Flower Rest Area

 

On our way back into Georgia on I-85, we stopped at the Georgia welcome center near West Point, GA. As we drove in, a bright sign highlighted an area with visible wildflowers so I walked over to see it.  According to the sign and this webpage, it was a collaboration in 2016 to produce a pollinator garden to showcase how we could “reimagine our highways in a way that’s more sustainable and healthier for all species.”

There is a good diversity of plants there. Ropes help define the area and the lawn-facing sides are kept in check with mowers, allowing visitors to walk right up to see the pollinators enjoying the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum), wild bergamot (Monarda), and tall goldenrod (Solidago altissimum). Without the maintenance on those edges, those spreading plants would go all the way to the parking lot.

Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum)

Gulf fritillary on butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

It was nice to see the succession of blooms and I look forward to stopping by during the year to see it again and again (with a new granddaughter in the Florida panhandle, we will be making more trips this way). The black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) were almost finished and the butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) was going to seed, but the downy sunflower (Helianthus mollis) was just starting. Also noted was fading Coreopsis, the occasional purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and grasses. The sign at the front also indicates there might be rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) and New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae).

Rudbeckia hirta ready to feed the birds!

I am not sure if there are more of these areas at rest stops but it is a nice way to showcase Georgia flora and fauna (i.e., insects). I felt much more refreshed after taking a few minutes to watch the butterflies, bees, and beetles enjoying the flowers. I’m sure that birds are using the area as well.

Flowers vs Foliage

 

Deer ignoring American germander

The deer have been brutal to my flowers this year in the front yard. I have a few things blooming – a big St. John’s wort (Hypericum densiflorum), threadleaf mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), American germander (Teucrium canadense), and the white wild indigo (Baptisia alba) are things in the front yard (the back area is fenced and blooms are safe there). Everything else in the front is clipped down to about 12 inches … but perhaps some of it will bloom when they get bored of it.

L-R: American lady, Spicebush swallowtail, Pipevine swallowtail

Yet in the midst of this, the butterflies have managed to find some host plants and lay eggs. I have seen caterpillars on my spicebush (Lindera benzoin), my pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), my pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa), and my false indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa). I have a number of other host plants waiting for the adults to show up.

Normally I apply deer spray (Liquid Fence is my chosen brand) but the weather has been rainy or I’ve been out of town. I will step up my efforts again. In the meantime, I am grateful that my garden provides host plant services even when flowers are few.

June 2024 Moment in Nature

Does it smell in here? This week brought some unusual visitors up close and personal. I heard a thud hit the front porch and found this black vulture casually walking about the front lawn.

After a few minutes, I realized that another one was exploring the shaded area next to the house. Both walked around for a while, then flew up to the roof and from there to the tall pine trees behind the house. By the time I walked out to the driveway, they decided there were no tasty treats here and flew away.

It was fun to see another member of the ecosystem up close. I am always very thankful for the service that vultures perform. #momentinnature

Daisy Fleabane - Spring Roadside Staple

Ubiquitous and seemingly long-blooming, the daisy fleabane (Erigeron) species on our roadsides has been a delight to me - and our pollinators - this year. To the casual observer, these month-over-month blooms might appear to be all the same species.

Most of the common species in Georgia are described as species favorable to disturbed areas, so finding a home on roadsides is perfect. This week we have been in Florida with a new grandbaby, and the drive through Georgia, Alabama, and Florida gave me an opportunity to see just how abundant Erigeron can be on the roads; it was mixed with a variety of other flowers like Coreopsis, and naturalized exotic species like verbena and Queen Anne’s lace. The long, airy stems with clusters of tiny white flowers resemble baby’s breath.

Erigeron strigosus perhaps

I examined some of the plants near my daughter’s house and I think they might be Erigeron strigosus, called rough or prairie fleabane. The leaves are smaller and more narrow, so the overall look of the foliage is sparse. It can be an annual or biennial.

The other species that we all might have seen include Erigeron philadelphicus (Philadelphia fleabane), one of the early blooming ones. This short-lived perennial species has leaf bases that conspicuously and strongly clasp the stem. Erigeron annuus, the annual fleabane has more and larger leaves than other species. Unlike Philadelphia fleabane, its leaves do not clasp the stem at the base. The number of ray flowers also varies among the species but they are so tiny and numerous that I think it would be hard to count them.

