Wildflower Wednesday: Winter Blooming Witch Hazel

Hamamelis vernalis is a lovely native shrub/small tree that blooms when you have just about given up hope that winter will end and warmth will return to the world...In my Middle Tennessee garden it often begins blooming in early to mid January and it's not unusual for it to continue blooming into February and sometimes March.

Petals furled and unfurled

Ozark witch hazel's flowers are an unusual reddish color with four yellow/orange crepe paper streaming petals that unfurl as the day warms and furl back up when the temperature drops. This is a marvelous adaptive behavior that insures that the spidery blooms will survive the fluctuating winter weather and be in bloom for almost two months.

On a 50˚ day they perfume the air

They perfume the garden with their sweet clove vanilla scent on warm days. I planted them for the earliest visiting pollinators and for that unforgettable fragrance. Once you smell them, you will, want them in your garden, too.

I think they're spectacular in my mostly brown winter garden and I planted one along the front walkway so visitors can enjoy the blooms and their sweet scent.

Just before they burst open

It's no accident that most winter blooming plants have some fragrance...Nature had to insure that insect pollinators could easily find their way to a plant that blooms when most of the garden is fast asleep. I've seen honeybees in the garden on days where the temperatures are above 50˚, but, have only seen small gnats and flies visiting these beautiful fragrant flowers!

Witch hazels are indeed insect pollinated flowers, just check these clues out: They have long, bright-yellow petals, sweet smelling nectar and their stamens (pollen-bearing male bits) are right next to the nectar source. But, how you wonder is insect pollination possible in mid winter? Bernd Heinrich discovered that winter moths are responsible for pollinating witch hazels. These owlet moths have a remarkable ability to heat themselves by using energy to shiver, raising their body temperatures by as much as 50 degrees in order to fly in search of food.  (source). 

Nature and its critters are amazing!

The flowers are deep to bright red, rarely yellow, with four ribbon-shaped petals 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long and four short stamens, and grow in clusters

Long time readers know I have garden guidelines that I strive to follow. Simply stated I like to plant a mixture of Central Basin natives that have good to excellent wildlife value and that provide bloom as close to year round as is possible in a middle south garden. I have occasionally pushed the envelope and planted perennials and shrubs that are native to adjacent states or that grow in conditions similar  to Clay and Limestone*.  I pushed that envelope when I decided to plant Hamamelis vernalis/Ozark witch-hazel. It is not native to any where in Tennessee. It's found growing in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri. I planted them for the earliest visiting pollinators and for its delightful perfume. It's happy in the garden, it gets fertilized by visiting critters and that makes me happy.

That's my story and I am sticking to it!

If you want to grow this Central South/Southern native shrub just give it a partially shady location with good morning sun, moist acid soil. It tolerates Clay and Limestone's more neutral soil, so, I am pretty sure you can have success with it, too. It has great fall color, attracts pollinators, and blooms for two months. Mine are species but, there are marvelous cultivars if you are so inclined!

The Particulars

Hamamelis vernalis
Common Name: Ozark witch hazel
Family: Hamamelidaceae
Type: Deciduous shrub  or small tree
Native Range: Southern and central United States in rocky stream banks, in moist open woodlands.
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 6.00 to 10.00 feet
Spread: 8.00 to 15.00 feet
Bloom Time: January to April
Bloom Description: Yellow with red inner calyx
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium, consistently moist. NOT drought tolerant
Maintenance: Low, does not need to be pruned
Suggested Use: Rain Garden, along creek banks,
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Leaf: Good Fall color
Usage: Please plant them where you will be sure to appreciate them during the winter months. They can colonize and would make an effective screen along property boundary.  Use in mixed border or as a specimen.

Wildlife value: Habitat value for insects and for birds that come to nest in their branches. The seeds and flowers are eaten by turkey and ruffed grouse.

