Fall Feast

           When I moved to 10 acres in country six years ago, the first thing I did was plant two small trees,  despite the fact that  8 of those acres were completely covered in trees.  It seemed important to have a hawthorn and a black gum among my trees, since both provide food for birds in late fall and winter, so I planted one of each.  Earlier this fall, I notice a good supply of drupes (or small stone fruits) on my black gum.  Today something amazing happened! My black gum was filled with cedar waxwings eagerly harvesting those drupes!

               Black gums, or Nyssa sylvatica, are sometimes called tupelo trees.  Often, but not always, the trees are single sexed so it takes  both  a male and female tree close together to pollinate, and the female to produce fruit, much like hollies.  The drupes ripen in early fall and are an important food source for migrating birds.  The tree begins turning bright red well before other trees take on fall color, likely as a way to “advertise” the ripe fruit.  When the fruits ripen, the trees fill with woodpeckers, mockingbirds, catbirds, thrushes and … cedar waxwings.

               Cedar Waxwings are easily identified by their black eye mask and crest.  Also easy to spot is the bright yellow tip at the end of their tails.  The birds are social and so when you see one, you usually see a flock of them.

               As gardeners, we tend to look ahead.  When I planted my small black gum, I didn’t even  know how long it would take to bare fruit, but I nevertheless envisioned it filled with fruit and hungry birds.   Today I joyfully saw my vision fulfilled. 

Today there is plenty of food but it won't last long.

The yellow-bellied sapsucker on the left wasn't fazed by the incoming waxwings.

 

 

 

 

I wish I had gotten better, sharper photos.  I was afraid if I got close I would scare them away.  It was raining, so for a good vantage point,  I opened a window and stood in the bathtub to get these shots.  

 

The Moss Lady

           When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  And when life gives you moss, make a moss garden. That’s what Norie Burnet did 20 years ago when her heavily shaded property refused to grow grass.  Today her beautiful garden has appeared in numerous books and national publications, and Norie has become known as The Moss Lady. In fact she is extremely knowledgeable about moss and often presents programs.   Garden tours are frequently requested by gardeners, horticulturalists and bryologists (moss experts).

            There are 14 types of moss and many other shade plants that grow in Norie’s garden.  While the space is beautifully serene, the maintenance is not.  Fallen leaves kill the moss and raking is not an option, so Norie uses a blower to keep walkways free of leaves.  It just so happens that blowing leaves also means blowing reproductive spores produced by the moss, so the regularly cleared moss thrives and spreads.  The garden is so enchanting, I wouldn't be at all surprised to look up and spot a hobbit, or sprite or fairy. 

 

 

 

  

 

Visiting A Gillette Garden

          Virginia Landscape Design Consultants recently toured the Gilette gardens at the historic Virginia House in Richmond.  Although the magnificent home was built in 1927, the stone and materials came from a sixteenth century priory in England.  Alexander Weddell and his wife Virginia had the dismantled building materials shipped to Richmond to construct their “new” home.  And, the grand new home required a grand new garden.

            While overseeing the design work at a newly built college in Richmond, now the University of Richmond, renowned Boston landscape architect Charles Gillette met many people in the local area.  So when the Weddells built their home, they hired Gillette to design their gardens.  He also designed gardens for Agecroft Hall, as well as other notable Virginia homes, creating a regional style of gardens that later became known as the “Virginia Garden.”  Gillette created more than 2,500 design projects around the country in his 56-year career.



The Virginia House

 

 

Cherry Blossoms

If you can't get to Washington, D.C. to see the cherry blossoms, a trip to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens is a nice alternative. 

More Wildflowers in Bloom

Now is a great time for a walk in the woods.  Wooded areas, state parks and especially parks near a river are good sites for hunting wildflowers.

 

 

Shuttleworth Ginger, Hexastylis shuttleworthii, is identified by the heart shaped leaves. 

The ginger flowers are hidden beneath the leaves, a perfect invitation for crawling pollinators.



Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria, is in the Bleeding Heart Family

Leaves of the Putttyroot Orchid, Apelctrum hyemale. Each plant has only one leaf that is present all winter and disappears when the orchid blooms in summer, making it very difficult to find the raceme of tiny flowers.  The name was derived from a paste made from the corm which was once used to repair crockery.

Spotted Salamanders

          A friend and I recently took a walk in the woods to look for salamander eggs in the vernal pools.  In one pool we hit the jackpot...69 spotted salamander egg masses!

          Vernal pools are important habitats for various frogs, toads, salamanders and plants. You can often find a vernal pool by following the early spring sounds of frogs. These sites are unique in that they are seasonal.  They dry up after spring time.  Because they are seasonal, there are no fish in vernal pools, making them ideal nurseries for creatures that rely on them for breeding. 

          Salamanders return to the same pool where their life began when it is time to breed and reproduce.  Adults can live up to twenty or more years, usually close to the vernal pool they came from. In summer adults are usually hidden under leaf litter or logs, where they eat centipedes, worms, spiders, crickets and slugs. In winter they live underground.

Vernal pools are shallow and dry up by summer time. 

An egg mass contains about 100 eggs

 

An adult spotted salamander can reach  6 to 10 inches in length.  The spotted salamander is the official state amphibian in South Carolina and Ohio. Photo courtesy of Diane Girgente.

Spring Ephemerals

 

 

 

 

          Spring ephemerals are the early wildflowers with a short life cycle.  They must emerge from the ground in their woodland habitat, bloom quickly and then set seed before the tree leaves emerge in the canopy above and block their access to sunlight.

          Here are a few ephemerals I found today.

 

 

 

 

Spring Beauty, Claytonia virginica


 

Hepatica, Hepatic acutiloba
 

Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, just  emerging. In a few weeks the nodding white flower will appear beneath its leaves.

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis.  The red sap in the roots was used as paint and dye by Native Americans.

Toothwort, Dentaria laciniata.  The leaves are edible.

  

A Comma butterfly is nectaring on this Saxifrage, Saxifraga virginiensis

Common Blue Violet, Viola sorois.  The seed coat contains a bit of food so ants carry the seeds to their colony, eat the food and discard the intact seed, thereby planting it.  Think "ant farming!"

Woodland Violet, Viola pubescens.