In resourcing these species, I found a good website that describes these species and provides comparisons among the 3. Start here with Erigeron strigosus and navigate from there.

I’m glad I got to take a closer look at these lovely native flowers. Meanwhile, new grandbaby is small but I look forward to seeing these tiny hands clutching a bouquet of daisy fleabane in a year or two.

The Little Things that Happen

 

When we aren’t looking! Our lives are so clear to us: we eat, we sleep, we get dressed, we work, we have friends, we have families, we mow our lawn, we take out the garbage … yet all around us, the rest of Earth is living lives too.

Flowering Elymus hystrix

I noticed this week that the Eastern bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) is blooming. It has already formed spikelets that make it look like it has already made seeds but the tiny flowers are just appearing now. Each spikelet has 2 to 4 florets with pale yellow stamens. This cool-season grass is shade tolerant and has proven to be pretty happy in my yard: it is starting to seed around a bit and I’ve been donating and pulling some of the extras.

Seeing these blooms reminded me of so many things we don’t see as the rest of the world goes about its lives around us: tiny bees and flower flies pollinating flowers that are so small themselves we don’t always see them; frogs hiding in the foliage while they wait for an insect to pass through; the caterpillar hiding under the leaves while it eats to live; bird parents gathering thousands of insects to raise and support their small nest of chicks.

I’m sure this post reminds some of you of the #momentinnature posts that I copied from a friend several years ago. The message is similar in that we should notice things, but whether we notice them or not, they are happening. We share our living space with thousands and millions of other organisms. How we treat our outside (gently or harshly, with or without chemicals, what we add and what we remove) affects them too.

Bee going about her business whether we see her or not

 

Why Do We Have So Many Invasive Plants?

 

The topic of invasive plants is inextricably intertwined with the support for native plants because native plants and their habitats are the most at risk when exotic plants spread. 

Invasive plants are defined as exotic plants that have the ability spread on their own to the point that their spread disrupts native ecosystems. 

Not all exotic plants are invasive; in fact, most of them aren't. My husband helped me put together this overview of terminology.

Know your terms

Exotic plants arrive here initially in one of two ways: someone brought them on purpose (and that’s absolutely true for many of our worst ones) or they arrived accidentally (perhaps as part of cargo such as packing material or stray seeds that hitchhiked). Once they are here, rarely are they identified to be invasive, that determination comes later, even many years later.

Once they arrive, they may live quietly for many years, including being cultivated and passed along. Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) was brought here as an ornamental but it is said that it took 80 years before it became apparent that it was spreading enough to be considered invasive. In the last 20 years, many of us watched as ornamental pears such as ‘Bradford’ (Pyrus calleryana) started to spread into natural areas. It is finally designated now as an invasive plant. 

Tree of Heaven

Two more recent pests are Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) - spreading into streams and natural areas - and Japanese chaff flower (Achyranthes japonica), a pest notably in the Atlanta area but spreading outward.

If invasive plants are so bad, you might wonder why we aren’t doing more about them. How do they spread? 

I like to describe it as the 3 W’s: wind, water, and wildlife. Once the seeds or root fragments arrive in a new spot, it is largely the twin forces of neglect and ignorance that allow them to thrive. Neglect and ignorance are solvable!

I remember being a kid in the 1970’s when the litter campaign was in full force. Litter bags for your car were all the rage – they were created to encourage people NOT to throw their trash out the window. Can you imagine that people thought that was ok? How times have changed.

We need a campaign to say that invasive plants are not ok. It’s not ok to have them and it’s not ok to just let them fill up the roadsides like so much trash. Cities and counties should take responsibility for their roads, learn to recognize these plants (easy with a smartphone or tablet), and have crews remove them just like they remove trash (litter pickup). 

Utility contractors that manage vegetation should be instructed not to just prune invasive trees to protect the lines, they should be instructed to cut them to the ground!

Developers should be required to identify and remove invasive plants on property being developed. Developments near me are leaving invasive plants on property edges, only removing them if they are physically in the way of some section they want to develop.

City, county, and state parks should include in their maintenance plans the detection and removal of invasive plants just like they detect and remove trash. I wrote recently about a park stream restoration project; invasive plants were removed but you could see where they still exist in the unrestored areas.