Comments: An important medicinal plant for many native American tribes. Twigs, leaves and bark are the basis of witch hazel extract.
Tolerate: Deer, Erosion, Clay Soil 

I love that not only does Hamamelis vernalis flower for months, it has a lovely fragrance. How clever of Mother Nature to give winter bloomers that something special to insure that moths, a little fly, gnat or bee will follow the scent and pollinate the flower.
xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. It doesn't matter if they're in bloom (think winter sharing), how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.


*If you're new to C and L, my garden is a Central Basin woodland (there are some sunny areas) with dryer, heavier, shallow and neutral clay soil. I've unearthed enough limestone rocks to build several small walls and there's still more. Not too far below my plants is a thick layer of Ordovician limestone that makes for challenging gardening experiences. The native plants I've chosen are adapted to the environment and conditions at Clay and Limestone and provide food, nesting and/or shelter for mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. Humans seem to appreciate it, too.



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.

It's time for Burning Bush to be extinguished.

This beautiful red leaved shrub is not a Burning Bush, it's Hypericum frondosum and it will take care of your late fall/early winter color needs while being a wildlife friendly shrub.

Hypericum frondosum

Euonymus alatus, known as winged spindle, winged Euonymus or burning bush, is a species of flowering plant that's neither native nor wildlife worthy.

Brilliant red late fall/early winter color on Hypericum frondosum

Whenever a friend waxes poetically about the fall beauty of Burning Bush, I agree with them that it does have lovely fall color, then, use the opportunity to gently educate that not all plants sold in local nurseries (Dear Nursery Owners) or seen in our neighbors' yards are native or good for the ecosystem. 

I tell them "the problem with Burning bush shrubs and some non-natives is how easily they can become invasive. Birds eat the seeds and then poop them in woodlands, forests and neighboring yards; once established they can sucker (spread from roots) like crazy creating a dense thicket that out competes natives."

Education is one of the best tools we have to encourage neighbors and friends to avoid invasives and plant more natives. Sometimes, they listen and for that I am grateful.

 The Hypercolored Hypericums in my garden in mid-December have wowed many a gardener away from Burning Bush.

It isn't just a one season wonder like Burning Bush. Add pollen rich golden flowers that are a magnet for pollinators, blue-green summer foliage, reddish-brown seed heads, exfoliating winter bark, excellent wildlife value to its fall hypercolored show  and you have a year round beauty.

If you haven't already extinguished Burning Bush from your garden, now is a good time to plant critter friendly shrubs like Hypericum frondosum. But, you don't have to take my word for it, let my garden do the talking, you're welcome to stop by to check it out!

When the deepest freeze finally ends its blazing glory, this is what I see most of the winter.

xoxogail 

PS Other natives that make wonderful alternatives to BB are: Oakleaf hydrangea/Hydrangea quercifolia, Arrowwood Viburnum/Viburnum dentatum, Virginia sweetspire/Itea virginica,  blueberry/Vacciniums, witch-alder/Fothergilla gardenii.


Thanks for stopping by, now pop over to May Dreams Gardens  to see other Garden Blogger Bloom Day posts! After that stop by Pam/Digging for Foliage Followup.


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.

Must have fall blooming supportive players for my wildlife friendly garden

Dear friends,

The plants in my garden need to be more than just pretty faces. These three non-natives provide much needed nectar and/or pollen in mid/late fall when many native plants have gone to seed. My garden continues to be mostly native, but I believe that adding pollen and nectar rich non-natives enhances a pollinator habitat. Our growing season is long; bees that are provisioning their nests for the winter and migrating butterflies and hummingbirds need the extra blooms that they bring to the garden.

They also have very pretty faces.

xoxogail

Of course, you all know that the very best thing you can do for bees and other pollinators is to never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides! 

 For long bloom and a fantastic pollinator buffet, plant African Blue Basil. 

 It's a sensory treat of pretty flowers, buzzing bees and fragrance all summer long.

It's a tender perennial and blooms non-stop...Well, until a freeze stops it. It's not an easy plant to find, but, worth the trouble to locate it.

Ocimum kilimandscharicum x basilicum 'Dark Opal'

 The leaves of African blue basil are purple when young and folks claim that it makes a wonderful pesto! I'll never know because I am growing this beauty for the bees.

