In addition to local nurseries you could check out this great business called Edible Landscaping, which specializes in fruit trees. They're located in VA so most of what they carry will do well in our area. http://www.eat-it.com Juneberries/Serviceberries (amalanchier) are one of my favorite native fruits, and will do fine in some shade since they often grow in the forest. They have small red-purple berries with an edible seed inside. My husband says they taste like blueberries and I think they taste like Sweet Tarts (maybe I don't let them get all the way ripe!). The birds will love whatever you don't eat. I'll eat a pawpaw or two in the wild but the kerosene like aftertaste stops me after that, so I wouldn't plant them in my yard. Some people don't seem to be bothered by them though. Gooseberries and currants can also apparently take shade, especially afternoon shade (which side of your yard is the forest on?). Otherwise most fruit trees will do better in full sun. Figs THRIVE in my neighborhood in Takoma Park/Silver Spring. (There are so many trees within a few blocks of us, I have the theory that they're all cuttings off of one or two trees that have been passed around over the years.) I think the ones I like the best are Celeste, if I've identified them right. Animals seem to leave them alone, which is a major plus. You can dry whatever you don't eat fresh. If you've never had a fresh fig, there's nothing quite like it. I'm a huge fan. In general most folks I know seem to think apples and peaches are too high-maintenance to be worth it. I have a peach tree in my backyard that produces massive amounts of fruits but the squirrels like to eat them when they're green, so I get very few. It's kind of heartbreaking -- every year I see the number of fruits and my hopes are so high for good, fresh peaches, and it never quite comes out that way. We also have a pear tree that is not nearly as productive, but just as attractive to the squirrels. I have yet to eat a pear. I have a neighbor who grows plums somewhat successfully but loses a lot to the plum curculio bug. Mulberries grow pretty much as a weed tree in this area because birds eat so many of them and spread the seeds. I find them very tasty. You can easily feed yourself and the birds. You'd just have to stay on top of any seedlings that start coming up where you don't want them (especially along fences where birds perch). This year I have plans to plant a sour cherry. Birds are supposed to like them less than sweet cherries. We'll see. I'm also looking into Japanese persimmon. Blueberries also can do well here if you amend the soil to be acidic enough for them. You will have to fight the birds for them, too. Good luck!

Thanks, Old Forester! I thought #7 was a catbird given the color (and I could hear a few in the park ). I hadn't see a mockingbird this year in DC till this one. #5, 6, 9 were all foraging on the ground and there were several of them in mixed flocks with the mourning doves. The beaks of all three and the colors on 5 - I was hoping they were some kind of grosbeaks. Thanks again!

I like Karin's Florist. They deliver to these DC zip codes: 20001, 20002, 20003, 20004, 20005, 20006, 20007, 20008, 20009, 20010, 20011, 20012, 20015, 20016, 20017, 20018, 20019, 20020, 20024, 20032, 20036, 20037, 20052, 20317 They stand behind their flowers. I had gotten a lovely gift of plants. There were some bugs among the leaves, so I called the florist and they delivered a new planter right away. The amazing thing is that the plants are still alive today, and I had gotten them in 2015.

I enjoyed the video. I loved that she loved the design, and probably didn't give enough though to whether I liked the design (considering this thread is on a design website). There were elements I loved, and elements I loved individually but not in combination (like the burlwood and the mural you can see in the still for the video; I feel like they compete for attention in away that detracts from both). I really dislike the Cambria quartz pattern she has in her kitchen; something about the combination of over-the-top bold and super fake looking (relative to marble or any natural stone) just leaves me cold. Her pointing out the balloon on the ceiling amused me, and I enjoyed her storytelling in general. I really liked the laundry room, especially the artwork. I would probably never think to wallpaper a laundry room because of humidity, but papering everything was a nice effect.