December 2022 Moment in Nature

As I drove around running holiday errands this week I spotted an unmowed roadside with goldenrod seedheads (Solidago altissima). As you can probably tell, they look very much like fluffy, white Christmas trees. I knew immediately this would be my #momentinnature for December which falls on Christmas Day itself this year.

There was another reason I was happy to see this roadside decoration. These plants, spared from the seemingly endless human need to tidy up the great outdoors, represent food for the birds. The birds will feast on the seedheads as well as any tiny insects hiding within the stems and leaves of the plants.

As you consider how your landscape might support more than just humans, leave your standing vegetation as much as possible to feed the winter birds.

Appreciating the Last of the Foliage

 

Sometimes I like to highlight the little things you might not notice. The #amomentinnature focus that I borrowed from a friend in 2021 is along those lines. Over the last few weeks, I have noticed some beautiful fall foliage hanging on some trees and shrubs in my yard, and those plants deserve some recognition.

These are plants whose foliage turns a little later so they help to extend the fall show (winter doesn’t start until Dec 21!). The plants are not limited to a particular genus, such as like Viburnum. Some of my earliest fall color come from blackhaw viburnum (V. prunifolium) while one of the last to turn is my species plants of arrowwood (V. dentatum). Strangely, my V. dentatum cultivar ‘Blue Muffin’ loses its leaves early.

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)

One of the most well-known of these – in the native plant world – is oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). Its large, oak-shaped leaves are consistently both colorful and late to drop. This is a large shrub, but thanks to the breeding of natural dwarf forms, smaller cultivars are available for smaller landscapes. Persistent old flowerheads add even more interest in the fall.

Here are some other native plants with late season color in my area. Use these ideas or find some better suited to your area to help extend the season.

Parsley hawthorn (Crataegus marshallii)

Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)

Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)

Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) and mapleleaf viburnum (V. acerifolium)

V. dentatum

V. acerifolium

White oak (Quercus alba)

What Happens in Winter?

 

Winter is almost officially here – December 21 is the first day – but most of us consider that once December arrives ... it's winter. We’ve had some balmy weather this past week, but remember that we had snow this week just five years ago in metro Atlanta. December temperatures can vary but the change in the number of light hours is the signal to plants that it’s time to do something different.

Loblolly pine

Winter is a time of rest for many plants; woody deciduous plants discard their leaves and stop the processes that support leafy growth. Note: the fallen leaves still support the plants because they return nutrients to the soil as they break down. Fallen leaves also support many insects; the leave the leaves message is an important one. 

Perennial herbaceous plants (these are not woody) will die completely to the ground although some will have a rosette of winter leaves (cardinal flower (Lobelia) and beardtongue (Penstemon) are two common ones). [Also a time for rest for us unless you want to tackle winter weeds.]

Winter is also a time for growth in Georgia. In most of Georgia the ground doesn’t freeze so plant roots can grow and we also have good rainfall. Experienced gardeners know that trees and shrubs do well when planted in November and even December in Georgia. Georgia’s Arbor Day is in February (still winter!) and it is a great time to plant. Use the time to grow your garden with new (or replacement) trees and shrubs.

Without the distraction of so much foliage, it’s a great time to appreciate our evergreen plants, or the structure (silhouettes) of our majestic trees. I also enjoy getting out for winter hikes. The waterfalls can be especially full and beautiful thanks to our winter rains.

Enjoy your winter and know that the plants are getting ready for spring.

The Gift of Gardening

 

I’m a size 6 … in Felco pruners. Having good tools is essential to happy gardening so if you have people in your life that love to work outside, consider giving them tools, or gloves, or something they might not have considered for themselves. Last year, my best friend gave me a whole bunch of stakes to prop up weak plants. They were most welcome. Today’s post offers more ideas.

A similar post that I made last year is full of ideas, all still perfectly relevant. Read that post here. One of my favorite ideas (as a gardener myself) is the one in the last paragraph about gifts of time: “Gifts of time are especially appreciated by older folks who need help in the garden or just appreciate your company. Create your own gift certificate with messages like “Will plant your new plants for you or Weed your garden” and package it up with a few tea sachets and a message that you can enjoy a cup of tea together after the work is done.” 

You might need ideas for people just getting started. How about some book ideas for beginning native gardeners? Here are several of my blogs about books:

Ideas for Beginners and Southeast Native Plant Primer and Climate-wise Landscaping

Ideas for Winter Reading (deeper selections) and more ideas 

Doug Tallamy's books: The Nature of Oaks and Nature's Best Hope and The Living Landscape

Plant Identification Books: Field Guide to Wildflowers of Georgia and Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast  

Looking for something to inspire children? Three very good books can be found at Pollination Press (which also has great books for adults). Another good book about bees is available at Beecatur.

