Another Visit To Irma's Woods

Last night was clear and cold.  The gravitational pull of the full moon was a factor in the frost that formed.  Today is also clear and cold so a trip to Irma's Woods seemed like a productive way to spend the morning.  A normal person would likely see the ground covered with fallen tree leaves in this photo.  A close look may reveal two deep purple plant stems and possibly flower buds.  Our resident expert strongly believes that she has found Blue Cohosh plants pushing their way above the ground.

  

This is today's unknown plant.  We will see how much time and additional growth will be necessary for our resident expert to identify this one.

Why is there another photo of Sharp-lobed hepatica here?  This plants sports blossoms with twelve petals but frequently fewer petals are seen.  Just to the left of the center flower, a leaf grown last year rises above the forest floor.  Having seen the first one it is likely that several more will be found.  The moss covered stone adds interest to this scene.

The first common Trillium to appear here sports a red flower and goes by the local name Stinking Benjamin.  Trillium erectum is its proper name but its use for this plant remains a mystery.  This plant is located at some distance from the road but we used zoom not trespass to take this picture.

Memory has it that at one point in his career, John Burrroughs built a shed atop a larger and more level bedrock stone in his woods.  There it served as his writing studio.  I certainly understand the attraction of such an arrangement and have always admired this hunk of stone.  Burroughs also camped in the shadow of a similar stone at the top of Slide Mountain.  Were these woods mine, I would certainly be a frequent visitor near this stone.

This picture will also need clues to find the reason it was taken.  It has always taken Becky a long while to actually walk alongside of any road.  She is actively looking at things that I miss.  Today she saw a pollinator working Hepatica flowers.  By the time the camera was removed from its case, the insect had moved on.  It was found resting on a leaf in the center of the picture.  It is the size of a fly but can hover while feeding using rapid wingbeats.  By myself I would have never seen it.

Good fortune had it return to the flowers.  The large blossom in the upper left displays a dark spot that is actually the active pollinator.

 

Last year was difficult for both the Bloodroot plants in our garden and these restricted to a small section of Irma's Woods.  It was questionable whether either  would return.  Several tightly wrapped white blossoms were pushed from the soil this morning.  Tomorrow we will return to see both the open flowers and unfurled leaves.  Their time open is limited to just a few days so we will definitely return tomorrow.  So far our plants have made no appearance.  We did have several appear from seeds last year and anxiously await for any sign that any of these plants remain alive. 

Trillium Ready

This picture shows the condition of our Trillium bed in May of this year.  I would be ashamed to reveal just how many purchased plants have been transplanted here over several years.  Authors frequently describe seven years as the time required to see flowers from plants grown from seed.  It can be nearly that long for transplants to settle in to a new home.  Add to that the impacts of our totally at home deer herd to explain this less than spectacular display.  Our weather was less than favorable as was also seen by the poor showing at the huge section of native plants growing as nature intended across the river.

 

This picture taken just this week shows that we are dedicated to growing native plants here.  The weeds that covered this bare summer ground have been carefully removed.  Dandelions predominated with occasional clumps of a tall thin grass.  That low stone to the right served as a seat from which to work.  My trip down was far less than graceful but getting back up was nearly impossible.  Must remember to have the four tined spade close at hand.  With the weeds removed past years bagged leaves were mower ground and sprinkled across the bed.  We have used ground leaves here every year to speed up the woodland soil building process.  Now we need to sprinkle some lime pellets then replace the wire cages.  Then we will wait for May's arrival to see just how many Trilliums appear here.
 

Our Walk In The Woods

Our day started this morning with a trip to the back meadow intending to clear a fallen section of a White Pine tree that was blocking part of the mowed meadow.  With that task completed, a short walk to check on our now officially wild Cardinal Flower seemed in order.  We have a survivor with no help from people.  An additional walk into the forest seemed like the only thing to do.  Glacier ground ridge rock in all sizes litters this forest floor.  Beauty is everywhere.  Plants here must be left alone since the stony soil prevents their removal.

This wild Jack In The Pulpit is close to the first Trillium that we have ever seen in this section of our woods.  A stately Red Trillium was a welcome surprise.  Invasive Garlic Mustard is far less welcome and we feel compelled to remove it whenever it is encountered.

Purple-pink winged flowers are what we wanted to see.  Little is written about Fringed Polygala and its culture is difficult.  These dainty plants are in the company of rather nasty neighbors and their long term survival here is in doubt.  The large oval leaves and the white cluster of flower buds mark the presence of Wild lily-of-the-valley.  It is a horribly invasive native and will choke out nearby plants.  Escaped pasture grass is also in the picture and it is unclear which will ultimately reign in this area.  What is apparent is that the polygala is being strangled here.

A long pry bar aided the removal of clumps of this ground.  This was no easy task as roots from nearby bushes helped to hold the soil in place.  Each  soil block was placed in a container of water.  Swishing around that mass aided in the gentle removal of all parts of the weeds.  Intact civilized plants was our goal.  We accept the possible outcome that nothing will survive the move but we cannot risk placing these invaders into our shade garden.

These Starflowers could survive their move since complete root masses remained with the rest of the transplant.  Delicate accurately describes every part of these plants.  Our hope is that enough of the plants remains functional enabling a return next year.  Their pointed white flowers are quite attractive and a sizable patch would be a welcome addition to our collection of native plants.
 

The outcome with the polygala is far less certain.  We had a past experience where several plants with horizontal roots were connected to a single deep taproot.  Despite our caution today, only plants with the horizontal root were removed.  The web of forest soil is so tight that deep clumps are impossible to remove.  We did our best and these plants have been added to the list of transplants that will receive water nearly every rainless day.  Any survivors here will be treasured while those left behind in the woods should persist for the time that we will remain here.