Fronds and Anemones

Tree-O's Three birds that can be found climbing up, down and around trees are the Downy Woodpecker, Nuthatch, and Brown Creeper. The White-breasted Nuthatch is the most common of the Nuthatches or Nuthacks for there is a smaller rustier version in the Red-breasted that is a winter visitor in these parts. The Nuthatch has been given the appellation of the upside-down bird and the topsy-turvy bird, since it is most commonly spotted circling a tree head down in its search for insects. It is also called the tree mouse. Frequenting bird feeders for sunflower seeds, it will invariably fly away with the seed and stash it in the bark of a tree. It reminds me of a Penguin with its grey-and-white- waistcoat. Its Yank! Yank! Call is quite distinctive. Winter Fronds Most of my fronds have gone south for the winter, but a few persist to furnish a touch of green throughout the winter. One of the most common is one of my favorites, the Christmas Fern. It is common throughout our area, occurring in scattered locations as well as in small colonies, generally in rocky shady areas. A clump former, it slowly forms larger and larger clumps, sometimes as much as two feet in diameter. Whence its name? Well, because it is evergreen and can be used in Christmas decorations or because the small leaflets are shaped like Christmas stockings? Not only is it attractive throughout the winter, but the emerging fronds are covered with white wooly hairs. The uncurling of the fronds is a joy and a delight to behold. Trilliums Spell Spring Trilliums spell spring and make a great addition to the garden. It takes five or six years from seed to a blooming plant, making them very expensive for a nursery to propagate and expensive for the gardener to purchase. A nursery may list them as nursery grown. Translation: they were dug from the wild and held in the nursery prior to selling. But how does the gardener know? Worts of All Wort. Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wyrt root. Refers to an herb or plant, usually used in combination. One of my favorite worts is our Hepatica, commonly called Liverwort, that according to the Doctrine of Signatures, was useful in treating hepatitis. So was the Latin name of the plant derived from the disease or does the name of the disease come from the plant’s name? There are two native Hepaticas: Round-leaf and Acute-lobed. The Bells Are Ringing Virginia Bluebells is one of our spring ephemerals. Ephemeral in that the plant dies back after setting seed, but certainly not ephemeral in bloom; it blooms for weeks, often opening pink and changing to that lovely shade of blue. A common name for it is Virginia Cowslip, probably named by early settlers for its resemblance to English Cowslips. In rich woods it can form large colonies that are spectacular in bloom. It develops a massive root system that it uses to store the solar energy that it captures before leaves block the sun. Barking Up the Right Tree When the flowers fade and the leaves fall, there is a dearth of color until spring. Six months of the year - 50 percent of the time - the garden can be pretty drab. But it doesn’t have to be. With a good choice of shrubs and trees and their proper placement, the garden can be interesting twelve months of the year. Choose your trees and shrubs not only for their flowers, which last such a short time, but also for their form, their autumn color, their fruits and their bark. The Shady Character Who would trust a shady character or who would not delight in someone with a sunny disposition? Good is associated with Light and Evil with Darkness. They are now telling us that people suffer from lack of light in the long dark winters. With the concern for skin cancer, we must guard against too much exposure to the sun. Still, people curse the darkness and moan that nothing will grow in the shade. How wrong they are both in their attitudes and their beliefs. If I had my 'druthers I 'druther have a shady garden than a sunny garden. Weather or No As a skier, gardener, sailor I have a different perspective on the weather than the golfer, the water-skier or the sun worshipper. It bugs me when a weatherman or announcer speaks of "good" weather or "bad" weather. Whether the weather is good or bad is in the eye of the beholder. Random Thoughts on Hardiness Cold hardiness cannot be defined by a single number. Survival of plants is not determined solely by the minimum winter temperature that the plant experiences. Fall temperatures and day length, spring temperatures, rainfall, snow cover, duration of the cold weather, depth of the frost, sun and wind exposure, air drainage, micro-climates, fluctuating winter temperatures, mulch all play a role. Azaleas