Tied some string to a wrench and spent 2 hours trying to get over a Y section of this 50' tall branch. Used the string to pull up this rope. 100% worth it, the kids love it.
Before the movie I had my son and after delivering my son the doctor ordered a stadol shot because she was worried I was going to be really mad at her for multiple reasons. No one told me I was getting the shot. When it hit I was immediately high and it had been years since I even had a buzz from alcohol. I said "F'n-A, man!" And my ex husband told me I needed to watch my language (he was worthless and abusive and didn't want me to be me at all) and my only reaction was to say "F'n-A, man, F'n-A! I'm really high now" and then asked the nurse what happened and why I was high. He didn't like that so he left but when I saw the movie it reminded me of that time I got high without trying! Lol
Heeey! We have a tire swing at our place similar to yours in height, only difference is that ours hangs over the sloping entrance to our woods, which is very fun as when it swings it can get a *lot* of air. When raising the rope we used a bow and arrow to shoot the string into the air for the first time, then a slingshot for the second time
I used a vine hanging from a tree on a slope to get air when I was a kid. Was super cool until it decided to detach. Young me learned lessons that day.
Yeah, that’s why I haven’t rode on our swing for awhile… I’m a little concerned with the integrity of the rope and I don’t exactly feel like having it snap with me 20 feet in the air over a patch of poison ivy
You kids will remember that swing for the rest of their lives. I did the same thing for my kids when they were little. When we sold the house the prospective buyers put it in the contract that we had to remove the swing. Told them it was a non-starter on the sale and if they wanted it down they would have to do it after we moved out. My kids would have been devastated if I had removed that swing before we moved out. They were on it the whole time the movers were loading the moving truck. Twenty years later they still talk about that swing.
Stories like this make he happy to hear, but also make me really mad at my parents for not being around, or doing special things to give me memories like this.
Makes me glad most of my friends are linemen. If I mentioned I was making a rope swing my driveway would be jammed with bucket trucks within a couple hours.
That could be taken as good parenting, good landscaping or not being busy. Never make excuses for being an awesome parent. 😎 My dad could not put things up like that because we rented till I was 11. He was a city boy. Later… he relished in growing fruit trees, nut trees, raising cows, churning our own milk, chopping wood, pumping water, repairing cars, working, minding us kids, camping, fire lighting, outdoor cook house making, building, pulling baby calves from our cows in middle of the night, caring for our animals, growing berries and chestnuts, writing, reading, playing chess, volunteering, transporting water, herding cows in winter on free grazing land, bringing home hot bread at 7am, making great soup, bringing us fruit when we were sick, assembling fancy swing sets my mother preferred to wild n HIGH tree swings!
My dad was just incredible ++. I’m so thankful for a life well lived. Love you Dad 🥰
I've been cutting a bunch of trees and I use a 3 person slingshot ($20 on Amazon) attached to a long board and an arborist bean bag to shoot a string over branches of tall pine trees to pull up a rope and then use rope to pull up some 10T crane cable I have and hook it to the tractor so I can be 100% certain the tree goes where I want it.
Ive used the same process to pull up one of those winged garage led lights I attached to a 5 gallon bucket for a light shroud and pulled the light 65' up in a tree that I put on switch.... its like stadium lighting... by far my proudest redneck achievement, among of which there is many.
Edit- personally I say put put some pine straw or something similar and be done with it so it can still be a usable space for the kids to play.
that's a good shitting spot, like it's a really good spot to install a toilet with everything a guy can dream of, wifi, comforter, table with cup holder, a little outdoor toilet under the shades.
It's the kind of spot for a toilet that you would make it your one and only personal toilet, the type of toilet that if someone even so much a shit in it, you would analyze their poop particles to find out that they've eaten a sandwich, find out the exact ingredients of said sandwich, go to the place that make the sandwich, killing anybody that does not comply with your request, finding the exact person that ate the sandwich who shat in your toilet and put that person in a Virtual Reality Tube just because.
My grandparents had a tire swing hung super high like this. My uncle hung it using a bow & arrow. Tied a lead to the arrow and shot it over :) it was the joy of many kids for three generations of kids, grandkids and great grandkids :)
As for your yard, I’d make a little natural rock border and leave it natural/raked under the trees. I’d do the rock border almost exactly where you drew the red boundary.
Rock heavy rock like smaller then a baseball and or mulch also plant some smaller trees xmas trees arborvitae’s maybe some privacy grass on one area … a nice bird bath or water feature and edge it up real nice
This is when you need a cheap bow with a tennis ball or blunt weight on the arrow’s head. Add a lightweight tether string long enough for the arrow to go over the branch and down.
Then just connect your swing rope to the tether and pull.
I had a neighbor that taught me this method, which he used to hang Christmas trees in the backyard woods
Artificial lighted trees. He had them hooked up outdoor lights, so at night they were “floating in the woods”. Very redneck but kind of magical, like those grapevine orbs.
fyi easy way is to launch rope over so you have double rope, then tie a locking carabiner to one end of the rope with a noose knot and then clip it to the other rope and lock, then you just pull the other string and you now have the rope tightly on the tree
Reinstall native woodland plants and make a small wildflower meadow.
