November Hill farm journal, 94

Life on November Hill is proceeding much as usual except that we’re all here, all the time, with a very few exceptions: brief trips to feed store, pet food store, grocery store, pharmacy. Thankfully the all are offering drive up service and we’ve all been able to maintain safe distances and minimal exposures.

One big congratulations is due. My daughter and her 13.5 month old golden retriever Clementine passed their AKC Canine Good Test on Friday. That was the last scheduled activity that happened for us, and since there were only 3 people testing, it was easy to stay very far apart.

Otherwise, most things have gone online. 

Today our hoof trimmer came and that too was able to be done with no issues. I’m relieved the herd have their trims in place and we can all shepherd in springtime together. 

Sending light and love to everyone. Stay safe, stay healthy, check in via the comments if you can. 

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 5: pitcher plant

The year I planted the first pollinator bed here on November Hill, my daughter talked me into buying several pitcher plants. I was skeptical they would grow in our clay soil, but we planted them and they have done well. It’s always a treat to see them in the garden.

What you see here are the flowers coming up among the winter remnants from last year. I’ll have to take more photos as the season progresses. The marker says they are yellow pitcher plants but I believe these may be a different variety. They’re NC natives though, and do attract pollinators.

More info:

Yellow pitcher plant

Description

Sarracenia flava, the yellow pitcherplant, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Like all the Sarraceniaceae, it is native to the New World. Its range extends from southern Alabama, through Florida and Georgia, to the coastal plains of southern Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Wikipedia

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 4: Eastern red columbine

This is something I picked up for the end of one pollinator bed that is shaded for over half the day by a sweet gum tree. I planted it in the fall and it’s come out beautifully this spring. It’s good for bees and also for finches, hummingbirds, and it hosts at least one butterfly larva.

Once those blooms open, there will be a nice splash of red in the garden, but I really love the pale, muted color seen now. Read on for special uses as love charm.

More info:

Makin, Julie 

Aquilegia canadensis

Aquilegia canadensis L.

Eastern Red Columbine, Wild Red Columbine

Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)

Synonym(s): Aquilegia australis, Aquilegia canadensis var. australis, Aquilegia canadensis var. coccinea, Aquilegia canadensis var. eminens, Aquilegia canadensis var. hybrida, Aquilegia canadensis var. latiuscula, Aquilegia coccinea, Aquilegia latiuscula, Aquilegia phoenicantha

USDA Symbol: aqca

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

This is an erect, branching perennial, up to 2 ft. tall, well-known for its showy flowers. A nodding, red and yellow flower with upward spurred petals alternating with spreading, colored sepals and numerous yellow stamens hanging below the petals. The compoundleaves, divided into round-lobed threes, are attractive in their own right. 

This beautiful woodland wildflower has showy, drooping, bell-like flowers equipped with distinctly backward-pointing tubes, similar to the garden Columbines. These tubes, or spurs, contain nectar that attracts long-tongued insects and hummingbirds especially adapted for reaching the sweet secretion. It is reported that Native Americans rubbed the crushed seeds on the hands of men as a love charm. European Columbine (A. vulgaris), with blue, violet, pink, or white short-spurred flowers, was introduced from Europe and has now become well established in many parts of the East. Aquilegia canadensis readily hybridizes with the popular Southwestern yellow columbines (A. chrysantha, etc.), yielding some striking yellow-and-red color combinations in the flowers. This genus has been referred to as the flower for the masses. Once started, Columbine propagates for years and, although perennial, increases rapidly by self seeding. (Andy Fyon)

The genus name Aquilegia comes from the Latin aquila which means eagle and refers to the spurred petals that many believe resemble an eagles talons.

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 3: Golden Alexanders

This is a very early blooming pollinator, which means it gives the bees something to forage when they’re just starting to build up for the spring nectar flow. It’s really pretty and although short-lived in terms of bloom time, the seed heads stay interesting and I leave them unless we get a lot of rain and they get moldy.

Here’s the first bloom - the plant will get much larger than this with many of these petite blooms before maturity.

Here’s a bit more info. I’m posting the photo that comes from the native plant site but it seems they aren’t showing up once the blog post goes live. Apologies. If you see a plant that catches your eye, look it up online and see it in all its glory through all its seasons!

Flaigg, Norman G. 

Zizia aurea

Zizia aurea (L.) W.D.J. Koch

Golden Zizia, Golden Alexanders

Apiaceae (Carrot Family)

Synonym(s): 

USDA Symbol: ziau

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

Golden alexanders is a short-lived perennial with branching, erect, reddish stems. The lower leaves are divided into threes twice while the upper leaves are divided once. The yellow flowers less than 1/8 inch long. Each tiny flower has 5 sepals, 5 petals, and 5 stamens. Separate clusters of tiny, yellow flowers gather into a large, flat-topped flower head, the middle flower of each umbel being stalkless. Dry seedheads turn purple, adding summer interest. The plant is 1-3 ft. tall.

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 2: Eastern Redbud

I’m stretching it a bit, as many of our redbuds were here before we were, but I have planted several to replace a couple that died over the past few years. They are early pollinator plants for bees and other insects and we love their fuchsia color.

This is my take on an older redbud residing in Poplar Folly, very close to the apiary:

They are all over our farm, mostly in the front edges of forested areas. While many in our larger area are further along, ours are just budding out.

After the blooms are done, the leaves on the redbud are gorgeous heart-shapes that make me smile every time I notice them. A huge benefit as we deal with COVID-19.

More info:

Makin, Julie 

Cercis canadensis

Cercis canadensis L.

Eastern Redbud, Redbud

Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Synonym(s): 

USDA Symbol: ceca4

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

Tree with short trunk, rounded crown of spreading branches, and pink flowers that cover the twigs in spring. Redbud is a 15-30 ft. treewith one to several picturesque, maroon-purple trunks and a wide, umbrella-like crown. Its pink flowers, borne in tight clusters along the stems and branches before new leaves appear, create a showy spring display. Smooth, heart-shaped, deciduous foliage does not have significant fall color. Trees from the southern part of the species’ range have smaller, glossier leaves and often a more compact form. Stunning tiny pink flower clusters cover the entire tree.