Moss Magic

Moss brings an enchanted appearance to forests.  Several varieties grow around Flandrum Hill, on the ground, on stones and more than just the north side of tree trunks. 

In recent years, some innovative horticulturalists have suggested that it might be ecologically beneficial for homeowners to consider growing lawns of moss instead of grass.   Here are some reasons why:

• It grows fast,
• prevents erosion,
• repels weeds,
• doesn’t require fertilizer,
• doesn’t require watering and 
• doesn’t require mowing.

That last reason should be enough by itself to convince people to look into the moss option.  Imagine all the labour that would be saved in lawn maintenance!

Though mosses thrive in moist, acidic soil, all they really need is a bit of shade.  They’re able to absorb enough moisture from rainfall to allow them to survive without extra watering.

 

The sphagnum moss shown above is a marvel of nature.  It can absorb several times its own weight in water or oil.  It has many uses in gardening, ie. as a seed starter, and dried, is an excellent insulator, firestarter and dressing for wounds.  

Mosses are often used by scientists as bioindicators, species used to monitor the health of an environment, to identify the presence of heavy metals and other pollutants in an ecosystem.  Their presence here doesn’t just make the woods seem more magical, they reveal the good health of the environment as well.

For more information on moss lawns, see

Moss Makes a Lush, No-care Lawn

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Scarecrows

Much of the produce that was once offered at the Halifax Farmers Market was grown in Cow Bay. Patterson Road at the bottom of Flandrum Hill was named after a farmer who worked his large fields here before houses cropped up. Today, there are no large farms in the area, though some individuals still have gardens in their yards.  Years ago it was common practice for gardeners to erect scarecrows in an effort to ward off crows and other birds that might gobble up seed or fruit before harvest time. 

Scarecrows were customarily roughly put together mannequins (usually just old clothing stuffed with straw with a hat on a stuffed sack head). As a child I had fun helping create scarecrows or other bird scaring devices for my grandparents’ garden. Today, unless their purpose is solely decorative, scarecrows are a rare sight.  I wonder why this is.  Maybe crows aren’t as numerous as they used to be.

In the 1960s, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh was a Disney series that told the story of Dr. Syn, a clever vicar who disguised himself as a scarecrow by night to engage in smuggling activities against the crown.  He was assisted by a couple of accomplices who also wore frightful masks to hide their identities.  

Although set in England, the series could have been filmed locally, as the natural landscape with its marsh and seashore seem so similar to many areas in Nova Scotia.  The silhouette of the Scarecrow on his horse looked eerie against a background of the windswept coast and his laugh was enough to give a child nightmares.  Scarecrows don’t seem half as scary to adults as they do to children and crows.  

Here is the opening sequence from the Walt Disney series along with an excerpt from one of the episodes. 

Photo credits:  Jessica Pomeroy

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Nature Through Glass

Sometimes, even when sunny skies beckon, we still have to stay indoors.  Sometimes it’s because there’s house or office work to be done.  Other times, it’s because we’re sick.  Such is the case with me this week with a diagnosis of pneumonia.

From behind glass, there’s still much to see of nature outside.  Trees continue to change colour and some of the vines on the house have turned red and pink.  They adorn the edges of the living room window.  There’s no time like the present to appreciate them as the wind will soon blow them all away.  In the summer months, they make drapes in the window unnecessary and bring nature’s colours up close.

Vines can also be seen from one of the second storey windows.  Although their colours are still bright through the screen, they’re even prettier seen from the outdoors, as in the photo taken on the weekend. 

Silhouettes of leaves can be seen trembling in the wind through the glass of the front door’s window as well.  By the time witches and goblins show up at the door in a couple of weeks, they’ll be all gone.

I’ve been so accustomed to stepping outdoors several times a day.  There is something about fresh air and sunshine that makes us feel better just by being outdoors. 

So why do we tend to stay in when we’re sick?  I wonder if perhaps we would recover more quickly outdoors.  The challenge would be to not engage in too much tiring activity. 

From the kitchen window I can see a large snowshoe hare that’s decided to come close.  Its ears are perked and it’s sitting just below the window, posed perfectly still for a photograph.   Sometimes, when you can’t go out into nature, nature knows, and comes to you.

 

Death Stars

Last summer I found two young snowshoe hares dead on the lawn one morning.  They were curled up in the fetal position and showed no outward sign of trauma.  They were the cutest little creatures and it was so sad to have to bury them.  I had seen them hopping around the rosebushes just the day before.  I couldn’t understand why they had died so suddenly.  A fox would have carried them back to its den.  If a cat or dog had attacked them, they would surely have wounds.