Oh my gosh, is this ever a buffet for bees of all sizes.

Family: Lamiaceae 
Cultivar: Ocimum kilimandscharicum x basilicum “Dark Opal”
Type: Tender perennial
Hardiness Zone:  9-11
Height: 2 feet in my garden
Spread:  2 feet 
Color:  Purple leaves. Whitish/pinkish flowers
Bloom: non-stop summer until frost
Comments: It's sterile and never sets seed, so I will take cuttings and hope they make it through the winter. It's taller than most basil plants and if that bothers you, pinch the tips and it will remain shorter and fuller. This should be in every pollinator garden...It's blooming now and has been for months.



Another must have for my garden is the late blooming Pineapple sage.

This fabulous native of South America blooms in early fall just when the garden needs a jolt of delicious red and the hummers moving south need nectar to fuel their flight. 

The Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae nectaring on Salvia elegans

Salvia elegans is another culinary plant that I haven't brought to the table! I can't imagine picking the flowers (even if they are said to be tasty in a salad) after waiting all summer for them to bloom. Once they bloom the Cloudless Sulphurs are all over them. That's one reason they're in my garden. The other one is that they are attractive to hummingbirds and are blooming when they migrate through middle Tennessee.

I think of Pineapple sage as a hummingbird and butterfly plant and was surprised to see this bee nectaring.

Pineapple sage are fast growing, but slow to bloom. I tuck them into the Susans Bed and patiently wait for the fall show. The 3 inch plants I planted in spring are 3 foot tall and 2 foot wide with bright green leaves that are a foil for the scarlet red flowers. In a sunnier garden with moist soil they can reach sub-shrub size. This season there have been butterfly, hummers and bees nectaring on the scarlet blooms.

Critters beware! A Crab spider is lurking.

Family: Lamiaceae
Genus/species: Salvia elegans
Common Name: pineapple sage
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Zone zones 8 to 10
Height: 3.00 to 4.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: August to October
Color: Red
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Comments: An easy peasy plant for middle south and southern gardens. Folks gardening further north might have to move it inside to appreciate the bloom. They may bloom too late for hummers, but, you can enjoy the beauty and add the flowers to your salads. I have been known to cover them when a frost is forecast and warm weather is expected to return.  
Attracts: Hummingbirds, Butterflies and bees


Salvia x 'Mystic Spires' is a third must have supportive player for my wildlife friendly garden.

Bombus pennsylvanicus is my guess, but it is only a guess!

This is a stunning blue flower that looked wonderful with the Golden Asters that bloomed in September. I don't plant this in the garden, but into containers that I strategically place in the garden.  The nectar rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators including hummingbirds, butterflies, and a variety of bees, but especially bumblebees in my garden.

A month of 90+ weather didn't stop 'Mystic Spires' from flowering. I expect it to flower until we have a freeze. You can be sure I will cover this one if warm weather is forecast to follow a freeze or frost!  I am hoping it will overwinter, because this is a fantastic plant for a critter friendly garden. 

Family: Lamiaceae

Salvia x 'Mystic Spires'
No common name
Parentage: (S. longispicata and S. farinacea)
Type: Perennial in zones 7b to 10b
Height 3 ft. to 6 ft.
Spread 1 ft. to 3 ft.
Light Full Sun
Bloom: Early Summer, Late Summer, Summer
Color: Deep blue, incredibly showy
Comments: Is happy in a container. Might overwinter if winter drainage is good in  Zone 7. If it looks scraggly or needs to be refreshed, just cut it back, more blooms will follow.
Wildlife: Attracts Butterflies, Bees,  Hummingbirds


PS  Now make this garden blogger smile and pop over to May Dreams Gardens, where our delightful hostess, Carol, has set up the Mr Linky magic carpet ride to take you to more Bloom Day posts than you can imagine.

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: Keeper of Bees

I am a keeper of bees, but, not a beekeeper.

There are no honeybee hives in my garden, although, honeybees regularly visit. Several neighbors have hives and I like to think their honey is Clay and Limestone tasty.

