November Hill farm journal, 97

Time for a whole farm update. We are in jungle mode now, with all our large trees fully leafed out and lush, green, and happy just in time for Earth Day.

I spent some time yesterday walking the farm and looking at what’s happening outside my pollinator beds.

In the riding arena (and now also dog agility course) I found this very long and beautiful snake skin stretched along the ground. I feel sure it’s a black snake and if I’m lucky he/she has moved into the barn and was out here sunning before shedding.

In Poplar Folly, one of the trees that Duke Energy cut. We’ve left the remainders, some of which is stacked for firewood, some larger sections I’d hoped to get made into lumber for our feed room, have been repurposed in creating terraces to slow rain run-off. There are several of these stump stacks which are making unusual and interesting “sculptures” - and growing various lichens which I’ve been reading are like medicine for various bees.

My tree of life flags are fading but still hanging in the breeze. I put these up when Duke first notified us that they intended to cut not only the 7 trees we allowed them to take down, but approximately 40 more. The entirety of Poplar Folly would be decimated had we not filed a complaint with the NC Utilities Commission and stopped them.

Here’s a tulip poplar branch in the front pasture, simply loaded with flowers!

While on my walk I had a wild hair and added a new element for the dog agility course. Green duct tape has a higher calling! Why I never did this when we were making jumps for horses I can’t tell you.

And an interesting tree stump in Poplar Folly. One trunk but clearly two separate trees that at some point merged. I love the pattern from above.

And a gorgeous patch of native ferns on the side strip in front. We have ferns volunteering all over the farm, and we leave them untouched. This is a new strip that has come up this spring and are thriving. I need to get out my books and see if I can ID this one. We have different kinds, and all are distinct and different when you look closely. If you look really closely, you’ll also see a baby tulip poplar and a couple of hollies.

I hope everyone spent at least a little time on Earth Day out in nature, or looking at photographs of nature. The earth is our home, and she’s beautiful. She gives solace and shelter, food and air, water and peace. We must take care of her.

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 32: New York ironweed

This is such a pretty plant, tall and leaning slightly at maturity with deep fuchsia flowers and seed heads that stay interesting well into the winter. Pollinators, natives, and wildlife friendly too.

While these are quite tall and most would put them at the back of a garden, my front bed only has a short side that is truly at the “back.” It’s bordered on one side by our driveway, and the other by the walkway to our front door, and the piece at the confluence of drive and walkway is where I put these. They are on the lower side of the sloped bed, and tend to lean over the driveway’s edge, and in a way they form a sort of “flagship” effect at the narrowing end of the bed.

They are just coming up now, and it’s hard to believe that by summer’s end they’ll be taller than I am.

I have several clusters in this area and they will be prominent in the next few months. 

More info:

Brundage, Stephanie 

Vernonia noveboracensis

Vernonia noveboracensis (L.) Michx.

New York Ironweed

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Synonym(s): Vernonia harperi

USDA Symbol: VENO

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

New York ironweed is a tall, clump-forming perennial, growing 5-8 ft. in height. Slightly rough stems bear lance-shaped, deep-green leaves. Small flower heads occur in large, loosely branched, flat-topped, terminal clusters. Flowers are all of the disk type and deep reddish-purple in color. Tall erect stem branches toward the summit, with each branch bearing a cluster of deep lavender to violet flower heads; together, clusters form a loose spray. 

This often roughish plant is common in wet open bottomland fields. It typically has more flowers per head than Tall Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea).

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 31: woodland stonecrop

So, this little plant is a ground covering succulent that is mostly found in shade. I have a small section of the front pollinator bed that stays shaded from April - November, and I wanted something to hug the ground there. This was a good choice, I think, but I get all kinds of weeds trying to encroach in this same space, so I think sometimes I end up pulling out the woodland stonecrop with the weeds!

This year I’m trying to be more mindful and I’ve let the weeds creep in until I can be sure that what I’m pulling out is not what I planted there.

Our walkway is stone with gaps between, so I actually let the wild things grow along there and we just weed-eat down a bit if needed, so there’s a fine line between where I let things grow wild and where I want a bit more order.

In any case, this is a very sweet plant and I hope to see it really spread out this year with me paying a bit more attention to what I’m doing around it.

If you look closely you’ll see about 5 other things trying to mix in with it. The competition is fierce in that corner of the bed!

