Wildflower Wednesday: Dirca palustris, An Underused/Underappreciated Woodland Beauty

Honestly, I was worried that there would be no flowers on Dirca palustris this year after the December flash freeze. Also, worrisome was a friend's loss of his decade old Leatherwood to a fungus. Long time readers know that I rushed outside to make sure the shrub was okay. Geez Louis, was I relieved that it was doing fine.

In case that has you wondering about  the shrub's hardiness, it's a very cold-hardy plant, being able to tolerate temperatures down to around -22°f when fully dormant. The flowers are produced in early spring, however, and are very likely to be damaged when the plant is grown in regions with late frosts. (source)

Despite my worry, it bloomed right on schedule.

Leatherwood does not burst into bloom. The small bell-shaped pale lemon-yellow flowers with their long bright yellow stamens bloom in clusters slowly open along the branches before the leaves emerge. 

It makes a lovely show for our mid south late and very brown winter (mid February).

Dirca palustris is an early blooming deciduous native shrub. It can be found in rich, moist, neutral soil in woodlands scattered (meaning uncommon) over much of eastern North America. The small yellow flowers first appear in mid February in my middle Tennessee garden and continue into early spring just in time for small bees to stop by for nectar and pollen.

small critter on flower

 If Lindera benzoin (Spicebush) is happy in your garden conditions, then you can grow Leatherwood.  They may be found near one another in woodlands and forest settings. I need to check when I walk at Radnor Lake to see if Leatherwood is growing near the Spicebush that is so happy there. 

 Leatherwood and Spicebush share similar characteristics:

• bloom time (might be more evident further north)
  
• yellow flower color
• leaf shape
• blooming in deep shade
• red fruit
• lovely yellow fall leaf color.

There are numerous documented medicinal uses of Dirca by Native Americans. Also both stems and leaves are made into fibers for paper, rope and basket making. (source) Here's a quote from  that explains why it was useful. "The stems of leatherwood have relatively little lignin and very light wood, so they are surprisingly flexible and have been used in cordage (rope-making) and basketry, notably by Native Americans, who also used it for sandals and to sew up bark canoes. American settlers used it as a withe — a strong, flexible twig used as a band to bind things together." (source)

 

I especially like this from Missouri Department of Conservation: Henry David Thoreau saw Leatherwood for the first time on September 7, 1853, and wrote about it in his journal: “I was much interested in this shrub, since it was the Indian’s rope. Frost said that the farmers of Vermont used it to tie up their fences. . . . I should think it would be worth the while for the farmers to cultivate [leatherwood] for this purpose. How often in the woods and fields we want a string or rope and cannot find one. This is the plant which Nature has made for this purpose. . . . I feel as if I had discovered a more indigenous plant than usual, it was so peculiarly useful to the aborigines.”

 

Source

 

My first plant was a gift from a good friend. I was thrilled to get it and planted it in a shady spot where the soil had been improved with fallen leaves. It's one of the few places in the garden where the soil doesn't turn to concrete in the heat of the summer. Phacelia bipinnatifida and Hydrophyllum macropyllum  have both seeded there. Consider planting Trout lilies, Virginia bluebells and other moisture and shade tolerant natives under your Leatherwood.

 

You won't find Dirca palustris at most garden centers, but don't despair! You can find this delightful little beauty at some native plant nurseries and online. Local gardeners can find in at Growild Nursery. It's also available online from Prairie Moon Nursery,  Missouri Wildflower Nursery, Broken Arrow Nursery and Mail Order Natives. I have ordered seeds and plants from several, but check out their reviews.

In the annals of underused/under appreciated native shrubs Leatherwood could be the poster child. I love this accurate quote from Dirr's:

"A great restrained, dapper, shade-loving shrub that simply cannot find its way out of the shadows into commerce."

It's always a shock to me that many of our lovely native perennials and shrubs receive relatively little attention in the nursery and landscape trade despite their many attractive features. Dirca palustris should be at every Independent Garden Center. Researchers suggests that its slow growth and the uncertainty about how well it might be be produced asexually has slowed industry interest.

