those darned invasives at bay. I'm impressed that you cleared your woods. That's hard, hard work. I'd love a thread with pics of your woods. Hint hint.

Don't be too impressed, I'm just learning. Resin and VV have been wonderfully forthcoming with their knowledge...just trying to squeeze into my little brain what I can. I guess some of it just doesn't fall out.

thanks for hollering to get me here momlady, really nice!!

Time out for some non-natives to the Pacific Northwest.

Really happy here. I don't know why it isn't more popular here. I have never seen another in the area.

One in Bellingham is doing better than ours, but ours is hanging in there.

A nice one; glad we moved it when we bought this property. Of course, it was smaller then. :-)

This one will be easy for you. I was told it was a slow grower, but no way!

Native shrubs. I can provide more pix if anybody wants them.

#1: Can get 12 feet tall but usually less in our woods. The berry is the giveaway.

#2: Often about 5 feet tall in our woods.

#3: This one is shorter, maybe 1.5 feet. Evergreen.

#4 & 5: This one can get about 10 feet tall. Also evergreen.

More shrubs...

#1 & 2: Maybe can be 10 feet tall but only 6 feet tall in our woods. Moderately evergreen.

#3 & 4: Up to about 15 feet tall, deciduous.

"Really happy here" - Sequoiadendron
"One in Bellingham is doing better than ours" - Metasequoia
"A nice one" - Cotoneaster sp.
"This one will be easy for you" - Acer griseum

#1 Rubus spectabilis
#2 Another Rubus, forget the name offhand (and too late in the evening to look up now!)
#3 Mahonia aquifolium
#4-5 dunno

Resin

#3 & #4 shrub in last post = Sambucus sp., probably S. canadensis.

You guys are amazing!!!

First non-native - Heptacodium miconioides
"Really happy here" - Sequoiadendron giganteum. Pix of needles attached.
"One in Bellingham is doing better than ours" - Metasequoia glyptoboides
"A nice one" - Cotoneaster sp. - this was a fooler for Resin, it is a Stewartia, I can't remember which one; it's the common one.
"This one will be easy for you" - Acer griseum

More excellent calls -

#1 Rubus spectabilis aka Salmonberry
#2 Another Rubus, forget the name offhand (and too late in the evening to look up now!) - Rubus parviflorus, aka Thimbleberry
#3 Mahonia aquifolium - almost but not quite. This is a short one, Mahonia nervosa. The are very similar, leaves less shiny than Mahonia aquifolium and the Mahonia aquifolium gets 6-7 feet tall instead of 2 feet.
#4-5 dunno - Vaccinium ovatum.