I See You, Ragweed

So many of our roadsides are infested with non-native plants, but I’m always scanning them to see if I can spot something “good” (my definition of good being a native plant!). This time of year, there will always be a sly little smile on my lips when I spot the native annual ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) growing.

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Don’t be too alarmed that I’m spotting these plants in residential yards. Mostly I see them in areas of road construction (where the soil disturbance brought these plants to life) or along unmanaged rural roads. Only the weekend bicyclists are likely to be disturbed by windborne gusts of ragweed pollen in search of a place to land.

I do feel sorry for those of you who are allergic, but I am so glad to see a native plant that is productive to our environment. Ragweed seeds are high in fat and very beneficial to the small birds and critters that consume them. You can find ragweed seed for sale online to help establish this high quality native annual on your land (although you may already have it, especially if you have a large amount of land with wild areas).

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

For those of you who don't know, native goldenrod (Solidago spp.) is often considered to be a source of fall allergies but the pretty goldenrod is colorful for a reason: the bright flowers attract bees and other insects to carry the heavy pollen from plant to plant. Goldenrod pollen is not carried on the wind.

Goldenrod (Solidago altissima) is not the problem;
enjoy seeing it this year for the insects it supports!

Get a Tree That Does More

 

This is a photo of a non-native ornamental cherry; it is a photo that was taken yesterday. It has looked like this for well over a month; it’s not dead but it sure looks like it. These cherries lose their leaves like this a lot in our area – why would anyone want something that looks like this in their front yard? People get them for the spring blooms and that’s pretty much all they get out of them.

Non-native cherry tree in summer

When I saw this house with them lined up on both sides, I could not imagine driving between those every day and not eventually calling a tree service to cut them down.

Non-native cherry trees in summer in Georgia

If you’re in the market for a tree (and the next few months are a good time to plant them in Georgia), consider not only how the tree looks year-round but also what the tree might give back to its environment. Get a tree that does more!

Here are some tree ideas that I’ve written about before; of course, they are all native because regionally native trees naturally give back to their ecosystem:

Trees that bloom in the spring

Trees with great fall color (includes some shrubs too)

Native trees that are underused

Double-duty native trees

Small trees with great fall color

I hope some of these posts will give you ideas on how to get more out of your landscape trees. What would I plant instead of these? Serviceberry is one of my favorite full sun trees; it provides spring flowers, fruit to eat, and great fall color.

A preview of fall: serviceberry leaves

September 2023 Moment in Nature

My eye is always caught in the garden by things that are different, and a dusting of white material on a leaf made me look a little closer recently. I was surprised to realize it was stem shavings and that a small bee had at least attempted to make a solitary nest in a cut off stem on American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). I hope she was successful but it might have been too short for her.

I am thrilled to discover insect/plant interactions, each one a very special #momentinnature. 

By the way, thanks to another blogger, I found a new service for email delivery of the blog. On the upper right side of the blog home page, you can now enter your email and subscribe.

Hike Local: Dunwoody Nature Center

Dunwoody Nature Center is a 22-acre local park that I’ve visited over the years; I’ve watched it grow from a small private park to a city-owned nature destination. 

It was once infested with English ivy and non-native wisteria. Volunteers, Master Gardeners, and Eagle Scouts have made a dent in those problems and city funding has helped expand amenities (bathrooms!) and activities (like their upcoming Butterfly Experience next weekend). This week I decided to revisit the park and explore the trails.

Black-eyed Susan near the main building

Dunwoody Nature Center trails are heavily shaded which makes for cool walks but few blooms to observe this time of year. The dirt trails are well-maintained and offer lots of interesting bits of nature, including rocky streams, lush ferns, wetland boardwalks, and even this young deer. If the kids get restless, there are several play areas with fun things to ride or climb.

This fawn was hiding behind a trail sign

Christmas ferns near the trail

My grandson loved the rope caterpillar swing

Trail signage is good and you can download a trail map ahead of time or grab one in the parking lot. Educational signs point out some of the features and large trees have blazes to help you know where you are. The park has development on all sides so you can’t go too far off course. I think it’s a great place to get kids into hiking with fun extra play spaces for them and bathrooms.

Flowers can be found at the front or around the main buildings. One structure has a green (and growing) roof and the adjacent wetland was full of blooming pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata). Most of the new plantings are native plants, but invasive plants still plague the park. Wisteria is trying hard to come back, Elaeagnus shrubs are hiding in the woodland, and the autumn fern that was planted years ago as an ornamental is invading the streams just as it has in other parts of the metro area. If you live nearby, volunteer to help identify and remove invasive plants.

Pickerel weed was full of pollinators

Autumn fern invading the creek