I think that we wildflower/native plant aficionados could make a difference for these orphaned natives. We can start with requesting natives at our garden centers and we can stop purchasing the same old-same old exotics that don't add wildlife value to our gardens.

We must be the squeaky wheel for natives! 

xoxogail

 

The Particulars

Dirca palustris
Common Name: Leatherwood. lead-wood, moosewood, ropebark

Origin of common name: According to several sources the common name refers to the soft leathery, pliable, yet still very strong stems that are flexible enough to be tied into a knot and not break. The bark is fibrous and can be peeled off in strips and woven into twine.
Type: Deciduous shrub, a forest understory beauty
Family: Thymelaeaceae (Daphnes are also in this family)
Native Range: Eastern North America (Source)

Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 4.00 to 8.00 feet
Spread: 4.00 to 6.00 feet
Bloom Time: March to April (February in my middle Tennessee garden)
Bloom: Pale lemon yellow with bright yellow stamens

Leaf: Elliptic to obovate leaves (to 3-4" long) emerge yellow-green in spring, mature to medium green in summer and turn a pleasant bright yellow in fall.
Bark: Leathery with extremely pliable twigs
Sun: Part shade to full shade. This is an extremely shade tolerant shrub.
Water: Medium
Soil: Neutral, calcareous and acid soils. Moisture may be more important than the soil.
Pollination: The flowers have both male and female organs and are pollinated by insects.
Propagation: Seed dispersing birds and mammals (frugivorous)
Faunal associations: Small to medium sized bees: little carpenter bees (Ceratina spp.), cuckoo bees (Nomada cuneata), mason bees (Osmia lignaria), Halictid bees (Augochlora pura, Lasioglossum spp.), plasterer bees (Colletes inaequalis), and Andrenid bees (Andrena rugosa).Source: Illinois Wildflowers
Maintenance: Low, if planted in the right spot otherwise keep soil moist
Interesting notes: Often found growing near Spicebush. Contact with the bark of Dirca palustris has been know to cause dermatitis; redness and blistering in some people.
Suggested Use: Woodland garden, specimen plant
Deer and bunnies seem to avoid it, possibly toxic.

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. I am so glad you stopped by. WW is about sharing and celebrating our native wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave your url when you comment. I love your comments, so thank you for leaving them.

 

Don't forget our Wildflower Wednesday monthly challenge! 

The first part of this challenge is to do something every month during 2023 and beyond that supports native wildflowers, pollinators, and the critters that visit and rely on our gardens. Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals that live all around us. 

Why now?  My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees that have been there for over 75 years are cut down. In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, and dandelions that grew so well in the shallow soil that sits on top of limestone bedrock are sodded non-native lawns that get daily watering, whether it rains or not. Gone are the lightening bugs. Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees. Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. Gone is plant diversity. Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects. Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. It breaks my heart. We can't stop the multi-million dollar houses from going up, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters.

A gardener can hope!

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, but don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs'. They're also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: Observe visitors to the water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program, Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program)

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

 

Visit

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.

2015 Wildflower Wednesday Roundup

Welcome to the 2015 Wildflower Wednesday Roundup! 

Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers no matter where you garden~the USA, the UK, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. I hope you join the celebration...It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!

Without further ado, here are the best and brightest of Clay and Limestone's 2015 wildflowers.

January: Crossvine

 Bignonia capreolata is a vigorous, vine that climbs by branched tendrils and has attractive trumpet shaped flowers in early spring and summer. In my neck of the woods, it is more often seen scrambling 30 to 50 feet up the trunk of a canopy tree on its way to the top and sunshine. You might not notice it during the summer, it has deep green leaves that get lost, but, if you see a trumpet shaped flower lying on a path~stop and look up, the flowers will be blooming at the top of the tree. blooms in the early summer at the tops of the trees in my garden.

It  has much to show for itself all winter long when the evergreen leaves take on a reddish to deep burgundy hue that brightens up a mostly brown winter garden.