I hope one day that we look at managing invasive plants the same way we looked at trash in the 1970’s. Humans made this mess and it’s up to us to deal with it in a responsible way.

Landscape Spotlight: Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica)

 

This month is bloom time for Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), a deciduous native shrub that naturally grows in moist areas. I always enjoy finding it in a natural areas and along streambanks where its modest green foliage allows it to hide in plain sight. It is native throughout Georgia and Florida (Hmm, I should get some for my daughter’s yard in the Florida panhandle).

Itea virginica

What has surprised me recently is the explosion of usage in designed landscapes near where I live in metro Atlanta. Driving around this past week – while it was blooming – made me realize how it can be and is being used in landscaping.

Virginia sweetspire can be a suckering shrub, a trait which is very beneficial in its natural habitat along streambanks. I am used to seeing it in stream restoration projects such as the one I profiled last week. It doesn’t always sucker – perhaps it is a response to damage or browsing – in fact, a group of 3 at the front of a neighborhood planted at least 5 years ago is still just that group of three.

It is usually described as a part-sun plant but I am seeing it used in full sun, even afternoon sun. These plants may have help in dealing with the extra sun by artificial irrigation (something to consider if you’re planning to use it in those conditions). It can have really nice fall color in addition to these spring blooms. Deer do browse on it some, so get some deer spray if that's an issue for you.

Here are some examples of landscape usage that I've seen over the years (and I've seen more but I just haven't photographed them). In the summer, the foliage is not particularly remarkable but it is handsome and can be dense enough for nesting birds. Fall color can be really nice on Virginia sweetspire and some cultivar names like 'Merlot' and 'Henry's Garnet' are indicators of that.

Consider this shrub for one of your landscape projects. It is usually available at larger nurseries and dwarf forms and reliable fall color cultivars are available. The cultivars have not impacted the pollinator benefits of the plant.

Stream Buffer Restoration

 

In regards to the support for native plant preservation and usage, I have long been disappointed in most city/county parks. What they consider “greenspace” is mostly ballfields, tennis courts, and playgrounds. Any natural areas and streams that might be in them are often ignored, degraded, and covered in invasive plants. But there are some streams that are important and attention to the buffers that protect them are required.

Signage

The end of restored section

At Wills Park in Alpharetta near me, I recently came across a buffer restoration project. While it seems the work is recent, I found this description of the project dating back to 2018: “Foe Killer Creek is a perennial stream that flows through Wills Park in Alpharetta, continues into Big Creek and eventually into the Chattahoochee River. Unfortunately, the creek has been identified as an impaired (polluted) stream due to increased presence of fecal coliform bacteria and sediment load.”

Sediment-filled area not yet restored

Restored area with willow

Only part of the stream has been restored so far and hopefully other sections will be addressed as well in the future. The plants installed include trees (oaks, blackgum, sweetbay magnolia, hollies, black willow); shrubs (Virginia sweetspire, dwarf wax myrtle); and perennials (ferns, lizard’s tail, river oats).

Lizard's tail, Virginia sweetspire, river oats, wax myrtle

The stream in the restored area looked pretty clear and small fish and water strider bugs were visible from a pedestrian bridge and I saw a frog hop in. Signs and orange mesh fence help to inform the public and keep people out while the plants get established.

I look forward to seeing how they manage the area over time and hope that other communities take steps to improve their streams as well.

May 2024 Moment in Nature

This week I walked back to the back of my property where there is a small creek. As I walked back, I noticed a bright flash of yellow in the creek; it was a male American Goldfinch and he had just landed for a bath. I froze for a moment to watch (and carefully pulled my phone out of my pocket, of course).

American Goldfinch in creek

He splashed and preened for a few moments and then took off. It was so special to see a wild creature in an unguarded moment. 

These #momentinnature posts are always fun to share and I hope it inspires you - even if just for a day - to spot something in nature that makes you glad you were there to see it.

Native Plant Gardening is not One & Done

 

The places where we live are mostly artificial constructs. Those of us in urban/suburban areas are living in an environment of our own making. Someone cleared the land enough to build a house on it and the plants that we’ve chosen to invite into this space were—for the most part—our choices. I hope you’ve chosen native plants, as much as 70% if you can, either in what you planted or what you chose to keep. But you’re not done; you’re never done; just like with a garden that uses non-native plants, things change.

