Country Ecology: Native dogwood species

A few springs back, I excitedly partook in the shrub sale of the Carroll Country Conservation District for some whips of winterberry, a crabapple, and a few species of dogwoods. I also went over to the New Hampshire State Forest Nursery to buy some other packages of the native shrubs that feed the birds.

The shrubs come in enclosed sacks of brown paper, sealed with a plastic membrane to keep the moisture within available for the bare-rooted, ten plants wrapped in a cluster. There, I bought arrowwood, the common elder, eastern red cedar, and all the varieties of dogwoods that commonly grow in this state. It has been five years since I planted these, and things are starting to go very well.