 February: 5th anniversary for Wildflower Wednesday

It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed since the first Wildflower Wednesday meme post. I want to thank each of you for joining me on my continuing journey to create the best wildlife garden possible and for sharing your posts with me. At first I wasn't sure what I wanted to do to celebrate this special anniversary and then it occurred to me that I could share that first official Wildflower Wednesday post with some updated text and photos. So that's what I've done.

 March: Spicebush
 Lindera benzoin is one of the earliest blooming trees in my garden. I love how the sulphur yellow flowers  light up the dark corners of the woodland. It's a wonderful small understory tree and you'll find it on my list of perfect native plants. Lindera benzoin ought to be in more gardens. It's easy to care for, good looking and has great wildlife value...Don't go looking for fancy cultivars, as far as I know there are none. Seriously, a tree like this doesn't need to be "improved", it's already perfect!

April: Dogwood

Flowering dogwood is the most popular understory tree in my part of the gardening world! I have several in my front garden and my favorite grows in the shade of a Bur oak and several Shagbark hickories. It has the most appealing and graceful tiered and horizontal branching and the lower limbs tickle the Golden ragwort and Mayapples growing beneath it. If you're going to add one to your garden don't plant it in the middle of the lawn, instead, plant them in the shade of a taller canopy tree to give them the dappled light they prefer. Let those lower limbs alone and smother the lawn with newspapers covered with decomposing leaves (or pinestraw). Then plant spring ephemerals and other shade loving wildflowers. Voila, just like that, you have a woodland wildflower garden. All from one understory tree!

May: Goat's Rue

It's Tephrosia virginiana also known as Goat's Rue and it's our Wildflower Wednesday star of the month. It has fuchsia pink, creamy white and yellow blooms that resemble sweet peas and are striking against the silvery stems and leaves. I am delighted and surprised that it is blooming in my garden. It is said to prefer sandy, loamy, acidic soil and as you all know that is no where near a good description of the soil at Clay and Limestone! It's been  growing nicely for the last two years on the rocky edge of the Susan's Garden and the asphalt driveway. A taprooted plant, it's anchored itself firmly into the ground, so I must be doing something right to make this beauty happy!

June: Embrace imperfection!

When you commit to a pesticide free garden you have to be prepared for chewed on petals and foliage. Are you ready to embrace imperfection? You won't be sorry when you do. Bees, butterflies, skippers, beetles and hoverflies will move into your garden. It will be alive with critters. Your garden will not be magazine perfect, but, pollinators don't care if your flower petals are chewed on. Pollinators need flowers bursting with pollen and nectar. Your garden will be teeming with life. Spiders will build webs, the beneficial insects will keep aphids in check, pollinators will pollinate and, birds will hunt the insects.

It will be a beautiful imperfect garden, just as it's supposed to be.

 July: Summer Phlox

I count on the different species of Phlox for several seasons of delightful color starting in early spring. The first Phloxes in this garden were here when I arrived. They were the offspring of whatever the previous gardeners might have planted 30+ years ago and were all wonderful magenta flowered beauties. The offspring of the offspring are still here and after years of letting species and cultivars go to seed, real treasures have been produced in the crossings of the crossings.

Butterflies, moths (including Hummingbird and Sphinx moths) and skippers are the primary pollinators of phlox. Their proboscis are long enough to reach the nectar at the base of the narrow phlox corolla and pollen is carried to the next flower.

Phlox has all the characteristics of a classic butterfly nectar flower.

• clustered flowers with a landing platform
• brightly colored
• open during the day
• ample nectar producer 
• nectar deeply hidden in corolla

I decide every year to plan more Phloxes! This summer I did!

 August: A cool, cool season native grass lesson

I love my cool season grasses, especially Danthonia spicata. They're the first grasses to green up and by the time the warm season grasses are knee high they've begun to set seed! It's a puzzle to me why they're still overlooked, underestimated, unappreciated and in some cases still unknown. On the whole they're easy peasy plants that would grow well in many of our garden settings.