As many of you have done this spring, I spent time this week editing the garden. Sediment on the driveway had convinced the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum) that it had about 8-10 more inches of room so I reclaimed that space and potted up the extra plants. A tall annual grass had squeezed into all the extra spaces in the front bed (nature abhors a vacuum?) and I easily pulled much of it out so that what I really wanted to grow would have more room. 

I continue to monitor one 2x2 foot area of the lawn for a small new weed that appeared in 2022; these last two years I’ve been able to find and pull it before it blooms. I hope it will run out of energy eventually. I continue to monitor and pull false hawkweed (Youngia japonica) and the ever-present stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), mostly in the shady areas. And while I love the bright blooms of the native biennial butterweed (Packera glabella), I usually cut off the spent flower heads so that it is not the only thing in my yard every spring.

Butterweed seeks total domination!

I’ve written before about having to occasionally remove things – like trees that have grown so large that they shade out the space at the expense of a more diverse environment. The area where the tree was removed is now a large patch of mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), which thankfully the deer usually avoid.

Mayapple around the tree stump

Critters are a source of delight but also frustration when they destroy plants. While deer have done damage (both eating things and causing damage from antler rub), moles and voles have too. A pair of lilies that I featured in 2022—after writing that they survived moles—were destroyed the very next year by the same critters. A friend gifted me more of them; I will be planting them in wire cages in the ground!

So enjoy your gardens and your native plants and know that—native or not—our gardens are always a work in progress for a variety of reasons. Working in the wildlife-friendly garden is always interesting and helps to bring us close to many of the small reasons we do it.

April 2024 Moment in Nature

A nest building attempt in 2017

Having birds that feel confident to nest in your yard is a great feeling: they feel safe and they feel like there is food enough to raise their babies. This month I realized that a pair of brown-headed nuthatches had built a nest is one of the dead pine snags that I have left just for them.

This snag is not far from the driveway, and I hear their calls when I'm working in the area or just going to the mailbox.

I'm excited to be able to contribute to the population of brown-headed nuthatches; it is a bird that needs pine snags in our woodlands. This discovery is my #momentinnature for this month. 

Landscape Spotlight: Roundabouts

 

Roundabouts are on the rise – sometimes I like to count how many roundabouts I have to go through to get where I’m going: four of them is not uncommon these days! Some of them are large and some are small, but they all have some plants in the middle and I’m always interested to see what was chosen for that spot. Since I live adjacent to the city of Milton, theirs get a lot of my attention and they have mostly chosen a good selection of native plants for them.

Roundabout with hawthorn and Yaupon holly

A triple row of Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)

Hawthorn (Crataegus viridis)

These are photos from two of their recent installations. The first one I’m showing is a smaller version of another one that features the same plants and which has done well. The center has hawthorns (most likely Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’) which has gorgeous white spring flowers and abundant red fruits in the fall. These are handsome trees with a very pleasing shape. Around the trees is a solid ring of evergreen native shrubs that have been used for years: Ilex vomitoria ‘Nana’ (or similar dwarf). Once I got up close, I could see that the shrubs were in 3 concentric rings.

Blooming Viburnum with Fothergilla behind

Viburnum obovatum dwarf cultivar

The second roundabout is new and was completed last year; it features a mix of native and non-native plants. The center has 3 large trees that have not yet leafed out but hopefully they are native oaks. What caught my attention was an outer half-ring of a dwarf native viburnum: Viburnum obovatum ‘Mrs Schiller’s Delight’ (or other dwarf cultivar, there are several). Behind that is a half-ring of a native Fothergilla. The rest of the circle appeared to be non-native hydrangea and perhaps a dwarf gardenia. Native grasses – perhaps little bluestem and muhly – were also part of the design.

Most of these roundabouts are cared for (weeds removed, dead plants swapped out) and generally they are attractive accents to the landscape. I’m glad to see native plants be part of their selections and hopefully they catch the attention of folks looking for landscape ideas.

This is a post in an occasional series on good designed uses for native plants. You can find my previous posts in this series using this search criteria.

Where Do Butterflies Go in the Winter?

