Most of the neighborhood area is mixed Red Oak, Red Maple, and Hemlock - there is also a lot of Fluttering Aspen mixed in. Since I've been here, probably had 7 or 8 of the Aspen have blown over or broken off 1/3 or 1/2 way up and just snapped in the wind and fallen over. The area where I'm now looking to get some plants growing is a 100 foot diameter area, where several Apen have blown over from the roots - this area is mostly very large mature Aspen, which is different from the surrounding area for some reason; no hemlock in this spot. I'm guessing this small area may have been cleared at some point 100 or 200 years ago, or it is just geologically different in some way I don't see yet.
The overstory right where I'm working is mostly the Aspen, and the understory is a mix of white birch, red maple, and red oak, some other species mixed in. Part of the reason I've been slow to get into working on this project is I don't like taking the trees down without a good reason. With this area opening up some naturally, I'm taking that as a cue to get something started.
I've thought about introducing berry bushes, but not unlike fruit trees - wonder if there is enough light to get them growing very well at all.