Most cool season grasses don't make as big a show as our handsome warm season native grasses, but, they play an important ecological role in plant communities by providing food (forage and seed) and cover early in the growing season when most other plants are just waking up! That's a lot of coolness!

 September: Autumn Equinox in Flower

I wasn't sure which of the glorious wildflowers of the Autumn Equinox to showcase for Wildflower Wednesday! September has a number of beauties! Salvia azurea was first! Pitcher sage is not only beautiful, it's a favorite of bees. The bumbles are the primary pollinator of this Salvia~they fit perfectly into the lipped flowers. The Carpenter bee, although another frequent visitor, is not a pollinator. It's too large, instead it slits open the corolla and robs the nectar while avoiding contact with the pollen. The stinkers!

Occasionally, butterflies visit, but, I've not captured any photos this year...It's a sweet flower that's native to North Carolina south to Florida; west to Texas; north to Nebraska and Minnesota. It's happy in full sun or partial sun as long as it gets good drainage.


October: Rhus aromatica

 The species Fragrant sumac is a woody plant that can grow 6 to 12 feet. That's entirely too large for my garden (and most of yours), so I planted 'Gro-Low'. It was selected by growers for its dwarf habit, making it very attractive for my garden. It will grow in poor, dry soil in full sun or deep shade. It requires only good drainage. At two to three feet tall and with a 4 foot spread it's a delightful groundcover under my Rusty Blackhaw. The spreading branches root where they touch the ground and that helps it form a dense weed suppressing mat.

Leaves and twigs are aromatic when bruised giving rise to its name~Fragrant sumac. The smaller leaves do have a slight resemblance to those of its relative poison ivy (Rhus radicans), however this fragrant sumac is a totally non-poisonous plant.

It blooms in spring and the nectar and pollen attract small bees, flies and even some larger carpenter bees.   Small clusters of hairy, red berries which may persist into winter replace the female flowers. The ripe fruits are a treat for birds and small mammals.


November: Thankful for wildflowers and you

I am thankful for wildflowers. They have brought me so much joy. When I stop and think about it I have wildflowers to thank for helping me gain new knowledge, for great adventures and for meeting new people. Without wildflowers I wouldn't have met my first garden mentor, Paul Moore. I wouldn't know Mike Berkley and Terri Barnes of GroWild. Without wildflowers I might not have been drawn to the Tennessee Naturalist Program or volunteered at Owl's Hill.

Wildflowers led me to blogging and searching the internet to learn all I could about native plants. That's when I stumbled upon Pam Penick's blog Digging and read about Garden Bloggers Fling. I've gone to many Flings and met bloggers who have become some of my dearest friends~I cannot mention everyone for fear I will forget some. I count myself fortunate indeed to have made friends with folks from all over this country,  Canada and the UK....Some of them are even as wild about wildflowers as I am.

My love for wildflowers opened my eyes to pollinators and their importance to our gardens, to agriculture and to the earth. I came to love wildflowers so much that I wanted others to appreciate them. That's why I started the Wildflower Wednesday monthly meme.

Which brings me to today's Wildflower Wednesday post about thankfulness.

I want to thank the best ever group of bloggers who join me on the fourth Wednesday of each month to celebrate wildflowers from all over this great big beautiful world. Diana, Donna, Rose, Sue, Alison, Janet, Kathy, Lea, Carol, Cindy, Ann, Dee, Frances, Hannah, Greggo, Aaron, Jason, Shirley and Beth, you are all the very best.* I am honored that you join me as often as you can. Thank you for caring about wildflowers, for taking the time to share your gardens and your knowledge with all of us. You rock.

My dear friends, Thank you for planting more wildflowers. Thank you for taking care of the bees and all the other pollinators that visit and live in your gardens. Thank you for tolerating what others consider pesky wildlife. Thank you for another year of your friendship, visits, comments and for joining me in celebrating wildflowers all over this great big wonderful world. 

