For many years, I admired these plants at a friend’s house on the cape. They were the only species in a 3 by 20 feet border alongside the wall, and they looked magnificent. When my friend got sick of these plants 2 years ago, opting for more colorful bloomers, I took the opportunity to take […]
Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category
Polygonatum biflorum (solomon’s seal)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Plant bio, Tips on May 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Tips on May 19, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I have a few of these members of the Dryopteridaceae family in my woodland garden, among sessile bellwort and framing some oak and rhododendron. The plants have only been there for a year, and I’ve only seen the sterile fronds of this fern. The fern is also called bead fern because the fertile fronds that […]
Dodecatheon meadia (shooting star)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Tips on May 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This little plant is just spectacular, although it is fairly shortlived. By summer the flowers and rosetted leaves will be a faint memory. But this year the pictures live on! There are several different color schemes, ranging from white to pink to deep purple. The ones I acquired from the New England Wild Flower Society […]
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Tips on May 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
These strawberry plants are pretty much everywhere in my yard, although they definitely prefer the more sunlit areas. They don’t need an introduction here, but if you’re someone that thinks of them as annoying weeds, consider this: The ecological value of wild strawberry to various insects, birds, and animals is high. The flowers attract long-tongued […]
Dicentra eximia (wild bleeding heart)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Tips on May 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I came upon Dicentra eximia by ways of its more showy non-native cousin (Dicentra spectabilis), which I have seen in various Cape Cod shade gardens. I have a few myself, as a matter of fact. Wild bleeding heart has smaller red to pink flowers, and leaves that are quite beautiful – the plant is also […]
Stylophorum diphyllum (wood poppy)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on May 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The wood poppy brings a beautiful yellow flower to the woodland garden in the spring and early summer. It likes partial sun to shade conditions. It is not native to Cape Cod, or New England for that matter, but it is a “neighbor” native to eastern states from Ontario down to Alabama and Georgia. It […]
Viola sororia (woolly blue violet)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Plant bio, Recipe, Tips on May 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This native violet has taken over one area of my yard almost exclusively, and is spreading into the lawn. I don’t mind, but if you’re a gardener that needs to be in control, I can see issues developing between you and Viola sororia. Woolly blue violet rhizomes can grow quickly, and the many flowers produce […]
Jeffersonia diphylla (twinleaf)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on April 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Another pleasant surprise: My twinleaf is blooming! Not only was I sceptical about that particular prospect (after all, the plant had not bloomed in two years, maybe due to soil conditions), I was also thoroughly thrown by the speed. The plants had some leaves yesterday. 24 hours later, after a warmish spring day, a long […]
Asarum canadense (wild ginger)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on April 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When the wild ginger broke through the soil, a few weeks back, I was not quite sure what to make of it – the pale almost radiant green protrusions looked like folded handkerchiefs more than leaves, and only later did it dawn on me that this was Asarum canadense. The plant is found in the […]
The big dig
Posted in Fauna, Rants & Raves, Tips on March 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
185 bulbs, and counting… That is the latest tally of squirrel victims. All that is left in evidence is a crater and a petal or some other overlooked morsel. Even though the bulbs, mostly crocus, were on sale, there was the multi-week effort of planting. Now all that is gone, Las Vegas buffet style… Mind […]