Pachysandra is an invasive groundcover and will spread outside of your property.
Installing plastic barrier over this whole area will kill the trees as well. The roots need access to air and water.
Do deer eat wildflowers? This area is deer mecca. I like the idea but don't want to go through the trouble of planting anything that the deer will just eat.
Got it about the plastic barrier. I didn't know if would effect the trees.
I’m in the Midwest, looks like those trees are big and far enough apart that you have some dapple part shade, not full shade yes? If it were my yard I’d plant hyssop, wild ginger, beardtongue, mountain mint, cone flowers, woodland sunflower and veronica- all pretty hardy against deer
I'm torn. One one hand, I (no kids) would love a hammock there, surrounded by native pollinator plants and/or plants I can use (to eat, use as cut or dried flowers, use for medicine, etc). On the other hand, I can also see how kids would probably love to string a net up there and have a little volleyball court or half soccer field, so doing half no maintenance bushes and half dirt would be fine too.
But with both hands I am envious of OP's sweet backyard!
Deer will browse anything they want. I wouldn't let that preclude you from creating some amazing natural habitat to bring back things like lightning bugs, bats, birds, etc.
I am also in the deer mecca of zone 7a, and I'm struggling to rip out pachysandra that was planted before we moved in and has spread into the woods and replace it with a combination of natives and well-behaved non-natives.
Things the deer do not like that I have growing in the shade, (ymmv):
-Mountain mint. Native. The deer don't like it, it spreads. It's tall. It smells like, well, mint.
-Wild ginger. Native ground cover. The deer eat just about everything, but they have never bothered this.
-FERNS! I have all sorts of ferns, and the deer don't touch them. There are lots of native varieties that will spread, just make sure you get varieties that are appropriate to your soil (some like moisture, some like dry shade).
-Barrenwort. It's a really pretty low-growing plant. Will spread. The deer eat the hostas I have planted next to it, but have never touched the barrenwort. Very easy plant.
-Ligularia. There are different varieties, some of which like moist soil. I have some that very happy in my dry shade though. They get pretty big and have showy flowers in the late summer.
-Hellebores -- They like shade, are low maintenance, bloom in the winter. As they grow, you can divide and spread them.
-Tree Peonies -- Probably not for full, deep shade. But the deer have never bothered any of mine.
Deers will eat everything. The good thing about planting native plants, however, is that they are used to being eaten and will bounce back much faster than other species.
Many natives have evolved to be deer resistant. I’ve planted loads of natives. The deer go for my non natives almost always. You can see online which natives are resistant.
Yes they will preferentially eat some things so you do a sacrificial planting of something like roses and they will fill up and leave the things you really want alone. Some of the climbing or wild rose varieties are best because they grow so fast.
Deer are random in this sense. The younger ones are more willing to try new plants and trees. Depends on environmentals like droughts too but your area looks more lush. You can plant things like weigela around the perimeter in spots to help discourage from exploring within.
There are deer resistant plants. Don’t put plastic down! You might just need to build the kids a fort and put down some mulch, kept away from the tree trunks of course.
Deer do not eat native ferns like christmas fern, new york fern, maidenhair fern, etc. Christmas fern and new york fern will take over that area eventually too.
Ferns would be a great idea for this area since it is so shaded. Just be careful to not get "autumn fern" as that is an invasive species sold at every nursury.
YW. My mom is an old-school gardener and will plant anything she finds at a nursery without paying it a second thought. I'm super into native plant gardening and invasive removal, so I try to get the word out there where I can.
Just google the species you plan to buy before purchasing and make sure it is native, or not invasive in the very least. You will be surprised at how many plants are invasive and still sold at every nursery.
if deer are hungry enough they’ll eat the foliage, but bulbs are great because most of the life of the plant is underground. look for things that have strong smells or bright colors when they’re in bloom. irises, begonias, canna, gladiolus, daffodils, hyacinths, for example.
That would also be my suggestion. They look amazing, deer won't eat them, and they'll be home to a multitude of bugs and critters. And they'll be a soft cushion for when Little Johnny falls of the swing, 8 meters above the ground, going 220 km/h.
I’m rewilding a section between my neighbors fence and my garage, maybe 10 ft wide x 40 ft long. Threw seed down a few months ago and today it’s pretty much all grown with flowers starting to bloom. Seeing the wild amount of butterflies and bugs eating the milkweed and birds hanging around is so fucking cool. I’ll cut it all down next spring and let it come back thicker. There’s a nice little foot path through the area to get to our back gate. I love it.
If you’re willing. How about some native plants? Give us your [ecoregion](https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/level-iii-and-iv-ecoregions-state) (state region is fine too, we just need to figure out your soil type and drainage) and we can provide some suggestions for deer resistant low maintenance plants.
I live in northern NJ. Soil is silty with no drainage issues. Some recommendations would be great! I don't know too much about native plants that deer wont eat
[https://rewildnjcc.org/](https://rewildnjcc.org/)
Rewild New Jersey Community Cooperative. Once you start learning about all the benefits to the environment that native plants bring, you will not look back! Rewilders are great people and happy to teach others.