More info:

Cressler, Alan 

Sedum ternatum

Sedum ternatum Michx.

Woodland Stonecrop, Wild Stonecrop

Crassulaceae (Stonecrop Family)

Synonym(s): Clausenellia ternata

USDA Symbol: sete3

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (I)

The creeping stems of this rock-loving perennial usually send up a single flowering branch, 4-8 in. high, and several shorter, leafier, non-flowering branches. The succulent, light-green leaves are arranged alternately or in whorls of three. Flowers are white with five, pointed petals and occur in a three-branched terminal clusters. 

Woods Stonecrop is a member of the sedum family (family Crassulaceae), which includes succulent herbs or small shrubs, commonly with star-like flowers in branched clusters. There are about 35 genera and 1,500 species. Many are cultivated as ornamentals or succulent novelties, including Jade Tree, Stonecrops, and Air Plant. Vegetative reproduction is common in the family, and in some members little plantlets grow along the leaves, drop to the ground, and root.

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 30: butterfly weed

This is a bright orange flowering plant that is a host for Monarchs, and it’s a huge joy to find their caterpillars all over it as the season progresses. It also attracts milkweed bugs, which some consider pests, but we love them because daughter raised a couple for a class at one point and we had them in a large jar on our nature shelf for over a year.

More info:

Cressler, Alan 

Asclepias tuberosa

Asclepias tuberosa L.

Butterflyweed, Butterfly Milkweed, Orange Milkweed, Pleurisy Root, Chigger Flower

Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed Family)

Synonym(s): 

USDA Symbol: astu

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

This bushy, 1 1/2-2 ft. perennial is prized for its large, flat-topped clusters of bright-orange flowers. The leaves are mostly alternate, 1 1/2-2 1/4 inches long, pointed, and smooth on the edge. The yellow-orange to bright orange flower clusters, 2-5 inches across, are at the top of the flowering stem. The abundance of stiff, lance-shaped foliage provides a dark-green backdrop for the showy flower heads. 

This showy plant is frequently grown from seed in home gardens. Its brilliant flowers attract butterflies. Because its tough root was chewed by the Indians as a cure for pleurisy and other pulmonary ailments, Butterfly Weed was given its other common name, Pleurisy Root. Although it is sometimes called Orange Milkweed, this species has no milky sap.

What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 29: blue sage

These are new this year and I’m curious to see how they look when they bloom. I’m finding all kinds of things coming up that aren’t familiar and I think it’s because I kept getting plants last fall and tucking them in without much fanfare at all. Here’s to surprise in the garden!

More info:

More Images

Species Native to Missouri

Common Name: blue sage 

Type: Herbaceous perennial

Family: Lamiaceae

Native Range: Southeastern United States

Zone: 5 to 9

Height: 3.00 to 5.00 feet

Spread: 2.00 to 4.00 feet

Bloom Time: July to October

Bloom Description: Azure blue

Sun: Full sun

Water: Dry to medium

Maintenance: Low

Flower: Showy

Attracts: Butterflies

Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil

Garden locations

Culture

Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Tolerates drought. Prefers moist, gravelly or sandy soils with good drainage. Plant stems may be cut back by up to 1/2 in late spring to promote compactness and prevent stem flopping. Plants may repeat bloom from summer to fall, but need regular moisture to encourage this. Remove spent flower spikes to help extend the bloom period. If plant foliage depreciates in hot summer conditions to the point where it looks unsightly, consider trimming back. In any event, cut plants back after flowering has concluded.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Salvia azurea, commonly called blue sage, is a clump-forming perennial that typically grows to 3-5’ tall (shorter if pruned). Whorls of 2-lipped, azure blue flowers bloom in spikes from mid-summer to fall atop stiff stems clad with linear to lanceolate to obovate, grayish-green leaves (to 3-4” long). Salvia azurea var. azurea is native from North Carolina and Tennessee south to Florida and Texas. Salvia azurea var. grandiflora grows further west to New Mexico and further north to Nebraska and Minnesota. Although similar in appearance, var. grandiflora has larger flowers and is often considered to be a better garden plant than var. azurea.

The genus name Salvia comes from the Latin word salveo meaning "to save or heal", in reference to the purported medically curative properties attributed to some plants in the genus.

Specific epithet means sky-blue for the azure blue flowers.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems.