This Week In My Garden

It's too early to plant anything, but on Monday [April 6] I did put a pail full of Jerusalem Artichoke tubers [Helianthus tuberosus]

in the ground, because they were starting to get soft. I hope they make it. Here on our sandpile, the ground is never undiggable, no matter how frozen.

When we lived in Angola,Indiana I had a thicket of Helianthus surrounding our burn barrel. I often dug roots in late autumn or winter and used them in stir fry. I thought they were unkillable. But when we moved here in 1993 I planted them and watched them die.

Monday I also raked the winter debris and leaves out of one the front borders which faces west.

I have Vinca growing there, and I don't want it to have to compete with ivy.

So I pulled out all the English Ivy [Hedera helix],
which is trying to take over the foundation all around the house.

It grows on the north side of the house with Holly [Ilex aquifolium]

and they look beautiful there, but the ivy is aggressive. I've even found pale, almost white tendrils in the basement around the window frames, and every month or so I have to pull the bits that have crept up under the vinyl siding. But I like the look of it where it belongs on the north side, and I really don't think I'd be able to eradicate it if I wanted to!
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Tuesday [April 7]I pruned the two yews [Taxus cuspidata]

and the lavender [Lavandula angustifolias]

in the front borders.

That was my first attempt at correct pruning [although I've hacked at a lot of plants in my time], and I think I did a good job. The yews look nice, but the lavendar looks dead. It's another plant that I love and can't seem to grow successfully here. I ripped out 2 Creeping Junipers [Juniperus horizontalis]

that were dead.

I planted them last year. Hm. Perhaps I need a soil test on that border.

In the afternoon, Tuesday, I walked the property with a rolling tape measure to get a fair idea of our boundaries. After stumbling more times than I could count I also got a fair idea of the number of dead trees, and after ruining my socks and snagging my coat I got a fair idea of the amount of Greenbrier[Smilax rotundifolia]

growing here.

There weren't many nice surprises. Although the young evergreens I planted when we moved here are still alive and healthy they are, unfortunately, over our property line, and thus on the neighbors side of the woods. Many of the trees are dead and full of woodpecker holes.

There are a couple of native Eastern White Pine [Pinus strobus]

which I'm pleased about,

and several lovely Native Beech trees [Fagus grandifolia].

I am jealously watching over these beeches, which are unmarked by knife or any human hand. In another blog I've written about being a guardian over this little grove of beeches, none of which bear people's names or hearts slashed with arrows.
EDGE OF THE WORLD
Mist that hangs like silk
Soaking in the rain
Trees that rise like ghosts
Bearing people's names
And a sea that takes me
Where I do not know
But I gladly go
[Lyrics from "Beyond These Shores" performed by Ionia]
http://www.iona.uk.com/newindex/2004_pages/albums_2004.htm

Sassafras [Sassafras albidum]

is a weedy tree that pops up everywhere here. I love the smell of its crushed branches and roots, but the tea made from them is not so pleasant. Our Sassafras are often twisted contorted things, leaning to the point of almost laying on the ground, and all have yellow fall foliage. I would love to add some with red foliage, like the ones that grew near my childhood home.

Witch Hazel [Hamamelis virginiana]

grows scattered around the property and often looks weedy. But the Witch Hazel just behind the house is beautiful, a fountain even when leafless.

When I sit on the bench underneath it, I feel like it's brooding over me. It blooms late fall with bright yellow fireworks and its seed capsules are works of art. Actually, the capsule-like fruit holds two shiny hard black seeds with white, oily, edible interiors. These nutty seeds were savored by Indians of the south. The flavor is like that of pistachio nuts. [That's a quote. I've never tasted them. But I will!]

There is one small maple tree somewhere on the second lot, but I don't remember where it is now.

