Hello. My family home is situated on about 7 acres of land, most of which is wooded. The wooded area closest to the house had a large number of ash trees, almost all of which have died off. As they died, my father cleared the land and turned it into lawn. At this point there is a large amount of lawn that is unused, perhaps an acre or so. I would like to “reforest” that area so that (eventually) it is left wild. The ground is near a creek and can get quite wet, and the soil is mostly clay. The creek seems healthy and has quite a bit of wildlife. There is also a fairly steep incline of about 80 feet or so rising from near the creek. It used to have ash trees but is now mostly bare. I wonder if you can point me to some resources about reforesting land and/or could help me with the following: 1. What trees are the best for those conditions? 2. What kind of timeline should I think about for this project as far as stopping mowing while making sure invasives don’t take over? 3. Are there other plants/seeds I should sow between the trees when they are still young to help the process? Thank you very much for any advice you can give.

The maple tree in my front yard has some areas that are missing bark and appear to have been damaged by branches rubbing. This is not in an area where this has occurred. It starts about 3 feet off the ground, is apparent in several locations and extends up to about 6 feet. What is it and do I need to treat it prior to winter?

I have been finding these flying round my back door for a while now and wondering what they are. They are way bigger than a quarter.

I have 2 rhododendrons next to each other in my yard. They both have had some damage over the years from the extreme heat. One (right) seems to have recovered and is thriving. The one on the left looks horrible - leaves brown and shriveled. Can you help me figure out why? Perhaps, the one on the right got more water from the sprinkler during the summer or could it be the shade from the maple? Anything I can do to help the one struggling now? Thanks for your help.

This summer I've had several encounters with praying mantis. The previous sightings were an off-white/tan color but today I met a green one.

Hi, Many many years ago the extension office had some relationship with the American Harvest dehydrators. I would love to get another one! Do you know if they are available anywhere, in the same 15+ inch diameter? I appreciate any comments on this question.

Sell bulk Christmas trees?

I came across a maple tree today that still had buds on it and what leaves it did have, about 50, were very tiny. The property owner said that until this year the tree had always been health with a full canopy. Some of the twigs I observed were very moist inside and still green. I am trying to figure out what the issue is.

The weed comes back every year and is starting to spread throughout the lawn

Ned advised on what to do about my Boxwoods