Small Bits of Beauty

 

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Spring has sprung, but it is more of a journey than a destination, especially when it comes to native plants. We don’t suddenly wake up with a full-blown blooming yard in our native plant gardens; rather we discover it one species at a time. As the trout lilies (Erythronium) and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) finish up their blooms, early trilliums (for example, Trillium cuneatum) are in now full swing and Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are just getting started. 

The early shrubs (spicebush and early blueberry) are giving way to red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) and the later blueberries. My earliest viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) is just days away from making a spectacle of itself. The serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) next to it is enjoying its time to shine.

Phacelia bipinnatifida

Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

I share many pictures on my blog of plants in my garden; I imagine some people think it must be a showplace. It’s not. I work full-time and have activities that keep me from being fully attentive to maintaining a perfect landscape. We have deer and chipmunks and squirrels (maybe rabbits too) who nibble, rub, and uproot things at will. Perfection does not live here.

Instead of big sweeps of color, my garden delights me in small bits of beauty scattered throughout the property and throughout the seasons. A quiet walk finds them: returning blooms from favorites as well as plants blooming for the first time. This year found my first bloom on twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla) and Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens). I might find new plants: a new trillium sprouting (or was it moved by a critter?) and a new group of slender toothwort (Cardamine angustata) in the path (note to self to move that one later).  

Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla)

Here are some of the special blooms for this week.  I learned this week that the female flower on the Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) is located at the base of the panicle (see the arrow below). There is so much more to come, and I look forward to appreciating each one as the season progresses.  

Caulophyllum thalictroides

Pachysandra procumbens

By the way, I want to help promote another metro Atlanta area blog that you might like. The author’s journey to appreciating native plants and passion for spreading the message is much like my own: https://www.nurturenativenature.com/

American plum (Prunus americana) starts as Chickasaw plum finishes

The Impermanence of Plants

Wild comfrey (Cynoglossum virginianum)

Plants don’t live forever; that’s probably not a shocker to anyone. Annual plants have the shortest lifespan, one growing season, but we know that when we plant them and set our expectations accordingly. Woody plants can have the longest life, and we hope for that when we plant them. 

But plants don’t always live as long as we want, and this is perhaps the mostly likely time of year when we realize that a plant that we had has vanished or is just dead in place. My wild comfrey, shown here in 2012, faded away within a year or two.

Each spring we discover what comes back from winter slumber, anxiously looking for that first bit of green as a leaf emerges on a woody twig or an herbaceous plant puts up that first stem or fiddlehead (in the case of a fern). Each green discovery is a joy and, to be honest, a reaffirmation of my talents as a gardener. Until I find the one that didn’t make it ….

A ladyslipper (2011); it bloomed for several years then faded out

Sometimes I might not have realized something was gone until I discovered the old plant tag sticking in the ground. I pull it out and save it for potential reuse but the pile of ‘dead tags’ builds up over time. Or I might not remember that I even had the plant until a friend says “Remember that plant we got at Cullowhee, how’s yours doing?” Then I realize that I’ve lost it at some point: a sad moment of realization.

Storms come and knock plants down – I lost a big pine tree last year; unfortunately it took several other small trees (like 10!) with it. It’s just part of natural change and opens up the area to more sun and gives different plants a chance to grow until the canopy fills in again.

I bid a final farewell this year to the azalea shown on the right: Rhododendron x 'Milleneum' was tortured by deer and then shaded out by a blueberry that was growing ever larger. The azalea was no more than a dead stick with a tag at this point. I am really happy with the blueberry (Vaccinium elliottii) that has taken over the space; it is much more productive for the bees than the azalea was.

So to garden is to experience change and that’s no different with native plants. Plants come and go either because of their life cycle or some other reason. The garden is different every year in some way; and I guess that keeps it interesting.

A Moment in Nature for March

Following on the post I shared for February, #amomentinnature for March is my best patch of bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) showing off at just the right time for me to actually get a good picture of it!

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

March is typically a very good month for spring ephemeral native wildflowers. In addition to the trout lily that I featured in February, I now have spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) blooming, sweet Betsy trillium (Trillium cuneatum), rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) and false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum). 

