Miss Your Garden?

Take a walk in a local park or wilderness area.

I walk several days a week at Radnor Lake a Tennessee state park about 8 miles south of my house. Every day there's something new to see: marvelous sunrises, mist rolling off the water, colorful foliage, blooming wildflowers, snapping turtles, deer, ducks, birds and this morning

Canada Geese.

This winter if cabin fever sets in and you miss digging in the garden, put on your warmest clothes, your most comfortable walking shoes and head to the outdoors. I promise you an hour or two in a natural setting will lift your spirits, improve focused attention, reduce stress, and lower your blood pressure.*

You'll still miss your garden, but, you'll feel a lot better.

xoxogail

I've got the research behind that statement in case you wondered! Check out Richard Louv's work and here.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Owl Be Watching You...

Barred Owl (Strix varia) watching the forest floor at Radnor Lake

I always count myself lucky to see critters in their natural habitat, so, when my friends and I spotted the Barred Owl on our walk at Radnor lake earlier this week, I was really excited and pleased to get a few photos. (My Canon G12 does a good job most of the time, but, it does have a limited zoom).

 Mr/Ms Barred Owl was intently scanning the forest floor for breakfast. Poor critter those eyes are watching  for you.  I am fairly certain that had there not been a noisy audience of excited walkers, breakfast might have arrived sooner.  We surely scared away any small mammals, rabbits, birds, amphibians and reptiles that are their preferred foods.

Barred Owls are stocky, round-headed, medium-sized gray-brown owls with  no ear tufts and big dark eyes. The underparts are whitish with dark streaks, and the bill is dull yellow.  Sounds so-so,  but, they are beautiful creatures.

Radnor Lake,  with its forested bottom lands and wooded swamps offers all its resident critters the perfect hunting and nesting ground. It's a wonderful place to walk and experience wildlife up close and personal.  If you like birds, if you like waterfowl, if you want to catch otters at play, it's the place to walk.

full grown they have a 40" wingspan

Barred Owls are common residents in Middle Tennessee woodland, including  suburban neighborhoods where tracts of forest remain. Clay and Limestone 's garden and neighborhood fit the bill.  While the garden has a resident Great Horned Owl (hoo-hoo-hoo is their call), I've not seen or heard the the Barred Owl's "whooo cooks for you, whooo cooks for you" call.  I sure wish they were here, I love the idea of an owl hunting during the day and that's exactly what Barred Owls do...

So watch out chipmunks! I am recruiting owls for the garden!

xoxogail

**While not in my garden (dagnabbit), they are widespread in the eastern half of the United States and across central Canada to northern California. (Owl calls)

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone." She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Marvelous Marcescence or Love Those Lingering Leaves

Ostrya virginiana (American Hophornbeam)

Most deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn, but Oak (Quercus), Beech (Fagus), Hornbeam (Carpinus), Ostrya (Dancing Tree) and  Witch Hazel (Hamamelis)  are an exception.  They hold their leaves until spring when the new emerging leaves push them off.

come spring newly emerging leaves will push the old leaves off the tree

This holding onto leaves is referred to as marcescence and no one is absolutely sure why some trees hold onto their leaves while others don't.  It may be that it deters foraging of young buds and branches by deer (dead leaves are not tasty)  or it may aid in protecting the tree from water or temperature stress during the winter.

You might have seen them in a nearby woodland,  like these beeches along the trail at Percy Warner Park in Middle Tennessee.  I love seeing a 'grove' of them  marching down the hillside and  fluttering in the winter wind.

  Even on the grayest days they create depth in our other wise two dimensional winter woods.

They look especially beautiful back lit on a snowy winter's day. 

This morning I noticed this beautiful beech in full marvelous marcesence outside the Radnor Lake visitor center.

Early settlers used the springy beech leaves to stuff their mattresses 

The leaves still had streaks of  summer green and were dry, yet, springy to the touch.  Out of curiosity I tried to tug one of them from the branch; it would not budge.  I've noticed this same  springy quality to  the clinging leaves on my Dancing Tree (seen in first photo) and on several of the witch hazels in my garden. 

I love the  Dancing Tree's marvelous clinging leaves and  American Beech's leaves are so attractive that I will plant one  or two in my garden,  but, I wish the witch hazel,  Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane' did not hang so stubbornly to  her leaves.  Only once has 'Diane'  dropped her leaves before blooming and  that time it took several  arctic blasts to freeze dry the leaves right off her. Barring extreme winter weather,  there are two choices open to me.  I can accept the leaves or I can cut them off!  I haven't decided which it shall be.  But, if you're driving by this weekend and notice someone up on a ladder, that will be me, cutting away those marvelous marsescent leaves.

Last winter with marscecent leaves still clinging

A girl's gotta do what she's gotta do for beauty!

xxoogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone."