As the growing season comes to a close, my #momentinnature for September spotlights ripening fruits. Fruits like these nuts on red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) provide food for critters (several on the ground had already been nibbled) as well as the beginning of new plants.
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| Ripe fruits (a nut) of red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) |
I usually gather most of my buckeye nuts because I know people who like to propagate them for others who want to add more native plants to their landscape. Red buckeye is a wonderful plant to support hummingbirds as well as bees. The squirrels have added many of them to my woodland over the years. If I find them early enough, I can dig them up and donate them to plant sales or give them to friends. After the second year of growth, the roots are usually too deep to move.
Seeing this ripe cluster made me smile this week and think about how much our landscapes can nourish the local ecosystem.
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