 

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on crabapple

Are you seeing butterflies now? Where were they over the winter? Why some and not others? I was inspired to research and write this post because this week I found two caterpillars of the Red-spotted Purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis) on a potted black cherry tree (Prunus serotina) that lives on my driveway (for lack of finding a better home). This butterfly species can overwinter two ways: in a chrysalis or as a partially grown caterpillar that constructs a tightly shaped leaf tube called hibernacula in which to spend the winter.

Red-spotted Purple on black cherry this week

How do most Georgia butterflies overwinter? It varies by species and they can overwinter as adults (migratory behavior), as pupae (in a chrysalis), as larvae (caterpillar), or as eggs. 

I looked up some of the more common ones that I see to compare their different strategies that evolution has worked out for them. For those of you who have heard the message about “leaving the leaves,” take note of how many of these beauties overwinter in leaves as pupae, larvae, or eggs.

Swallowtails are some of our earliest butterflies - the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, our state butterfly - is one the first that I see each year. They (and other swallowtails like Spicebush, Zebra, Eastern Black, Pipevine) overwinter as a chrysalis right in our landscapes (be careful about cleaning up!) so they are ready to emerge when flowers and host plants are available to them.

Monarch – This well-known butterfly famously migrates south and overwinters as an adult in reproductive diapause (so it lives longer and doesn't try to breed during that time).

Gulf Fritillary – This one flies south, overwinters as adult in warmer areas; I've linked my earlier blog about finding thousands of these in Florida.

Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) – This pale yellow butterfly also flies south, overwintering as an adult in warmer areas; I usually don't see it again until the summer red flowers are blooming.

Cloudless Sulphur

Pearl Crescent

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) – The partially grown caterpillars stop eating (larvae) and find shelter in a curled leaf.  There they remain in diapause until spring, when eating resumes.

American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) – I didn't realize these went south until I researched it. They overwinter as an adult in warmer areas.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)  – Another surprise for me: they overwinter as an adult in warmer areas.

Spring and Summer Azures (Celastrina) – Both of these overwinter in our landscape in chrysalis (pupae) form.

Mourning cloak – Adults spend winter months in hiding spots, sheltered from the elements.  They emerge on warm days to search for energy sources that include sap flows or carrion.

Question Mark – These overwinter as adult butterflies and often fly in early spring on warm days. Their underwing resembles a dried leaf, giving them extra camouflage.

Question Mark

American Snout

American Snout – Late fall adults enter diapause during winter months and resume activity the following spring, as early as mid-February

Hairstreaks – In general, these species overwinter as eggs or larvae in leaf litter.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) – This large skipper overwinters as chrysalis (pupae).

Fiery Skipper – These little ones go south for the winter but other skippers have different behaviors.

If you love butterflies and want to have them in your yard, be sure to plant host plants for them. This brochure is a great resource in Georgia.

The Red-spotted Purple

Natives Go Mainstream

 

Wildlife in my Yard

I love seeing the topic of using native plants get into more mainstream news sources. Margaret Renkl and Margaret Roach both occasionally use their columns in the New York Times to opine about native plants and their impacts. Columns about native plants get into regional papers too, like the Atlanta column of Charles Seabrook in the AJC and in smaller papers like this interview with me in the South Forsyth County newsletter to promote our native plant society chapter’s upcoming plant sale.

On even smaller scales, you have individuals who post about using native plants on hyperlocal neighborhood sites like Nextdoor and on social media like Facebook and Instagram. Small personal avowals and recommendations help spread the word way more than you might think so keep showing people your beautiful native plants and the wildlife that passes through your garden.

An earlier Instagram post from my yard

Back on the national scale, a TED talk came out this week from an ecological horticulturist (a person who designs beautiful landscapes that contain thriving wildlife habitat). This talk has been widely shared this week and already has over 300K views. The 12-minute talk is not unlike what many of us might say if we were chatting with an interested acquaintance (“Hey, did you know that ‘we must incorporate habitat everywhere, especially in the cities’?”).

It’s a great short listen and you’re sure to get some sound bites that you can use yourself (“lawns should be like area rugs”) and some good success stories to quote. You can also explore resources on her website (RebeccaMcMackin.com) and subscribe to her newsletter.

Locally, keep sharing your passion in your circles. We all can make a difference and amplify the message. [Just ask the guy at the phone store who listened to me talk for 30 minutes this week about why using native plants makes a difference while we were waiting for my phone data to transfer – all those plant photos, you know!]