You are the best and having you in my life has enriched it beyond measure.
See you next year!
xoxogail


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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Spicebush

Lindera benzoin is one of the earliest blooming trees in my garden. I love how the sulphur yellow flowers  light up the dark corners of the woodland. It's a wonderful small understory tree and you'll find it on my list of perfect native plants that ought to be in more gardens.

What makes it a perfect plant?

It's easy peasy to grow. Spicebush's ideal habitat is a moist woodland with fertile, leaf covered soil in partial shade. You're more likely to see Spicebush growing in wooded bottom lands, low swamps, and also along streams in Eastern North America. But, don't let all the talk of moisture scare you off! Plant it in dappled shade, in good fertile soil that isn't xeric, mulch with leaf mold and it will flourish. Well established trees adjust to periods of drought in my garden just fine.

Spicebush near the Radnor Lake Visitor center

It's a good looking tree. Spicebush in bloom is especially lovely when the rest of your garden or the woodland is still brown. It's bright yellow flowers glow in the shade. Once the bloom is over the tree settles into its role as a host plant (see below). Come fall, Spicebush kicks back into gorgeousness when the leaves turn bright yellow.

You can't beat those bright yellow leaves

It has great wildlife value. The flowers are cross-pollinated by small bees, wasps, beetles and flies.

Early spring bloom draws a host of pollinator visitors

If pollinated the female plants form oval green drupes that ripen to a brilliant red in the fall and are eaten by dozens of different species of birds and small mammals. The drupes are high in the lipids and fats that migrating birds need to fuel their migration.~and not like the nutritionally worthless bush honeysuckles that have taken over our Middle Tennessee parks!

sexing the flowers~don't google that or you'll be in trouble!

Honestly, I had no drupes on my lone tree. Spicebush is "dioecious" which means that there are separate male and female plants, so, I planted two more last spring.

From MOBOT

Let's hope that there is at least one male and female in the trio so those beautiful oval red drupes adorn the tree in September and make the birds and small mammals happy!

To continue shining the light on it's wildlife value, Lindera benzoin is the host plant for Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly. I love when she stops by the garden! I love all the butterflies that visit, but this one is striking. It has a black body dotted with white and shiny blue or green wings, with blue between two rows of orange spots on the underside of the hind wings and the colors on the upper side of the hind wings have one row of white spots.

To summarize, Lindera benzoin ought to be in more gardens. It's easy to care for, good looking and has great wildlife value...Don't go looking for fancy cultivars, as far as I know there are none. Seriously, a tree like this doesn't need to be "improved", it's already perfect!

Happy Wildflower Wednesday.
gailxoxo

The Particulars:
Common Name: spicebush
Deciduous shrub in the Laurel family
Native Range: Eastern United States (including Texas)
Zone: 4 to 9
Size:  6.00 to 12.00 feet tall by  6.00 to 12.00 feet wide (so far much smaller in my garden)
Blooms in March in Middle Tennessee
Flowers are a greenish yellow and the golden yellow fall coloring is outstanding
Will grow in full sun to part shade. I think it's happiest in dappled sun unless the soil is always moist.
Can tolerate deer, drought, heavy shade, clay soil~In other words it's happy at Clay and Limestone!

Thank you for stopping by and welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.



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.

Wish you were here to celebrate the sun with me

It was a lovely weekend and I wish you had been here to see the golden color that is the hallmark of our autumn.

I love this time of year when the colors are bold and glowing, the air is cooler and sun shines every day.

For the first time in months the garden is brightly lit from above and from within.

 Once upon a time this woodland shade garden was sunnier, of course, it was never a full sun garden, but more light was able to reach the understory and daffodils and tulips would bloom in the spring. I love the spring ephemerals, the woodland wildflowers and the understory shrubs and trees, but, I long for the sun when the trees leaf out in late spring. 

Hamamelis 'Diane, Ex-Asters, Cotinus 'Grace' and various Amsonias

I used to dread the falling leaves because it meant hours of back breaking raking and mulching and the inevitable arrival of our grey winter, but, now I appreciate the open canopy that lets the sun reach into my garden again.

