Once again the spring ephemerals are carpeting the forest and woodland floor only to be quickly admired and sleep again until next year. Spring ephemerals (i fem’ ur als) are plants whose glory lasts but a few days but the memory of their haunting beauty will remain with you for months come. You will find yourself looking expectantly for their return the following spring. These native wonders emerge before the trees leaf out as they must acquire enough sunlight to produce seed and store energy before the forest canopy fills in. Then they fade away until next year. Let’s walk gingerly along an imaginary path and enjoy the fleeting beauty of spring’s earliest wonders. Hepatica americana, Liverleaf, is one of the earliest harbingers of spring. It bears dainty 1/2” white flowers blushed with pink or deep blue. The flowers are born on stalks which leap into view directly from the…
Author: Former Members
Mycorrhizas: The Underground Internet
Most people are familiar with fungi that cause itchy toes and moldy bread. What if I told you that there are a multitude of fungi in an “Underground Internet” that wraps around the roots of almost every plant in the your landscape? Not only that, but also these fungi thrives by sucking energy from the plants to sustain themselves? Yes, these fungi are lurking in the soil of your landscape right now! Is this some Friday the 13th scary story intended to raise the hair on the back of your neck? No! These fungi are real and they are everywhere! They are mycorrhizas (pronounced my-CORE-rye-zuhs). This not-so-glorious association between plants, soil, and fungus is fundamental to plant establishment and growth. There are about 5,000 different fungal species that form a mycorrhizal relationship with over 300,000 plants. This association is an absolute necessity for the establishment of many plants. The absence…
The Winter Garden Planning and Planting for the Southeast – Book Review
The Winter Garden Planning and Planting for the Southeast By Peter Loewer and Larry Mellichamp Perquisites for growing a beautiful winter garden are planning and choosing the plant species for impact or subtleness. Walk through The Winter Garden with authors Peter Loewer and Larry Mellichamp. See the beauty of opting for planting trees because of their bark texture, color, or structure that will catch your eye in the bleak months of winter. Choose pods, fruits, plumes, and berries to add sparkle to the dreary landscape and pizzazz to holiday centerpieces and wreaths. You will not miss the profusion of summer flowers when you select from a large variety of winter bulbs or winter-blooming herbaceous perennials. No garden would be complete without fragrant plants for “…fragrances can reach across the decades like a physical link, reminding us of an eventful time now long forgotten.” There is no excuse not to have…