Loose Ends

Native wild flowers often present contradictions to anyone that tries to bring them into the garden.  Cardinal Flower continues to puzzle us.  It reproduces by both seed and daughter plants at the crown.  Six young plants and uncountable numbers of seeds are produced every year by a single plant.  One would expect weed like numbers from this treasure.  That is not the case here.  Late spring freeze and thaw cycles are terribly hard on the daughter plants.  New plants from seed have eluded our identification.  This fall we planned to resolve the latter matter.

One of those black plastic nursery trays was placed over freshly weeded garden soil.  Commercial potting soil filled the tray and spilled over the edges.  Seed that had been gathered on one of those rare dry fall days was sprinkled on top of the sterile potting soil.  In nature the wind shakes the plant stems scattering the ripe seeds.  They fall on the surface of the ground.  Light may be necessary for germination so the seed was left on the surface.  If cardinal flower seedlings appear here in the spring, we will be able to see just what they look like.  Knowing their form will help us save some during early spring weeding.  Our ignorance may have placed countless seedlings in the compost bucket.

Robin's Plantain usually blooms here in  late spring.  These late fall flowers are a fluke.  Usually the stems on this plant are much taller.  For some reason this plant was compelled to produce these short flowers in November.  I suppose a real optimist would take this as a sign of an early spring or a mild winter.  The snow and chill in the air today does not support that idea.

Another Layer Of Protection

Fringed polygala, Polygala paucifolia, is a favorite native wildflower here.  As a low growing largely insignificant plant, it is easy to miss when not in bloom.   Its rose purple flowers of unusual form are a special treat in May.  The flowers are short lived so they can easily be missed.  We have read several references to their decline in the wild.  I went contrary to every principle of responsible behavior and moved a single plant from the woods to our shade garden.  Flowers followed the first year after the move but there was no sign of the plant this spring.  Clearly responsible for the apparent loss of a wild treasure, I felt terrible.

My guilt eased when the plant put out new growth later in the spring.  We saw no flowers this year but the plant was still alive.  Low growing evergreen plants face a number of challenges.  Deep fallen leaf litter can smother them.  We had found a large area covered with polygala in bloom in a neighbors oak woods.  When we returned the following year to more closely examine these plants in the wild, they had totally disappeared.  A thick layer of fallen oak leaves covered the ground where the polygala had flourished.

Our transplanted treasure faced a different threat.  The locust tree that provides the shade also sports a suet feeder.  Woodpeckers are not terribly neat feeders so much perfectly good food falls to the ground.  Crows number among the opportunists that find this fallen bounty.  We have watched as they also fed on the nearby Iris christata but took no action.  I believe that the lack of snow cover last winter exposed the green leaves of the polygala to the crows.  Stripped of its leaves, it had no way to generate the energy to form flowers.  A cage now covers the polygala.  We hope to see again those delightful purple flowers come spring.  Additionally, we will not feed the birds this winter.

Crows are wildly successful social animals.  Hawks and owls are sworn enemies of crows.  We frequently hear the alarm call go out when a crow spots a hawk or an owl.  Quickly the sky is full of other crows coming in from all directions to harass the enemy.  Despite their cunning and group ethic, I prefer the majestic hawk.  Besides, crows are known to drop baby owls from the nest to their death.  This crow has been lying in repose for several days.  It was part of a group of four.  I do not know if the dead friend is keeping the others away but they have not returned.  So for now this crow can remain where it fell.