Spicebush/Lindera benzoin, Hydrangea arborescens 'Ryan Gainey' and a Japanese Maple

Just on schedule the leaves are falling, the canopy is opening and the sun is spot lighting plants with its brilliance.

Rhus aromatica 'Gro Low'

My favorite (you do know that they are all my favorites, right?) perennials, shrubs and small trees take center stage in the fall sunlight.

 Porteranthus stipulata has a small footprint, but what it lacks in size is more than made up for in its brilliant golden fall color.

The lantern was a gift from Frances of Fairegarden

One of my favorite groupings~Panicum virgatum, Aronia arbutifolia, Physocarpus opulifolius 'Little Devil', Itea 'Henry's Garnet', Juniperus virginica 'Grey Owl',  and Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'.

Cornus florida is a mixture of gold, orange and red~It's covered with buds~I love this promise of spring as we move towards winter.

 Did you know that Phlox paniculata had this marvelous fall coloring?

Ostrya virginiana the Dancing Tree

Or that a tree could dance in the breeze?

Last, but not least, is Amsonia hubrechtii, not new to the garden, but new to this spot. They're planted beneath Viburnum rufidulum along with Clethra Sugartina Crystalina™,  Penstemon 'Husker Red' and for leaf texture and color, Hosta 'Gaucamole'.  If you want to see what Amsonias can do after they lose their color see my post Amsonias, After The Fall.

Lucky for me and the visiting critters the very best Ex-aster just begun to bloom! I can continue to enjoy and celebrate the sun, the flowers and the critters until we have a serious frost and even then there still might be color in my garden.

xoxogail

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.

A Spicy Yellow Fall

My husband says I live through my nose and there is great truth to that! The garden plants that I am attracted to and those that hold the most memory for me have fragrance. Lavender, Viburnums, Monarda, Star Gazer Lilies, Moon Flower Vine and Lilacs are just a few of the flowering plants I like to have growing around me. Recently, another small tree was added to the woodland garden near the front porch. It promises to bring even more fragrance into the late winter or early spring garden. Spicebush or Lindera benzoin. It's now beautifully cloaked in it's fall yellow colors. The twigs, leaves, flowers and berries all have a delicious spicy fragrance. Just crush a leaf to release the scent. It is a host plant for the Spicebush Butterflies larval stage...the Spicebush caterpillar. A rather curious looking creature with wonderful faux eyes! The Spicebush Butterfly is a beautiful visitor that you will be glad has moved into your garden. Spicebush is a lovely little tree year round. But it really shines twice a year. In late winter or early spring, small sulphur yellow flowers open up along it's twigs and branches. If you enlarge this photo you can see the buds. I refer to them as the promise of spring! Then it shines again each fall when it is covered in these beautiful yellow leaves. Someday this little tree will produce beautiful glossy red berries that are food for about 24 species of birds, including thrushes, catbirds and the red-eyed vireo.

It has a lovely shape and look. It isn't a twiggy tree, but sinuous with horizontal branching that will only get better with age. Like so many other plants I love, the Spicebush prefers a loamy soil, a bit on the moist side and a tad acidic. (So it will get babied here were we have nearly neutral, dry clay soil!) It has a deep root system that makes it hard to transplant; so site it carefully. An eastern US native, from the Laurel family; it happily grows in zones 4 to 8. Expect it to remain small, around 3 to 10 feet tall in many gardens. It's too bad so many of our charming native trees are under planted and under appreciated. Because of that, it might be difficult to locate them at a local nursery. I found mine at our botanical garden's annual wildflower fair. You may have to seek out native nurseries on the internet. But, if you live through your nose like I do, it will be worth the effort! Gail I am going to visit Frances at Fairgardens. I won't have my computer, but will check in from time to time to say hello to you all! I will be thinking about you as we talk plants, gardens and blogging. I expect to regale you with our adventures. We always have fun together!