Hares have made nests in my wild rosebushes for years.  They didn’t this year.  In years past, young bunnies have often hopped out of the bushes as I’ve mowed the grass nearby.  Adult hares still graze on the lawn in the open, usually dining on dandelions and plantains.  In the winter they reach up to eat the green needles on the lower branches of balsam fir trees.

Recently I learned that most plants in the lily family of flowers are poisonous.  Plants in this family all have bulbs, flowers with parts in 3s and parallel leaf veins. Many of these bulbs are often planted in the fall in North American gardens for spring blooming:  narcissus, tulips, irises, hyacinths, crocuses and daffodils.

Although I”ve never planted any of these in my garden, a couple of years ago, a friend gave me a clump of Star of Bethlehem blooms to transplant.  I put them right next to the rosebushes.  At the time, I didn’t realize that their bulbs would be deadly if ingested by pet cats, dogs, rabbits or wild hares.  Could these have caused the death of the young bunnies last summer?  I’ll never know for sure, but I will be removing this beautiful plant and its numerous bulbs from my yard before next spring.

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How to Identify Flowers

Finding the name of a mystery flower can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.  It’s often a  frustrating task.  Where do you start?

If you’re doing an online search, two other keywords besides color can be helpful:

• A flower’s habitat. Is it growing in a meadow? a pine forest? a bog? on a lakeshore? a seashore?

• The English or Latin name of the flower’s family. There are 7 floral families (listed below), each with a specific set of characteristics.

Mustard Family - Cruciferae

- 4 petals
- seedpods follow a radial pattern around the stalk
- pods open from both sides to expose a clear membrane in the middle
- all edible

Mint Family – Labiatae

- 5 united petals
- square stalks
- leaves grow opposite one another
- usually aromatic
- all edible as long as they smell minty

Pea or Legume Family -
Leguminosae

- irregular shaped flowers with 5 petals
- pea-like pods
- pinnate leaves
- vary from being barely edible to barely poisonous

Lily Family - Liliaceae

- flowers with parts in 3s with 6 stamens
- sepals and petals identical
- parallel leaf veins
- produce bulbs
- some edible, some poisonous

Mallow Family -
Malvaceae

- 5 separate petals
- column of stamens in middle of flower
- moist and sticky texture
- edible

Aster or Sunflower Family –
Compositae

- composite flowers
- disk-like head
- each petal is an individual flower
- edible

Parsley or Carrot Family -
Apiaceae or Umbelliferae

- radially symmetrical (5 petals, sepals and stamens)
- compound umbrella-like design
- usually hollow flower stalks
- many are not safe for eating and can be deadly

You may still have to look at several images before you’re able to find the exact flower, but these keywords should help you narrow your search.  At the very least, you should be able to identify its family.  Good luck!

For more information on floral families, see:
Learning to Identify Plants by Families

For more information on flowers in northern North America, see:
Ontario Wildflower

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The Green Door

The color green evokes a sense of peaceful growth.  Its use on or around a front door enhances a home’s ability to communicate a calming and soothing atmosphere. Although my front door is painted a very light greenish grey, it’s surrounded by much green foliage at this time of year.

Last week, while delivering a package, the postman commented that he would soon need a weed wacker to get through the doorway.  The vine leaves have grown very large and hang low by the front door.  In order to pass through the threshold you have to bow your head.

Having to do this reminds me of a story I once heard  about an East Indian worker who had hung a curtain across the top of the doorway to his office.  It required that he bow down his head whenever he entered his work space.  The act of bowing was a reminder to him to be reverent in his approach to his daily tasks.  There’s certainly room for all of us to integrate more reverence into our lives, both at home and in the workplace.  We so often take for granted the sacredness of home and the work of our hands and minds.

Earlier this spring, I transplanted a mountain ash tree from the backyard to a spot just right of the front door.  This type of tree is very similar to Old World rowan trees which are customarily planted near front doors to ward off evil spirits.

Without words, nature can communicate warmth and welcome in many ways.  Mystery and the wonder of growth are inexorably woven into her message.

However much you knock at nature’s door, she will never answer you in comprehensible words.

~ Ivan Turgenev

For more information on mountain ash, see Rowan Trees.

For more information on vines, see Dragon Claws on Vines.

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Up Close and Personal

Hydrangea shrubs become so heavy with blooms towards the end of summer that their branches begin to droop.  Their tired appearance might make it easy for you to walk past.  But stop.  Take a closer look…

Despite the droopiness of the branches, is not each bloom still exquisite, still perfect in its form and softness?  Peering through the bloom, one can get a glimpse of the fragile inner structure that holds each of the tiny flowers together in the rounded shape that is often mistaken for the flower itself.  Look more closely…

Each individual little flower consists of three tiny petals with its own centre.  Look!  The tiniest of flies is taking a rest on one of them.

