12/17/2022
We put a full day into a backyard that had been overtaken by vines (grape, oriental bittersweet, greenbriar, blackberry) that grew around a downed tree, a rotting couch and construction debris, and lots of unfortunately doomed saplings. A large stand of staghorn sumac had also been overtaking the play area, so we removed 25 to 30 of those at the homeowner's request. Around the perimeter of the yard we uncovered a number of red oak, red maple, beech, sassafras, and white pine saplings (and a recently planted eastern red cedar) that could be freed from the vines and permitted to grow as the next generation of backyard trees. It will require a good deal of mowing, treating, mulching, raking, and seeding, but they may gain back room for the kids to play without getting tangled in prickers and vines!