There are plenty of good things yet to come so now is a good time to take a moment and appreciate the early ones. Don't have these early flowers in your yard? Take a hike! Here are several good ones in North Georgia; consider also visiting one of the locations of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area (NRA). Find 17 maps for it here and pick a spot.

Cloudland Canyon State Park - my blog on a visit there

The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail - my blog on a visit there

Wasps (The Book)

 

Spiders, scorpions, wasps … these are some of the least welcome insects around our home. Of course, most of us realize that they have a job to do in our local ecosystem. Without spiders, we’d have far more insects than we realize, and some birds love to feed spiders to their babies (apparently they can be a good source of taurine, an essential nutrient). Scorpions eat a lot of insects too. Wasps, however, benefit their ecosystem in more than one way: not only do they eat extra insects (adult female wasps capture insects to feed their babies) but as adults they are also important pollinators.

A recently published book, Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Roles as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants, gives abundant details on understanding these oft-misunderstood insects. Heather Holm has published several key books on bees and pollinators of native plants, both of which I’ve reviewed before. Her books are always detailed, attractive, and contain exceptional photographs and illustrations. Her website also includes free downloadable resources.

Who would use this book? According to her website, “This is an essential book for conservationists, naturalists, insect enthusiasts, biologists, nature photographers, native plant aficionados, and anyone interested in beneficial insects and pollinators.” I could not agree more. I was always fine with wasps being in the garden; I now have even more respect for them. The book has some fascinating details. I learned that the reason that females are larger than males is because the mother puts more food in their chambers (the mother knows very well whether the larva will develop into a female (fertilized egg) or a male (unfertilized) ).

As large as the book is, 416 pages, it doesn't even cover all the wasps in Eastern North America. These are the most common flower-visiting wasps: 68 genera and 150 species are covered. The author hopes that better knowledge of wasps will encourage citizen scientists (average folk like us!) to identify the more common species for appreciation and to help document them (you can log your findings on iNaturalist, for example).

A brief breakdown of the chapters is as follows:

Chapter 1: Overview of wasps, types of nests, and the concept of social vs. solitary (most are solitary), plus nest construction (making the materials using their mouth!).

Chapter 2: Life cycle of wasps, including the 5 stages of growth, how eggs are laid and nests are provisioned (While all the food is some type of insect, there are several different ways for the food to be provided; it is fascinating how different they can be!).

A queen bald-faced hornet

An old paper wasp nest

Photos above: My grandson and I rolled a log over this week and found a queen bald-faced hornet quietly over-wintering in a cavity. [We rolled it back.] Above right is a paper wasp nest from last season; it looks like two wasps never finished emerging.

Chapter 3: Wasp anatomy, including several very detailed photos and drawings to help explain. I was surprised to learn that wasps have two different kinds of eyes. Females use the length of their antenna to help make perfectly shaped cells every time.

Chapter 4: Diet, and here is where we learn how our native plants support them because flower nectar is the primary source of energy for adults. Their relatively short tongues dictate what they use but, like some bees, they will chew through the base of longer flower tubes to get nectar. In the spring, adults may use spring sap flows on trees until enough flowers are open. Some of the social nesting wasps may resort to cannibalism in times of scarce food.

Chapter 5: Ecosystem services are provided in two areas: 1) pest insect control (great table on p.64), and 2) plant pollination. Of course, both of these areas are rather species specific. Did you know that some wasps are specialists on spiders?

Chapters 6-17: Family profiles of the wasps included here, 12 in all. Each chapter is quite detailed with photos that help identify the species. On page 412 there is a section called "Wasp genera at a glance" which points back to these sections for further id.

Chapter 18: Planting guides, including the Southeast one on page 395. For guidance on which to use in your garden, look for the flower icon. Pages 386-7 provide specific wasp/plant tables for those who look to support a certain species.

I hope you consider buying this book; it certainly has given me a better appreciation for these vital insects. It is so well done, exceptionally detailed, and beautifully shipped. You can order it here; shipping is free.