I hope this post both inspires you and gives you ideas for meaningful gifts. Back to those pruners I love … one important act of service might be to offer to get their favorite pair of pruners sharpened. Gifts don't have to cost a lot but the thought behind them means so much.

Favorite Wildflower Walks in Georgia (the book)

 

The first few cold days of the winter season just make me want to hide in the house with a hot drink. It is actually a good time to start planning, planning changes to the landscape or planning trips around the state. It is with the latter goal in mind that I remind you of a book that was published in 2007 but is still perfectly relevant today: Favorite Wildflower Walks in Georgia by Hugh and Carol Nourse.

I appreciate the few books out there that are specific to Georgia in terms of subject matter. I have met the authors on several activities with the Georgia Botanical Society and I know they are passionate about plant communities and appreciative of places that represent them well. As the description at the first link says, "Of the many walks the Nourses have taken, these are the ones they return to most often because of the density or the unusual nature of the floral display. All twenty of these wildflower walks are on public land; everything you need to know about how to find them and what to do once you're there is included." 

I have been on a number of these walks both on my own and with the Georgia Botanical Society. The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail (#1) is quite literally a perennial favorite for me, the earliest of places to see spring wildflowers in north Georgia. I’ve done #5 at Carter’s Lake and found it enjoyable and easy. #9 is Sosebee Cove, a fantastic place (but the parking is a bit iffy). I didn’t know that #12 was called the Bradley Peak Trail at Arabia Mountain but we have hiked it and it’s a fun way to get kids into nature. Down in the Coastal Plain, #19 at Okefenokee is a good one; I went in 2014 but I think it’s time to go again!

With twenty walks outlined in the book, it looks like I have plenty more to do. I hope to do several more of these in 2023 - perhaps some of you will consider visiting a few too. The Georgia Botanical Society has several of these each year as field trips. Need a walk during winter? Check out my earlier post on winter waterfalls.

We Need Bugs

 

Convincing people to use native plants more in their landscape has been an evolving message over the last 20 years. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Doug Tallamy, his fellow researchers/authors, and many others, we now know that supporting insects is the strongest reason we have to use more native plants.

Red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)

Why do we need bugs? They perform many services such as pollination (bees, flies, beetles, wasps, butterflies, moths); decomposition (beetles); and even pest control (wasps). They also support the ecosystem in another important way: they become food for other insects and for birds and small mammals. Over the last 20 years, Audubon at the national and regional levels have taken up the native plant message as a critical part of supporting native birds.

I’ve just returned from a 10-day visit to the island of Hawai’i (called the big island) which has a nice mix of tourist areas (Kona, Hilo) as well as fantastic natural areas (Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park). We spent our first 5 days in Kona, which has mostly non-native plants. I saw no insects and most of the birds were non-native sparrows, doves, and myna birds. Rarely did we hear any other bird calls.

The last part of our trip was in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park which tries very hard to preserve native plants, restore native plants, and to remove invasive plants.

One of our day trips in the Park was to the Kīpukapuaulu Trail, a 1.2 mile trail dedicated to preserving biological diversity of native species. Some people call this the Bird Trail, a testament to the power of native plants to support a variety of birds. The birds were absolutely there in abundance, and their songs and calls delighted us throughout the walk. We even saw the Kamehameha butterfly (Vanessa tameamea), one of only two native butterfly species in Hawai’i. Its host plant, a shrub in the nettle family known as māmaki (Pipturus albidus) was there in abundance; the butterfly itself was after sapflows on tall trees and I wasn’t able to get a photo but there was no mistaking it (it very much resembles our red admiral butterfly, a species that also hosts on nettles).

Māmaki (Pipturus albidus)

ʻŌhiʻa (Metrosideros polymorpha)

Native plants make a difference; go somewhere where they are in the minority and I think you’ll see the difference too. I'll share here a photo of one my favorite Hawaiian Islands endemic plants: known as ʻŌhiʻa (Metrosideros polymorpha), it is abundant in the park and one of the earliest to take hold in areas where lava flowed. We saw it in many places where it was the only thing growing in a sea of black lava. Its bright red flowers are a source of nectar for the native birds known as Hawaiian honeycreepers.

November 2022 Moment in Nature

 I was driving through East Cobb County last week when I spotted this magnificent sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) in a residential yard. It wowed me enough to designate it my #momentinnature for the month. 

Oxydendrum arboreum

We are so fortunate to have so much natural sourwood in the metro Atlanta area. I love to find it peeking out from natural areas each fall. It really has some of the best fall color. I also love it for blooming in summer when other trees are not.

This tree likely was planted by nature in this spot but kudos to the homeowners for recognizing its value and keeping it. I encourage everyone to figure out what trees/plants they have so that when it comes time to thin or remove, you know what is worth keeping (like this one!).