Winter Reading

When we found this land twenty-six years ago it was our four season playground.  Now winter finds us indoors sometimes reading about plants.  On just such a day Maidenhair Spleenwort was discovered.  It is a rather small native plant that grows from cracks in rock outcroppings.  Pictures of it growing in the wild made this a must have plant.  Reason tempered our enthusiasm since it was unlikely that we would find a source for this plant.  Less than a one hour drive from our home is a native plant business that specializes in ferns.  As luck would have it Maidenhair Spleenwort was included in her inventory.

My habit is to wash away most of the potting medium used to make the plant legally sale-able.  Actual soil cannot legally be used and the plant has a better chance of survival if a more natural woodland dirt surrounds the root mass of the transplant in its new permanent home.

Very special stones were used to build a suitable rock ledge in the available space.  Many years ago Becky was active in The Jericho Fiber Arts Guild.  There she met an amazing woman two decades our senior.  Jane was also totally at home exploring woodlands and shared her considerable knowledge of native plants with us.  A stream crossed her property and she allowed me to remove water worn stones to be used in our gardens.  We have always viewed her stones as special.  That pile of treasures gave us the stones used to build the necessary ledge.  Pockets were formed between stones to provide both soil and stone for our plants.  Without question Jane would have approved of how we used her stones.

Sharp eyes may find six new plants placed in the artificial ledge.  With luck they will increase in size  becoming easier to see.

This long view shows how we use fallen leaves to build woodland soil.  An unsightly pile of plastic bags holds our supply.  When needed the leaves are run through our push mower twice to make a fine mulch that will not blow away in the wind.  They reduce weed growth and quickly rot down forming rich black soil.  These plants prefer sweeter soil so lawn limestone will be added with each addition of more leaves.  So now we watch and wait to see if this new plant will grow under our care.  It would only be fitting that Jane's stones support their growth and keep her in our memories.