Turf to Trees – Reclaiming Space for Nature

 

The concept of reworking America’s big lawn spaces to more nature-productive vegetation is not a new concept, but we certainly can use not just reminders but good resources to do it. A friend in Georgia has recently put together a new website to help provide those resources. I contributed some of my photos to help. The goal of the website is to convince people to do it and give them the help they need to implement changes.

The website TurftoTrees goes into detail about the importance of creating more diverse landscapes (lawn is a monoculture of a single plant, of course, the very opposite of diverse) by replacing lawn with native plants. The concept isn’t limited to using only trees, adding shrubs and perennials helps build a better plant community. Turf grass contributes very little to native insects and birds and when chemicals are used to maintain it, the net effect is even more negative when chemicals get into groundwater and damage soil organisms.

Sections on the website include “What” to provide ideas and links about what plants are right for your plant community; “How” for tips on making it happen (including how to remove turf); and “Management” for dealing with competing invasive plants in various ways.

After you’ve explored the resources, send any feedback on how to make this site more useful to the email found on the Community page. I hope it inspires you to reduce some of your lawn and add some productive native plants. Once you do that, you should see more of these in your own landscape:

From my confusing Dark Swallowtails post

A Moment in Nature for February

 

Trout lilies at 28 degrees 

Following on the post I shared for January, #amomentinnature for February is the appearance of blooms on the dimpled trout lily (Erythronium umbilicatum). This spring ephemeral is always one of my first to bloom and this particular patch is always the first of them.  Even though we had cold temperatures into the 20’s, I watched the leaves bravely emerge and the bloom stalks rise up. Each pair of leaves has one flower; plants with a single leaf are too immature to bloom.

Trout lilies, same patch, around 46 degrees

I’ve written about this plant many times before so if you’d like to take a trip down memory lane with some old February posts, here are the links:

After snow covered it up in 2020, it kept right on going. 

After the death of a friend in 2019, I remembered it was always one her favorites too.

A trip to south  Georgia in 2018 to see a most amazing display of plants at Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve in Grady County (just starting to happen now and trips this year are self-guided).

Spring photo post  in 2013.

Native ephemeral post in 2011.

Hike Local: Old Mill Park

The mill dam as viewed from the upper trail

Winter days can be mild and rainy and those are perfect conditions for small outings with waterfalls. In our ongoing efforts to entertain our young grandson, we visited a fairly local waterfall this week. Old Mill Park in historic Roswell is a favorite local park for its easy trails and scenic views.

Our mid-morning arrival found plenty of parking and few visitors, allowing us to ramble mask-free along the trails on both sides of Vickery Creek. We crossed over the covered bridge and hiked up the steps to the Vickery Creek Trail, part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. You can also reach this trail from their parking lot off Riverside Road.

That side of the creek has amazing native vegetation: as we walked high above the creek, the path was lined on both sides with a mixture of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and Piedmont rhododendron (Rhododendron minus). In fact, these two evergreen shrubs were so unusually abundant that the view reminded me of the more familiar, but invasive, privet. I can’t wait to go back in May and see these in bloom! In the meantime, there was plenty of Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), evergreen ginger (Hexastylis arifolia), glowing moss, and rosettes of native asters and goldenrods.

Vickery Creek Trail with Rhododendron

Rhododendron minus buds

On the Old Mill Park side of the creek, there are more facilities: restrooms, concrete paths, restful spots, and trash cans. It was the perfect place to enjoy a snack next to the roaring waterfall and answer questions like “Does the water ever stop?” Think about that … all night long, water is pouring over that dam! We also talked about the many birds we could hear around us. Sandy ‘beaches’ next to the creek keep a lot children entertained, I’m sure, and ours was one.

That side of the creek is also the place where you’ll see weedy and invasive plants; the bright fruits of the non-native Nandina domestica were showing in several places. Local parks need volunteers to help manage invasive plants as well as landscape crews educated in the plants of the area. If you’d like to help manage invasive plants at your local park, call the managing entity (city, county) and volunteer. Balmy winter days are also perfect for pulling weeds!

Ginger and Christmas next to the path