Help From Friends

Native plants are afforded some measure of protection by laws that prohibit their harvest from State Land.  With the permission of a property owner, they can be harvested.  We had the good fortune to be granted access to a tremendous wealth of several varieties of native plants.  The light bright green leaves pictured above are new growth on a transplanted Wintergreen plant.  If new growth is visible, then where is the old growth?  The dark green leaves at the left edge of the photo may well be Wintergreen.  Never before have we seen anything like these new leaves on Wintergreen.

One of the problems has been just how this plant grows.  Long stems at or just below the surface connect with roots that may be some distance away.  One author described a method to transplant in view of this unusual placement of critical plant parts.  He suggested finding the stem on either side of the leaves and cutting it while leaving the plant where it was.  Returning one year later to a carefully marked plant will reveal if the severed plant responded with new root growth.  If the plant was still alive, it might then be successfully moved.  That seemed like way too much trouble.  On one rare occasion, a small scrap of a plant was successfully moved.  It showed signs of life for three years, then disappeared completely.  A protective wire cage was not supplied.

These plants were hastily dug on the day before Steve and Elaine moved away.  Wintergreen is visible at the top edge of the picture but the new growth appears to come from dark striped leaves that are somewhat different from those in the first photo.  The small leaves with a center white stripe belong to Partridge Berry.  There are several pink buds visible that illustrate a unique feature of this plant.  The base of the buds almost come together connecting with what will be a berry with two belly buttons.  Apparently Wintergreen and Partridge Berry are frequently seen growing together.  We are more than a little pleased having been permitted to dig these plants.  They do seem happy here.

This is another view of the plant shown in the first picture.  The plant in the lower right corner is a weed and will be removed.  Moving toward the center, dark green leaves are seen and may be the origin of the new growth.  Our resident authority thinks that the leaves in the upper left corner are violets.  There are hundreds of varieties of violets so we are hopeful that these will prove special.

 

This is the up to the moment condition of our Bloodroot patch. Supervised weeding protected as many as eight young plants.  We did briefly see flowers on tiny plants earlier but no seed pods were evident.  We have kept a careful watch on the woods across the valley but no seeds were seen there either.  The red flowers are on Columbine.  They are allowed to stay and spread since they were a favored plant of John Burroughs and none of these plants naturally grow without neighbors.

56 Degrees In The Shade

Today was a day well worth waiting for featuring clear skies and warm temperatures.  A cautious walk across ice and snowpack led us to plants that are just today free of snow cover.  This is a picture of Bluets that have a long history of disappointment here resulting from their frequent disappearance.  Here we see a plausible explanation for that problem.  Fresh deer tracks in the snow and an uprooted plant likely illustrate the problem.  Today, Becky firmly replanted the chewed then spit out plant piece deep in a narrow crevice in the wall stones.

 

Columbine is a persistent native plant.  Breeders have developed wild colors for this plant but we prefer the red natural color.  John Burroughs had a blue flowered version of Columbine growing in front of his cabin located on land where he grew up.  During our visit there seeds were ripe.  We do not usually snatch plants but some of these seeds found their way into my pocket.  As a possible lesson in maintaining proper behavior, none of these seeds grew here.

 

This may well be the star of today's show.  Round Lobed Hepatica is a native woodland plant with the uncommon habit of carrying over functional leaves from the previous summer.  These tattered leaves will provide nourishment  for the first wildflower blossoms of the year.  They will be followed by a compact cluster of new leaves.

This fern was a new purchase last year.  Rock Polypody is its name and two fernlike leaves are visible.  Above and to the left may well be the freshly chewed stems that correspond to the nearby new deer tracks.  Wire cages are both unsightly and common in our planned wildflower woodland garden.  If the ground thaws tomorrow, another cage will be placed here if we can find one free of frozen soil's grip.

Chickweed suffers from the same ailment that keeps dandelions from being seen as a treasure.  Both are wildly hardy and excessively common.  Chickweed is constantly weeded out but we cannot eliminate it.  That may be a good thing since in the past persistent leg sores on an old man were cleared with the application of Chickweed tea when the doctor had no treatment to suggest.  As the photo shows, this plant grows under a thick layer of snow although new blossoms may be days away.

 

This plant is new to us and its name remains elusive.  A stone still hidden under the snow carries the name but we could not see it today.  This plant is obviously hardy and we remember its yellow flowers.  Safe from the deer, we look forward to another year with this plant.  When we learn more about its growth habits, a better location may be necessary.

Woodland Phlox may solve a huge problem for us.  It grows with reckless abandon and will soon fill a respectable area with yearlong growth.  Many of our shade garden plants are more reserved and leave much ground free of desirable growth.  After a winter of covid lockdown, it was simply wonderful to find living plants growing where just yesterday only snow could be seen.

 

First Transplants

Our recent weather has kept us inside but the forecast of an afternoon high of 55 degrees drew us outside.  We found the ground free of frost but tight fitting gardening gloves resulted in cold hands despite the early temperature of 44 degrees.  Moving plants was our plan and moving plants was what we did.  This picture shows all of the new plants in the ground and watered.

Shooting star was the plant we intended to move but a Columbine was growing right next to it.  Not certain that March is the best time to move plants, we decided to avoid possible injury by removing the interloper.  It is possible that different plants growing close together might create a more natural appearance.  Columbine has a long tap root while the Shooting star grows from a dense near the surface root mass.  We will watch to see how our actions today work out. 

A huge pile of plastic bags filled with leaves are close by the planting area.  They certainly do not present a natural look but their contents are a vital part of our attempts to create natural woodland soil.  The property owner that bagged these leaves two or three years ago used his lawn mower to gather up the leaves.  Usually we chop them again with out push mower but it is a little early to drag out the mower so these were spread as they were.  Sharp eyes will find several spots of green showing just where the new transplants were placed.

This shows the final state of this wild ground today.  The clumps of moss were moved here last year.  The two groups of Snow drops were transplanted just recently but not today.  The Shooting stars and Columbines are between the Sumac trunks and the Snow drops.  The chopped leaves will both protect the new transplants and create a woodland floor appearance.  As they rot down, more natural soil will be formed.

That white rock marking the end of Moss Island deserves mention.  It is likely limestone and that means it is not native here.  Our bedrock is shale but the glaciers moved great quantities of broken stone here.  Limestone bedrock occurs to our north so this chunk might be native to Syracuse.  It was found on our land likely close to the spot where the retreating ice dropped it.

More Green Native Plants

Wild Columbine was found in blossom on the fill that was used to bury the remains of the barn that burned here in the mid 1960's.  When we visited John Burrough's cabin columbine was growing in front of his cabin and around the dry stone wall that enclosed his grave site.  We also found it growing from narrow slits in the shale cliff that bordered the trail at Buttermilk Falls State Park near Ithaca.  It seems like the perfect plant to grow next to our neighbor's mowed field.  Here in January some of the plants are still green.

The plastic tag identifies this as a purchased plant.  Its size may place it among bushes but we plan to use it to separate sections of planting beds.  We were surprised to find it still green.

Robin's Plantain looks like an aster when it is in flower but the season then is all wrong.  Another name for this plant is Blue Spring-Daisy.  We found it growing wild in one of the pastures.  It took to being transplanted and has claimed large sections of ground.  We are using it as another border plant between our flowers and the neighbor's field.  Here again we were surprised to find it still green.

Round Lobed Hepatica is in danger of being overrun by Forget-Me-Nots.  Aside from their exuberance they are a desirable plant.  These will be weeded out when the ground thaws but many will be planted in open ground.

Saving the best for last, here are some new Cardinal Flower plants for next summer.  At least three dead stalks can be seen so the new plants are overcrowded.  Since this is a wild plant we will wait and watch to see just what will grow here come spring.  Some of these plants were known by us to remain green under snow cover but others gave us a pleasant surprise.  They are not the only living things here that are eager for the arrival of the next season.

Transplanted Yesterday

Treasure means different things to different people.  Most would see little more than moss covered rocks.  Closer examination with a hand would reveal just how easily the moss rolls off of the stones.  That is why each stone was carefully placed in the cart with no two edges touching.  The moss growth is what we are after here.  These specimens were found on the nearly level ground adjacent to the steep side slope of our kame terrace.  A scattered mix of pines and hardwoods create a lightly shaded area supporting little plant growth.  These stones were nearly buried in the forest soil that slowly builds here.

This area is between two clusters of sumac trees in our shade garden near the road.  Several years of piling grass clippings diminished the pasture grasses that flourished here.  Remaining roots were removed and a layer of partially rotted reground tree bark was put down to discourage their return.  Then the stones were placed.  Our nearby pile of woods soil contributed nearly natural soil placed around the stones.  Then the Columbine plants were placed.  A final layer of chopped and screened leaves finished the job.

The moss covered rocks create a more natural appearance than the stones in the background.  Moss growing on stones is fragile and we will need to work to keep it alive.  Their new home lies in afternoon sun and that alone may end the moss.  We will try to keep the moss moist but accept the fact that fooling with nature is tricky.

Columbine is an amazingly hardy native plant.  We found it growing near the gravel bank and it was easily moved.  These plants from seed were pulled from our shade garden near the house and moved here.  Their initial response was to droop and wilt but recovery quickly followed.  By nightfall only the outermost tips remained pointed downward.  Early this morning, just as the rain was beginning to fall, this is how the moved plants looked.  Their flowers continue to approach fully open and seeds will certainly follow.  Next year this ground will be covered with new plants.

My first encounter with Columbine remains a vivid memory.  Amy and I were hiking near Ithaca above Buttermilk Falls.  At one place near the stream steep exposed shale cliffs closely bordered the trail.  The thin layers of broken shale caught on every small outcrop and somehow Columbine seeds found anchorage there and flowered.  How these plants found nutrients and moisture remains a bit of a mystery.  My plants placed with care may have it far too easy.  We shall see what follows here.

Made In The Shade

Now that the locust tree has its leaves these plants have it made in the shade.  It's great for me too.  If you are looking for me in the garden and it is a sunny day, look in the shady spots.  The lovely purple Campanula portenschlagiana in the foreground is just getting started.  This plant seems to love growing in Ed's stone wall and it has yet to disappoint us.  

This year the Jack-in-the pulpit plants are huge and beautiful.  The large three lobed leaves provide even more shade for Jack.  You have to get down at ground level to get a peek at the fascinating flower.

These bluets growing in a crevice on the top of Ed's wall are in the perfect spot to photograph.  Small clumps of tiny leaves can be seen beneath the tiny little blue four petaled flowers. 

 When we first came here, I remember having just three red columbines that we would look for in the woods every spring.  Now the plant self seeds with abandon in this shade garden.  The flowers make a cloud of red blooms that the hummingbirds find irresistible.  Here columbine plants are crowding my small twinleaf plant.   Weeding in this bed gets a bit tricky.  I admit I am not an unbiased referee.  My favorite plants have the edge.  My maidenhair fern grows nearby. Too many beautiful native wildflowers is a great problem to have.  I will enjoy my time in the shade working on it!