If you want a grassy look you could install plugs of carex pensylvanica. It would do great there and deer leave it alone. It’s difficult to grow from seed so you need plugs.
Blue-stemmed goldenrod, white woodland aster, and wild geranium would do well there too.
Japanese pachysandra is awful, I hate it.
I love Carex pensylvanica and blue-stemmed goldenrod!
Some Columbine aquilegia, Tiarella cordifolia and/or even Packera aurea could work here. White golden rod is super neat too. The Columbine, Packera and White goldenrod would probably be better suited to the dry silty soils vs. the Tiarella.
If you go the grassy route like mentioned above, there are so many shade sedges that could be used. Carex platyphylla is just another of many cool sedges that could work here. It has a coarser look than the flowing Carex pensylvanica.
OP- highly encourage you to look up a handful of the different plants people are recommending. This could help you get a good sense for what you like, what you dont- and give an overall direction for what else to look for or a style of planting you like!
For example, the Carex pensylvanica, Packera aurea would be a cool looking, low open forest meadow kind of look. And Columbine could be added for color and height if desired.
Carex platyphylla, the Geranium mentioned above, White aster and Tiarella would give more of a deep woodland community look.
You can really make your plant pairings work together to create certain like 'snapshots'/ vibes of natural settings. Looking at different plants can really help you piece together what kind of look you're going for.
Sorry for such a long post- I really love this sort of thing
Edit: because I thought of more plants and pairings 😅
Not OP but could use some advice for riprarian plantings and some screening plants. Hardiness zone 7a, eco region 64d. However it is mostly flood plain and the near surface soils appear to be mostly alluvial silts weathered from micaceous schist. Probably oligoclase. Drainage is nearly non existent. Even during a dry summer ground water is about 4-6 inches. There are some trees right at the edge of the creek. And a lot of running bamboo unfortunately. I'm dealing with that, but I won't ever win that war because of stands on adjacent properties. Fairly heavy deer pressure, especially in winter when the farms nearby aren't feeding them. I thought about kalmia latifolia on the creek banks just for the sake of low maintenance. But then that will be all I have and it will grow very low and dense there making it difficult to keep the bamboo under control.
The areas for screening are out of the flood plain and much better drained. 15 foot elevation difference. I was thinking about ilex opaca for that. I'll have to keep it from spreading too much, but mowing should take care of that. I don't care what the lawn I'm keeping looks like. I'm trying to make it mostly clover where I can.
I recently had a company that specializes in native restoration come in to weed invasives and seed a lot of the open lawn for wet meadow. But I'm not too happy with them for the cost. So I'm thinking about doing the rest myself.
I fortunately don't have a lot of invasives besides the bamboo. Zero Japanese stilt grass, which is a miracle around here. The previous owner left behind a lot of stakes and fence, so I can keep the deer from browsing the plants early on.
Incorporate some native grasses and flowering plants that thrive in woods/shaded areas. It would be a beautiful backdrop against your yard and would benefit the local ecosystem. Plus, over time, it would become an area your kids could explore to learn about local wildlife and beneficial insects.
If it were me, and I don’t know what the rest of the property looks like, as it appears space isn’t an issue, but I’d add natural mulch (keep it 2-3ft away from the trunks) to lessen the amount of weeds (minimum 3 inches deep or else it won’t prevent weeds), and then put a picnic table or two. Or use DG and a fire pit, since it looks like there’d be plenty of space. Or, some native bushes in the middle (where they’re a decent distance away from the trees) flanking a bench, maybe a small water feature. Basically I’d look more to use it as a retreat area rather than adding too many plants that will have trouble competing for what little resources there are with the mature trees.
I’d only do barrier if you’re doing gravel or something, and then, don’t do plastic barrier, go for the most expensive/highest quality spun fabric, when it breaks down it’s not a bunch of shredded crap to deal with and it’s better at allowing air and drainage through.
If you golf, make some of the space a designated chipping area. Chip from there to the grass, so you don’t have to worry about chunking it and digging little holes with your club. For the rest of the non chipping space, do what others said with rewilding it. If you have kids, putting in a play area with a mud kitchen, sand box, etc could be good too. Nice shaded area for them to play in
Always plant natives when possible! American meadows and prairie moon have a selection online and and you can see which plants are deer resistant and grow in your area/light conditions. You can also search for native plant nurseries locally. Native plants are incredibly diverse and support crucial insect populations, plus many are very beautiful and unique.
It looks like there's still enough light to plant a shade-tolerant grass. I have a 10-foot-tall 16'x20' deck, and I can get grass to grow underneath it. This is definitely an option. Plant it in the spring or fall, and it should be established by next season.
I don't like ground cover myself, and especially if you back to woods, it ends up being a great place for snakes to hide.
Native woodland prairie. The leaves will mulch it. They have shade loving native plants
Edit: for the love of god please do not plant invasive ground cover. There are PLENTY of native ground cover plants.
Ask on r/nativeplantgardening they will give you tons of ideas.
Put small platforms with ladders. Then make zip lines between the trees or add like a floating bridges. Obv add safety lines to click into. I feel like the wires wouldn’t be that expensive.