The rest (and most) of the trees are split oak. I haven't figured out yet if they are white oak red oak or something else, but they are nearly all split. Like this:

[person removed for privacy]

That is about all there is in the woods. Once we use Roundup on the greenbrier, removed the dead stuff and then get started mowing it, there will be a lot of space and easy walking. I'm not at all sure we'll even be able to call it a woods anymore.
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Wednesday [April 8] I dawdled most of the day, researching plants on the internet, and thinking. While wandering around outside [ I need to look at what I'm thinking about and it was a beautiful day to be out), I found a small stem in a flower bed, that had yellow cherry like berries on it. So I brought it inside and looked it up online. I love the internet! I'm not so fond of the plant that made that fruit, though. It is Horse Nettle [Solanum carolinense]

The berries contain solanin alkaloids which can cause symptoms if eaten in large quantities. It is often found growing in the wild in many parts of the world. Death is considered possible if large amounts are eaten, especially in children.

Headache
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Abdominal cramps
Dizziness
Burning throat sensation
Hallucinations
Loss of sensation
Jaundice
Dilated pupils
Fever
Hypothermia
Diarrhea
Excessive salivation
Weakness
Reduced temperature

The berries, as you can see look just like tiny yellow tomatoes. I remember seeing that plant there last summer and I didn't know what it was so I left it.
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It was my plan a few years ago to start a poison garden. There are many plants that grow wild here that are poisonous.

Pokeweed [Phytolacca americana]

Deadly Nightshade [Phytolacca americana]

Horse Nettle
Mushrooms

Wild Cherry trees [Prunus serotina]
The leaves, which contain cyanide, are toxic to cattle, sheep, goats and horses.
Some animals can die within an hour after ingesting wild cherry leaves. Wilted leaves are even more dangerous than non-wilted leaves, because the cyanide is more concentrated. We watched one of our Pygmy Goats go through the torture of cherry leaf poisoning and it was horrible. The tough old thing survived though. We had actually started digging a hole to bury when she got up and ran off.

Swamp Carrot or Poison Hemlock [Conium maculatum]
All parts of the poison hemlock plant are highly toxic to humans and animals and may result in death if ingested. Most of the recent cases of human poisoning have resulted from mistaking poison hemlock with edible species of the carrot family.

Poison hemlock is a lethally poisonous herbaceous plant (Conium maculatum ) of the family Umbelliferae ( parsley family). It
has rank, finely divided foliage, flat-topped clusters of small white flowers,
and a hollow, purple-mottled stem. Although native to the Old World, it is now
naturalized and common in parts of the United States. The poisonous principle
(the alkaloid coniine) causes paralysis, convulsions, and eventual death. Poison
hemlock was used in ancient Greece in executions; a famous example was the
philosopher Socrates. The related water hemlock (any species of Cicuta ) is
similar in appearance and as poisonous
The edible roots of wild parsnip were
consumed in ancient Greece and Rome while poison hemlock was used as a poison,
most notably known as the poison that killed Socrates. Both can pose health
hazards that many people may not be aware of.

Wild parsnip is similar to celery, but plant parts contain a substance called psoralen, which can cause a condition known as "phytophotodermatitis." This reaction occurs when plant juice gets on the skin and the skin is exposed to sunlight. The results are skin reddening, rash development, and in severe cases, blisters and burning or scalding type pain.

Wild parsnip burns often occur in elongated spots or streaks. Dark red or brownish skin discoloration develops where the burn or blisters first appeared and can last for several months. [another quote from that site; I couldn't get the link to post here.]

In another blog I have posted that Poison Hemlock grows on Harbor Island in Grand Haven. You can see it down near the river bank and near the entrance to Harbor Island.
Last year, after we brought in a load of dirt, we had a Poison Hemlock plant in our yard, in the dirt pile. I'm wondering if there will be more this year in that spot.
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Oh, by the way, I decided, within days after I first thought of a poison garden, that it would be irresponsible for me to do that...even criminal, if someone got sick from one of my plants. I guess I realised this the day my next door neighbor [with little children] showed me some pretty purple flowered vines growing rampant in her yard. They were Deadly Nightshade. She pulled them out after I told her, but they grew back quickly and I think she forgot they were there. Everytime I see it now, I rip it out and if I'm on someone else's property I ask if I can rip it out. It comes back every year on my own property as does poke and now probably Horse Nettle.