Deer Me

In the background of this photo between the trunk vees, some bare ground can be seen.  Weeding that area was my focus this morning.  In the foreground close to a fern, a new fawn is visible.  Apparently the fawn was there the entire time that I was working.  I moved intending to weed in the right foreground.  That was when I discovered the fawn and left the area to get Becky.

Several years ago I came upon a new fawn in the path to the back.  I advanced slowly to try for a closer look.  The fawn jumped to its feet trying to move away.  Its legs shot out to the sides and I left the area.  The next day the remains of a coyote fawn feast littered the ground.  I felt responsible for this death.  We kept our distance this morning using the zoom feature on the camera to snap the picture.  Our distance away was acceptable as the fawn was still curled up next to my garden fern several hours later.  I view this garden ground as mine but apparently the deer also claim ownership.  I could not disturb the new baby.

We saw the fawn in exactly that same spot several times during the day.  An internet search revealed that it is normal for the newly born deer to be placed in hiding all alone for upwards of twelve hours.  We found it somewhat troubling that this new baby was without food, water or company.  In the early evening from the comfort of our sofa we saw the mother deer and her new baby briskly walking across our lawn.  Mother was setting a fairly quick pace with junior working hard to keep up but seemingly enjoying the action.  All was right with this new life despite its being placed in our much fussed over native plant garden.

We used the car to get Becky down the hill to see the fawn.  Believing that short trips are harmful to the vehicle, we drove across the valley to Irma's woods.  This native violet is a family favorite.

Despite the pure white appearance of the front of each flower, the back side of each blossom is purple.  Identification of a flower is easy.  Exactly what Viola  it might be is more difficult. Viola rugulosa looks very possible to me.  These violets appear here in huge numbers and removing a couple would do no harm.  Remembering the former owner of this land, we did not dig anything.

American sarsaparilla grows wildly here.  The bud covered spheres promise a generous display of flowers.  Several of these plants are growing in the gravel that edges the road.  It seems only prudent to rescue these plants that recently survived a brush with the snow plow.  We had no tools with us so no digging was done.  We repeat this conversation with ourselves every year but no digging here is ever done.

 

 These Marsh marigolds were purchased last year.  We let someone else remove these plants from the wild.  This ground is close to the base of our bedrock ridge.  All of this low ground is presently filled with bands of water although none can be found at the far end of the field.  Apparently, the water here is sufficient to support generous growth for these plants.  Wet spots are common here especially after the recent heavy rainfall and it was no easy task to keep feet dry while approaching these flowers.

Another Return To Irma's Woods

Once again the written words of John Burroughs introduced me to a must have plant.  He described a frequently taken detour into the woods while walking to school.  His goal was to harvest some Toothwort planning to eat it with his lunch.  By his own account, the plant parts were usually gone by lunch time.  This plant lives happily in Irma's woods and we aspire to create a natural setting similar to this one.

We know of two different forms of Toothwort and subtle differences in both flower structure and leaf shape are clearly visible.  We would like to use Toothwort as a background plant with some of our more showy plants.  We have yet to find extensive numbers of this plant in local markets but now that we understand its gentle growth habit, we plan to buy in large numbers should we run across it.  One of its characteristics that would make it an excellent companion plant is its close to the surface long root.  That is the source of the other popular name Crinkleroot.

Whole fallen leaves mark these plants as growing in Irma's woods.  On this day, we also had two white Trilliums with open flowers.  It seems that the solar advantage of her land that slopes to the south east is less of an impact at this point in the season.

There are two dead giveaways to these being cultivated plants.  Finely chopped fallen tree leaves clearly reveal the gardener's hand here.  He does not have ten thousand years to build natural woodland soil so some shortcuts must be taken.  Also, there are no rusty wire protective cages in a natural forest.  The companion plant is Winter Aconite, a moderately well behaved nonnative plant.  Some thinning of it will likely be needed to allow sunlight to strike the Trillium leaves.

These days there aren't many places where wild native plants cover the ground in large numbers.  Irma's Woods is one of those locations.  Choose any small spot like this photo.  You can see beautiful violets, spring beauty leaves, a single trout lily leaf, foam flower leaves, moss and maybe even Hepatica.  Over the years we have tried to be careful sharing Irma's woods only with those who will appreciate it and take away only photographs snapped from the road.  I have a friend I plan to invite as soon as the white trilliums add their flowers to the green sea of ramps extending up the hill.

Finally May Rain

As is sometimes the case, May weather has been harsh.  Lack of rain and frequent freezes or frosts have damaged many plants.  Last night a gentle warm rain fell for hours.  It totaled less than one half of an inch but even that much was welcomed by the plants.  We have been generous with the watering can but nothing can compare to an actual rainfall.

These Hepaticas are very recent transplants.  With rainfall in the forecast, we wanted these new plants in the ground.  The nearby area needs additional work as we see these plants in the wild growing surrounded by stones.  Our open ground will see appropriately sized stones nearly buried between the plants.

Violets are both a longtime family favorite and commonly occur in our nearby woods.  The decision to include them in the garden was not easily made.  Our deer herd frequently eat violets and that may be part of the reason why they often visit here.  The wire cages make walking difficult and stones placed just outside of the cage will prevent snouts from simply pushing the cage aside.  Time will tell if violets in the garden was a poor choice.

These Yellow Lady Slippers did not have any buds yesterday.  We say that with certainty since they are checked every day on the walk to the mailbox.  We believe that the rotting tree stump adds something to the soil that benefits these plants.  They have been here for several years and the number of stems and flowers is increasing.

We were unsure if these Jacks would make an appearance this year.  Marauding deer tore these plants up last year but their appearance now is impressive.  We cannot cage everything so these plants will grow here just as they grow in the woods.  That statement is an exaggeration since we usually see only single plants growing in our woods.

Early this spring Becky was clearing around her Woodland Phlox and accidentally broke off a single stem.  She then stuck a finger into the ground and planted the broken piece.  I mentally gave her action no chance of success and now she has a transplant with two flowers.  This plant will rapidly increase in size making its placement near the rescued stump look more natural.  We cannot wait for expanding phlox plants to close in on the fern.  They will also be transplanted allowing them to claim a nearby area.  All of this because of a broken stem and the belief that it could be saved.

Garden Happiness Is...

 My daughter picked violets for me on Mother's Day again!  When she was a young child handfuls of lawn flowers were frequently presented to me.  We both remembered her past behavior that was repeated on this Mother's Day with tender fondness.

It is a gorgeous blue sky day and the clove currants have their fragrant flowers!  Their spicy scent is carried on the wind for considerable distance.  It is an unexpected pleasure to walk into that sweet cloud.

I saw the male hummingbird for the first time this spring and I got his picture.  Click on the picture and look for something beautiful iridescent and green!  Green on green is hard to separate but the bird is hovering just above the uppermost horizontal branch about one third of the way in from the right side of the photo.  Once found it is easy to spot him as his shape is different from what is around him.

Violets are Delicious!

Some violets are purple tiny and rare. A present from Susan they get special care.

Some violets are pink, a little surprise. I transplanted blue. Could it be my eyes?

Some violets are white with a dark purple throat. Rhyming is fun, but I'll end on that note.

The white violets are all through the grass here. I enjoy picking their heart shaped leaves and pretty flowers to add to a garden salad . They have lots of vitamin C. I just wash them and toss them in the salad spinner with everything else. A nice purple, raspberry vinaigrette adds the final touch. Delicious!

Roses are Red, Violets are Invasive

I used to love violets. Why not? They are such a welcome spring flower. They are so pretty, so dainty, so violet. The flowers are a fabulous addition to salads. Even the leaves are good to eat.

However, right now I'm suffering with way too much of a good thing! Take a close look in the upper right of the picture. Violets produce seeds in the fall!

Behold the hidden truth about violets. Unlike the pretty purple spring blooms, these flowers at the base of the plant in the fall are meant for just one thing. They are into seed production on a grand scale. Apparently fall is the optimum time for a violet seed, because by spring you will be looking at a green carpet of tiny violet plants. Now you have been warned. That pretty violet that pops up in your garden bed is a WILD flower. Dig it up and put it where the neighborhood is tough. It is up to the competition!