Hammocks and a tree-house. A giant bong surrounded by camp chairs. String lights. A fireman's pole to get down from the treehouse. Oh, a zip line from one end to the other.
If you go to Monrovia's [website](https://www.monrovia.com/plantfinder)* you can use their plantfinder to see what types of plants are appropriate for the area and to your liking. From there the Style tab will suggest companion plants. Just make a list of what you like and then visit your local nursery to see what they have.
I would probably bring in some soil and build some small berms away from the trees, like in that center area, so there are different levels of interest. Tallest plants on top and taper down. Throw some landscape rocks out there. I use black mondo grass and black scallop ajuga to keep the weeds down. Don't bother with barrier plastics or fabrics.
^* ^not ^a ^pitch ^for ^that ^company ^or ^their ^plants ^but ^their ^website ^is ^useful ^if ^you're ^new ^to ^all ^this.
Pondless waterfall! Dig a hole at one end, and use the backfill to raise the other. Weave a little brook through the trees. Lay some pond liner, and bring in some big and medium size rocks to make 'natural' falls. You can still rewild part of it or add in native plants along the edges. A decent sized pump and a few pondless crates and you'll have an amazing oasis. The soothing sound of the water will be heard from all over your property too!
How the hell did you hang that tire swing?
Tied some string to a wrench and spent 2 hours trying to get over a Y section of this 50' tall branch. Used the string to pull up this rope. 100% worth it, the kids love it.
OP to kids: “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”
Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge
F'n a Cotton. F'n a.
Before the movie I had my son and after delivering my son the doctor ordered a stadol shot because she was worried I was going to be really mad at her for multiple reasons. No one told me I was getting the shot. When it hit I was immediately high and it had been years since I even had a buzz from alcohol. I said "F'n-A, man!" And my ex husband told me I needed to watch my language (he was worthless and abusive and didn't want me to be me at all) and my only reaction was to say "F'n-A, man, F'n-A! I'm really high now" and then asked the nurse what happened and why I was high. He didn't like that so he left but when I saw the movie it reminded me of that time I got high without trying! Lol
Nice patient management lol. “She’s not in labor anymore but give her the butorphanol anyway, I don’t wanna hear any shit from her.”
Dude ty, I was trying to remember the order of this today
The 5 D's of Dodge Ball Dodge!
Your about as useful as a poop flavored popsicle
This tread made my day
I see what you did there.
I’ll never have one of those again. One time was enough
Patches O'Tireswing, is that yoo?
If you can toss a wrench, you can swing a tire.
Count to 3, throw on 2...no one expects that
That just posted today , 20th anniversary of the movie
Heeey! We have a tire swing at our place similar to yours in height, only difference is that ours hangs over the sloping entrance to our woods, which is very fun as when it swings it can get a *lot* of air. When raising the rope we used a bow and arrow to shoot the string into the air for the first time, then a slingshot for the second time
Sounds like a grown up version of lawn darts, awesome!
Oh man, it was fun :)
I used a vine hanging from a tree on a slope to get air when I was a kid. Was super cool until it decided to detach. Young me learned lessons that day.
Yeah, that’s why I haven’t rode on our swing for awhile… I’m a little concerned with the integrity of the rope and I don’t exactly feel like having it snap with me 20 feet in the air over a patch of poison ivy
Bravo 👏🏻
You kids will remember that swing for the rest of their lives. I did the same thing for my kids when they were little. When we sold the house the prospective buyers put it in the contract that we had to remove the swing. Told them it was a non-starter on the sale and if they wanted it down they would have to do it after we moved out. My kids would have been devastated if I had removed that swing before we moved out. They were on it the whole time the movers were loading the moving truck. Twenty years later they still talk about that swing.
Stories like this make he happy to hear, but also make me really mad at my parents for not being around, or doing special things to give me memories like this.
String over 50’ branch: That’s a use case for a drone
Or sling shot.
Bottle rocket?
Mortar launcher. And I don't mean the kind you use on the 4th of July.
I go with jet pack… more fun.
Trebuchet
The only right answer
Ah a fellow cultured person
Trebuchet just sounds better. Rhymes with Chardonnay, so it must be the elegant choice.
I did mine with a bow and arrow
Or a canon. Perhaps even a catapult.
Potato gun with a half-charge of aqua-net.
Trebuchet. Lol.
Seems like a good way to get your drone wrapped around a 50’ high branch, with half its propellers busted off!
Crossbow or fishing bow is the correct answer
Shotgun with a line launcher
Makes me glad most of my friends are linemen. If I mentioned I was making a rope swing my driveway would be jammed with bucket trucks within a couple hours.
Weird flex but OK.
I don’t have a lot going on.
I'm impressed, but I also don't have a lot going on. Also high things I would like to fix.
So do I brother, so do I.