Like flowers, the more closely we look at people, the more wondrous they become.  Although they might appear tired and worn from a distance, up close, their resilience and beauty is revealed.  Sometimes it’s only when they begin to fall apart a little, that we can see what holds them together beneath the surface.  Each one is more complex than we could ever have imagined.  But such discoveries don’t come cheap.

It takes time, patience and energy to focus on a single flower or person.  Some open themselves more easily to revelation than others.  Yet each one will open and disclose its beauty in its own time.

So much is waiting for us to discover, in both flowers and people… if only we would take the time and look carefully.

Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.

~ Albert Einstein

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Signs of Innocence

Ragged Robin flowers grow wild in the yard.  They just popped up a few summers ago and I’ve been mowing around them ever since.  They’re too pretty to cut down.

I used to mow around the Oxeye daisies too but now restrict their growth to mostly a large circular bed in one corner of the yard.  Once they’re done blooming, I mow the area flat.

Wild flowers require no special care.  They grow where God has planted them (or I’ve transplanted them) and need no extra watering beyond what rains down.  They’re not as prone to blight and insect damage as introduced species seem to be, and the slugs don’t have much of an apetite for them.

Unfortunately, these plants are often seen as weeds and tend to be either tolerated or eradicated with great effort from city lawns.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

~ William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

Whether or not a plant is considered a weed is a matter of perception.  Poet William Blake believed that ‘If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.’  Signs of innocence are close at hand but it’s up to us to open our eyes, take notice and try to understand them.  ’Everything that lives is holy’ and can bring us in touch with that which is infinite.  What positive things might happen today if we were willing to abandon our pre-conceived, limited notions of beauty and abundance?

Nature in its many forms possesses qualities that can connect us to this holy state.  From sandpipers on the ocean’s shore to doves on city streets, these signs of innocence are ready to give us a glimpse of the infinite and the eternal, if only we would adjust our focus.

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The Golden Days of Summer

Summer spills her golden days,
Upon the earth in lust displays.

~ Nora Bozeman

Warm August days bring forth blooms of a yellow color that weren’t noticeable on the landscape a few weeks ago.  These cheerful flowers have a golden glow that mimics the bright summer sun.

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are native to North America and are desirable in gardens for their bright color and quality of low-maintenance.  They’ve been used by native people to treat a variety of ailments from snake bites to earaches.   These yellow daisies  have a flat open design that is especially attractive to butterflies.

Evening-primroses (Onagraceae) open at sunset and close by noon the following day.  Also known as sun cups, they are pollinated by moths that fly from flower to flower during the night hours.  The young shoots of this plant can be eaten in a salad while the roots can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable.  Yet another name for this plant, King’s Cure-all, reveals its myriad medicinal uses, from pain-relief to cough suppression.

I haven’t had any luck identifying the plant with light yellow flowers shown above.  It grows profusely along the Salt Marsh Trail.  Does it look familiar to anyone?

Update August 6th:  I’ve discovered that this plant is most likely Sea Radish which is in the Mustard family (cruciferae).

Canada Hawkweed is also a native plant, found growing along roadsides and railway tracks.  Since the trail along the salt marsh follows the old Blueberry Express train track, it’s no surprise that it’s found along there.  Rough Hawkweed, which has hairier stems, grows in my lawn in early July.  Usually considered a weed, it derives its name from the old belief that it was eaten by hawks to improve their eyesight.

A few Golden Rod plants are in bloom along the Salt Marsh Trail but not yet in my yard.  Ever since I was a child, their blooming has been a sign for me that the summer was winding down. There are numerous varieties of this plant.  Larger ones have very rigid stalks and can grow several feet tall.

Take time this month to drink in the beauty around you.  If you don’t have a garden of your own, take an extra bit of time to enjoy the flowers growing freely along roadsides.  Enjoy these golden days because…

Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.

~ William Shakespeare

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Blooming Now

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.

~ Dale Carnegie

Wild roses are the only ones that grow in my yard.  The bushes are in full bloom at this point in the season, attracting bees and some years, providing a secure nesting place for Snowshoe Hares.

A vine of Nelly Moser Clematis clings to the south west corner of the house near the clothesline.  Their blooms are numerous and a pleasant greeting whenever I hang clothes out to dry.

Hollyhocks cover much of the west side of the house.  My grandfather had a similar arrangement of these flowers in the home where I grew up.  I used to help him water them every evening in the summer.  I tend to only water them when the tops of the stems curl down a little.  The singles are already in bloom and will soon be followed by double blooms of deep burgundy and peach.

Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men and animals.  Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident, others are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock.

~ Henry Ward Beecher

Jessica at The Magical Mundane has also written a post revealing what’s in bloom in her yard this week.  This is the time of year when many flowers are at their most luscious in the Northern Hemisphere.  What flowers are blooming in your yard today?

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