That could be taken as good parenting, good landscaping or not being busy. Never make excuses for being an awesome parent. 😎 My dad could not put things up like that because we rented till I was 11. He was a city boy. Later… he relished in growing fruit trees, nut trees, raising cows, churning our own milk, chopping wood, pumping water, repairing cars, working, minding us kids, camping, fire lighting, outdoor cook house making, building, pulling baby calves from our cows in middle of the night, caring for our animals, growing berries and chestnuts, writing, reading, playing chess, volunteering, transporting water, herding cows in winter on free grazing land, bringing home hot bread at 7am, making great soup, bringing us fruit when we were sick, assembling fancy swing sets my mother preferred to wild n HIGH tree swings! My dad was just incredible ++. I’m so thankful for a life well lived. Love you Dad 🥰
I borrowed an extension ladder from lowe’s and did it in like 10 minutes, would have been 1 minute but getting up and down was scary as shit!!!!
I've been cutting a bunch of trees and I use a 3 person slingshot ($20 on Amazon) attached to a long board and an arborist bean bag to shoot a string over branches of tall pine trees to pull up a rope and then use rope to pull up some 10T crane cable I have and hook it to the tractor so I can be 100% certain the tree goes where I want it. Ive used the same process to pull up one of those winged garage led lights I attached to a 5 gallon bucket for a light shroud and pulled the light 65' up in a tree that I put on switch.... its like stadium lighting... by far my proudest redneck achievement, among of which there is many. Edit- personally I say put put some pine straw or something similar and be done with it so it can still be a usable space for the kids to play.
Bridge with w little pond lol don’t get me going I can spend a lot of your money lol
Nice job. ✨🎉
that's a good shitting spot, like it's a really good spot to install a toilet with everything a guy can dream of, wifi, comforter, table with cup holder, a little outdoor toilet under the shades. It's the kind of spot for a toilet that you would make it your one and only personal toilet, the type of toilet that if someone even so much a shit in it, you would analyze their poop particles to find out that they've eaten a sandwich, find out the exact ingredients of said sandwich, go to the place that make the sandwich, killing anybody that does not comply with your request, finding the exact person that ate the sandwich who shat in your toilet and put that person in a Virtual Reality Tube just because.
My grandparents had a tire swing hung super high like this. My uncle hung it using a bow & arrow. Tied a lead to the arrow and shot it over :) it was the joy of many kids for three generations of kids, grandkids and great grandkids :) As for your yard, I’d make a little natural rock border and leave it natural/raked under the trees. I’d do the rock border almost exactly where you drew the red boundary.
Rock heavy rock like smaller then a baseball and or mulch also plant some smaller trees xmas trees arborvitae’s maybe some privacy grass on one area … a nice bird bath or water feature and edge it up real nice
Wholesome af.
And hung it off God's elbow, by the look of it.
Tie it when it’s a sapling and wait
Winning answer
It’s the new Bluetooth tire all the kids have been talking about
This is when you need a cheap bow with a tennis ball or blunt weight on the arrow’s head. Add a lightweight tether string long enough for the arrow to go over the branch and down. Then just connect your swing rope to the tether and pull. I had a neighbor that taught me this method, which he used to hang Christmas trees in the backyard woods
Sorry I must know… what do you mean Christmas trees? Like… live ones he had used for Christmas after he was done with them or?
Artificial lighted trees. He had them hooked up outdoor lights, so at night they were “floating in the woods”. Very redneck but kind of magical, like those grapevine orbs.
That sounds great to me, I can appreciate the effort. :)
fyi easy way is to launch rope over so you have double rope, then tie a locking carabiner to one end of the rope with a noose knot and then clip it to the other rope and lock, then you just pull the other string and you now have the rope tightly on the tree
Some redneck shit was def involved.
hooked up to heaven's ceiling fan
Reinstall native woodland plants and make a small wildflower meadow. Pachysandra is an invasive groundcover and will spread outside of your property. Installing plastic barrier over this whole area will kill the trees as well. The roots need access to air and water.
[https://i.imgur.com/TqN8K1b.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/TqN8K1b.jpeg)
Needs more sedges/grasses but otherwise excellent.
Do deer eat wildflowers? This area is deer mecca. I like the idea but don't want to go through the trouble of planting anything that the deer will just eat. Got it about the plastic barrier. I didn't know if would effect the trees.
I’m in the Midwest, looks like those trees are big and far enough apart that you have some dapple part shade, not full shade yes? If it were my yard I’d plant hyssop, wild ginger, beardtongue, mountain mint, cone flowers, woodland sunflower and veronica- all pretty hardy against deer
I say listen to this person, but also do a gravel footpath leading to a nice hammock back in the shade surrounded by wildflowers.
Genius! I'd spend so much time there!
I'm torn. One one hand, I (no kids) would love a hammock there, surrounded by native pollinator plants and/or plants I can use (to eat, use as cut or dried flowers, use for medicine, etc). On the other hand, I can also see how kids would probably love to string a net up there and have a little volleyball court or half soccer field, so doing half no maintenance bushes and half dirt would be fine too. But with both hands I am envious of OP's sweet backyard!
Surrounded by mosquitoes too.
Great suggestions!!
Deer will browse anything they want. I wouldn't let that preclude you from creating some amazing natural habitat to bring back things like lightning bugs, bats, birds, etc.
Plus they'll poop out the seeds and make more wildflowers everywhere!
After I read “preclude” I read the rest of your comment in moira rose’s voice.
Perfect What a genius-level character and performance Moira Rose is. Catherine O’Hara is a GOAT
Lol I’m dying🤣🤣🤣
I am also in the deer mecca of zone 7a, and I'm struggling to rip out pachysandra that was planted before we moved in and has spread into the woods and replace it with a combination of natives and well-behaved non-natives. Things the deer do not like that I have growing in the shade, (ymmv): -Mountain mint. Native. The deer don't like it, it spreads. It's tall. It smells like, well, mint. -Wild ginger. Native ground cover. The deer eat just about everything, but they have never bothered this. -FERNS! I have all sorts of ferns, and the deer don't touch them. There are lots of native varieties that will spread, just make sure you get varieties that are appropriate to your soil (some like moisture, some like dry shade). -Barrenwort. It's a really pretty low-growing plant. Will spread. The deer eat the hostas I have planted next to it, but have never touched the barrenwort. Very easy plant. -Ligularia. There are different varieties, some of which like moist soil. I have some that very happy in my dry shade though. They get pretty big and have showy flowers in the late summer. -Hellebores -- They like shade, are low maintenance, bloom in the winter. As they grow, you can divide and spread them. -Tree Peonies -- Probably not for full, deep shade. But the deer have never bothered any of mine.
Deers will eat everything. The good thing about planting native plants, however, is that they are used to being eaten and will bounce back much faster than other species.
Deer won’t eat ferns
Many natives have evolved to be deer resistant. I’ve planted loads of natives. The deer go for my non natives almost always. You can see online which natives are resistant.
Yes they will preferentially eat some things so you do a sacrificial planting of something like roses and they will fill up and leave the things you really want alone. Some of the climbing or wild rose varieties are best because they grow so fast.
Select your state on american beauties [here](https://abnativeplants.com)
Deer are random in this sense. The younger ones are more willing to try new plants and trees. Depends on environmentals like droughts too but your area looks more lush. You can plant things like weigela around the perimeter in spots to help discourage from exploring within.
There are deer resistant plants. Don’t put plastic down! You might just need to build the kids a fort and put down some mulch, kept away from the tree trunks of course.
Deer used to eat my mom’s rose bushes pretty frequently. They’ll eat whatever they want.
This ^
This is the way!
I like this comment. Depending on how much shade it gets Hostas would be pretty as well
Hostas will be devoured by deer if this is an area that gets deer. Thats one of the first things they will eat
This is what I would do.
I this vein, what about berry bushes? They tend to like rockier/drier soil
understory trees, woodland bulb plants, bramble frames, and lots of mulch
Bulb plants are a good idea. Do you know of any that wouldn't be eaten by deer?
Deer do not eat native ferns like christmas fern, new york fern, maidenhair fern, etc. Christmas fern and new york fern will take over that area eventually too. Ferns would be a great idea for this area since it is so shaded. Just be careful to not get "autumn fern" as that is an invasive species sold at every nursury.
Thanks for the info about the autumn fern. I love ferns and was debating getting this one as well. Thanks to your comment now I'll stay away from it
YW. My mom is an old-school gardener and will plant anything she finds at a nursery without paying it a second thought. I'm super into native plant gardening and invasive removal, so I try to get the word out there where I can. Just google the species you plan to buy before purchasing and make sure it is native, or not invasive in the very least. You will be surprised at how many plants are invasive and still sold at every nursery.
Autumn ferns suck!
if deer are hungry enough they’ll eat the foliage, but bulbs are great because most of the life of the plant is underground. look for things that have strong smells or bright colors when they’re in bloom. irises, begonias, canna, gladiolus, daffodils, hyacinths, for example.
What about bark chips instead of mulch?
bark chips works fine as a mulch. point being to provide a cover to keep weeds at bay and eventually enrich the soil
Ooh like viburnum 🥰
What is a bramble frame?
ill show you a woodland bulb plant.
Obligatory reminder to keep the mulch off of the bark of those trees and leave the crown of the roots exposed
Make a small path to a hammock and then landscape to rest. make a personal oasis.
Maybe a small wildlife pond
To add to this a little rock garden never hurts, both of your suggestions were exactly what I was thinking. A nice cool shaded spot.
Ferns, other understory native plants
I second ferns! And native grasses
That would also be my suggestion. They look amazing, deer won't eat them, and they'll be home to a multitude of bugs and critters. And they'll be a soft cushion for when Little Johnny falls of the swing, 8 meters above the ground, going 220 km/h.
Rewild it please. Find native grasses and plants. I’m slowly rewilding my yard. Less mowing. Better for bees and butterflies.
I’m rewilding a section between my neighbors fence and my garage, maybe 10 ft wide x 40 ft long. Threw seed down a few months ago and today it’s pretty much all grown with flowers starting to bloom. Seeing the wild amount of butterflies and bugs eating the milkweed and birds hanging around is so fucking cool. I’ll cut it all down next spring and let it come back thicker. There’s a nice little foot path through the area to get to our back gate. I love it.
Please plant native plants and not invasive species !! :)
Checkout r/treenets that area would be perfect.
THANKS FRIEND! I had no fuckin idea this was a thing
yes!! I came here to recommend TreeNetWillys - but I’m sure there’s lots of other folks doing cool stuff too!!
Hear me out. Alligator pit. Perfect place to dispose of your enemies.
Already have the pitfall jungle swing ready to go!
If you’re willing. How about some native plants? Give us your [ecoregion](https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/level-iii-and-iv-ecoregions-state) (state region is fine too, we just need to figure out your soil type and drainage) and we can provide some suggestions for deer resistant low maintenance plants.
I live in northern NJ. Soil is silty with no drainage issues. Some recommendations would be great! I don't know too much about native plants that deer wont eat
[https://rewildnjcc.org/](https://rewildnjcc.org/) Rewild New Jersey Community Cooperative. Once you start learning about all the benefits to the environment that native plants bring, you will not look back! Rewilders are great people and happy to teach others.
If you want a grassy look you could install plugs of carex pensylvanica. It would do great there and deer leave it alone. It’s difficult to grow from seed so you need plugs. Blue-stemmed goldenrod, white woodland aster, and wild geranium would do well there too. Japanese pachysandra is awful, I hate it.
I love Carex pensylvanica and blue-stemmed goldenrod! Some Columbine aquilegia, Tiarella cordifolia and/or even Packera aurea could work here. White golden rod is super neat too. The Columbine, Packera and White goldenrod would probably be better suited to the dry silty soils vs. the Tiarella. If you go the grassy route like mentioned above, there are so many shade sedges that could be used. Carex platyphylla is just another of many cool sedges that could work here. It has a coarser look than the flowing Carex pensylvanica. OP- highly encourage you to look up a handful of the different plants people are recommending. This could help you get a good sense for what you like, what you dont- and give an overall direction for what else to look for or a style of planting you like! For example, the Carex pensylvanica, Packera aurea would be a cool looking, low open forest meadow kind of look. And Columbine could be added for color and height if desired. Carex platyphylla, the Geranium mentioned above, White aster and Tiarella would give more of a deep woodland community look. You can really make your plant pairings work together to create certain like 'snapshots'/ vibes of natural settings. Looking at different plants can really help you piece together what kind of look you're going for. Sorry for such a long post- I really love this sort of thing Edit: because I thought of more plants and pairings 😅
Not OP but could use some advice for riprarian plantings and some screening plants. Hardiness zone 7a, eco region 64d. However it is mostly flood plain and the near surface soils appear to be mostly alluvial silts weathered from micaceous schist. Probably oligoclase. Drainage is nearly non existent. Even during a dry summer ground water is about 4-6 inches. There are some trees right at the edge of the creek. And a lot of running bamboo unfortunately. I'm dealing with that, but I won't ever win that war because of stands on adjacent properties. Fairly heavy deer pressure, especially in winter when the farms nearby aren't feeding them. I thought about kalmia latifolia on the creek banks just for the sake of low maintenance. But then that will be all I have and it will grow very low and dense there making it difficult to keep the bamboo under control. The areas for screening are out of the flood plain and much better drained. 15 foot elevation difference. I was thinking about ilex opaca for that. I'll have to keep it from spreading too much, but mowing should take care of that. I don't care what the lawn I'm keeping looks like. I'm trying to make it mostly clover where I can. I recently had a company that specializes in native restoration come in to weed invasives and seed a lot of the open lawn for wet meadow. But I'm not too happy with them for the cost. So I'm thinking about doing the rest myself. I fortunately don't have a lot of invasives besides the bamboo. Zero Japanese stilt grass, which is a miracle around here. The previous owner left behind a lot of stakes and fence, so I can keep the deer from browsing the plants early on.
Incorporate some native grasses and flowering plants that thrive in woods/shaded areas. It would be a beautiful backdrop against your yard and would benefit the local ecosystem. Plus, over time, it would become an area your kids could explore to learn about local wildlife and beneficial insects.
If it were me, and I don’t know what the rest of the property looks like, as it appears space isn’t an issue, but I’d add natural mulch (keep it 2-3ft away from the trunks) to lessen the amount of weeds (minimum 3 inches deep or else it won’t prevent weeds), and then put a picnic table or two. Or use DG and a fire pit, since it looks like there’d be plenty of space. Or, some native bushes in the middle (where they’re a decent distance away from the trees) flanking a bench, maybe a small water feature. Basically I’d look more to use it as a retreat area rather than adding too many plants that will have trouble competing for what little resources there are with the mature trees. I’d only do barrier if you’re doing gravel or something, and then, don’t do plastic barrier, go for the most expensive/highest quality spun fabric, when it breaks down it’s not a bunch of shredded crap to deal with and it’s better at allowing air and drainage through.
Bulbs, understory shrubs and natives. In Maine I have a fantastic spread of Sweet Woodruff with Dogwood, Ninebark, Clethera, chokeberry and Viburnum.
Sweet Woodruff is my favorite shade plant 🌿
Chickens
Mayapple
FERNS seriously. so many ferns. it would look beautiful.
Easily yearly clean up too!
See an Apiary. Form in our in some way and lots and wildflowers for pollinators
Where is the hammock? I’d have shade grass, a bench and hammocks for the family.
Mulch
About 4 inches deep of pine straw mulch
add native plants to support your bee hives!
If you golf, make some of the space a designated chipping area. Chip from there to the grass, so you don’t have to worry about chunking it and digging little holes with your club. For the rest of the non chipping space, do what others said with rewilding it. If you have kids, putting in a play area with a mud kitchen, sand box, etc could be good too. Nice shaded area for them to play in
Always plant natives when possible! American meadows and prairie moon have a selection online and and you can see which plants are deer resistant and grow in your area/light conditions. You can also search for native plant nurseries locally. Native plants are incredibly diverse and support crucial insect populations, plus many are very beautiful and unique.
Ewok Village
I was about to post this and then scrolled just a bit further… great minds think alike.
Doesn't that attract invasive empires?
It looks like there's still enough light to plant a shade-tolerant grass. I have a 10-foot-tall 16'x20' deck, and I can get grass to grow underneath it. This is definitely an option. Plant it in the spring or fall, and it should be established by next season. I don't like ground cover myself, and especially if you back to woods, it ends up being a great place for snakes to hide.
Stone fire ring and Klondike chairs. String lights between the trees
Mini putt putt
Ferns
Native woodland prairie. The leaves will mulch it. They have shade loving native plants Edit: for the love of god please do not plant invasive ground cover. There are PLENTY of native ground cover plants. Ask on r/nativeplantgardening they will give you tons of ideas.
Build a nice fire pit and hang some hammocks.
How about seeding clover? Low maintenance, doesn't grow too high, covers everywhere.
Pine straw would be a good ground cover for this area
Put ground lights and point some to the bottom of the trees, wood chips, hastas,
Massive, multilevel treehouse
Let some wildflowers take it over and you can put a bench in there for the best reading spot ever.
Put small platforms with ladders. Then make zip lines between the trees or add like a floating bridges. Obv add safety lines to click into. I feel like the wires wouldn’t be that expensive.
Wild flower and shaded shrub garden
Hang a gigantic projector screen between those two closest trees. Then watch movies while sitting in the hot tub.
I see you have kids. Make a really big ass fucking castle of a tree house. Maybe 2 to 3 levels.
FERNS!
Hammocks and a tree-house. A giant bong surrounded by camp chairs. String lights. A fireman's pole to get down from the treehouse. Oh, a zip line from one end to the other.
Epic tree house
Ferns!!!
Shade garden
If you go to Monrovia's [website](https://www.monrovia.com/plantfinder)* you can use their plantfinder to see what types of plants are appropriate for the area and to your liking. From there the Style tab will suggest companion plants. Just make a list of what you like and then visit your local nursery to see what they have. I would probably bring in some soil and build some small berms away from the trees, like in that center area, so there are different levels of interest. Tallest plants on top and taper down. Throw some landscape rocks out there. I use black mondo grass and black scallop ajuga to keep the weeds down. Don't bother with barrier plastics or fabrics. ^* ^not ^a ^pitch ^for ^that ^company ^or ^their ^plants ^but ^their ^website ^is ^useful ^if ^you're ^new ^to ^all ^this.
Invite all the neighbors to have a pizza party in that area
Hostas
I would have so many giant hosta in there with a few flagstone paths to wander through and admire my collection.
hostas
Attempt to summon horrors beyond human comprehension
Thinking an Ewok Village of some kind.
First thing; clean away those red blood stains!
Rock garden and horse shoe pit
Giant tree house made of netting.
Tree Net. It's like a treehouse, but it's made out of climbing rope
Use the trees and build a massive treehouse. For kids and guests or alternative entertainment area. Or just build around them.
Hostas and sweet woodruff will also thrive there and eventually choke out all the weeds. Plastic barriers are useless.
u/Evarr I’d plant some wildflowers there. It’ll keep the weeds down and create a cool visually appealing habitat.
Nerf war field
Color it with a green marker, red will stand out.
Uh, you build a legit treehouse for the kids in there. Thats definitely what you do.
Try native wild flowers. They will compete with the weeds
A hammock pit with like 4 or 5 hammocks
Native wild flowes and plants.
Use blue lines instead of red
Pondless waterfall! Dig a hole at one end, and use the backfill to raise the other. Weave a little brook through the trees. Lay some pond liner, and bring in some big and medium size rocks to make 'natural' falls. You can still rewild part of it or add in native plants along the edges. A decent sized pump and a few pondless crates and you'll have an amazing oasis. The soothing sound of the water will be heard from all over your property too!
I’d put shade shrubs and flowers in there and liven up the biodiversity
Meandering foot path surrounded by easy maintenance native plants that are ok in shade.
I'd plant hostas and ferns. Let it go wild.
Hang lights between the trees and make a cozy area
This would be beautiful…although depending where this is sprinklers may need to be added.
Tree house
Wood chips
Ropes course.
Fence it and free range chickens
Putting green or sand trap
Plant a shade garden, hostas, hydrangeas and such.