I am the keeper of this habitat called Clay and Limestone. It's become my life's work.

Providing a healthy habitat for native bees and other pollinators has been important to me since the Autumn day I noticed that the garden was filled with buzzing critters. They were nectaring on the ex-asters that lived on the edges of the yard tucked under the shrubs. I had forgotten all about them while I struggled to grow plants that made no sense for this shallow soil.

The plants were alive with activity, there were tiny bees of many kinds, flies that looked like bees and wasps, and bumbles of every size. It was a native plant wake up call and it didn't take me long to fall head over heals for the critters and the wildflowers that brought them to the garden.

You could easily say that wildflowers opened my eyes to all the critters that live in and visit this garden.

I noticed which plants they nectared on, which plants they needed for raising their young, and, which plants had nuts, fruits and berries for the birds and small mammals. I planted as many as I could pry into the shallow soil.

Once you have a garden filled with native plants, you can't help but notice that there's always something happening. Birds are bathing or drinking at the baths; spiders are building webs to collect unsuspecting insects; beetles are mating; and, the bees are everywhere.

I enjoy all the critters (okay, I am not too crazy about the voles, they keep eating my favorite plants) but, the pollinators, especially the bees, have a special place in my heart.

Pollinators are active as soon as there are blooming flowers. Here that means small flies will be buzzing around the late winter blooming witch hazels in January. It gets busier when the spring ephemerals bloom and the mason bees and honeybees arrive. From then on, bumbles, green metallic bees, mason bees, big and tiny carpenter bees, sweat bees, flower flies, beetles, moths, butterflies and skippers are busy visiting anything that offers nectar and/or pollen. But, come fall, the rush to get ready for winter ramps up the activity and the little ex-asters, which are some of the last natives blooming in this garden, are covered with every kind of pollinating creature.

Autumn is a delightfully magic time.

You can be a keeper of native bees and other pollinating critters, it's not difficult at all. 

The Golden Rules for a pollinator friendly garden

*Choose plants that make sense for your garden, then plant lots and lots of them. Plant at least three of each plant, more if you have the space! Many bees practice flower constancy, working one flower type at a time, so give them a swath of these plants to visit. Make sure the plants are nectar and/or pollen rich with good wildlife value. (Central Basin natives make sense in a Middle Tennessee garden)

*Plant host plants~don't stop at nectar and pollen plants.  A healthy garden is diverse, so plan for all the critters that live or visit. The Monarch butterfly is a great example of a pollinator that needs a specific plant, in this case milkweeds, in order to reproduce and live in your garden. Some bees have plant preferences, but most are generalists and are happy visiting any flowers.

*Avoid hybrid strains with 'doubled' flowers, they often lack pollen, fragrance and nectar as a result of the hybridization. A good way to check a flower out before you bring it home is to observe it for any pollinator visitors while shopping at the nursery. I stay away from pretty flowers that have no visitors and stock up on those that are pollinator hotels!

 *Plan for bloom from late spring to early winter.  Since bees are most active from February to November (longer in mild climates) late winter blooming Hamamelis vernalis and the earliest spring ephemerals (like the toothworts, hepaticas, spring beauties and False rue-anemone) are perfect plants for a variety of pollinators.

*Bee sure to include water.  Shallow birdbaths, mud puddles or even just a small saucer with sand and rocks helps supply pollinators with the necessary water and minerals they need when ever they are out and about, but, especially in the long, hot, dry summers that many of us are experiencing.

*Provide nesting sites for a variety of visitors.  Leave a three foot square of bare soil for ground nesting bees and ix-nay on the plastic landscape cloth~bees cannot tunnel through it. Leave decaying logs for beetles and tunneling bees. Build or purchase specialized bee houses. Trust me, building your own Pollinator Condo is a fun project!

*Wait until spring to clean up your garden. Get over thinking that fall means garden clean up time~spring cleaning makes sense! I leave dried flower stalks and grasses standing all winter for hibernating insects. Did you know that many beneficial insects overwinter in decaying leaves and in plant stalks? The one exception is summer phlox~I always cut down and dispose the stalks in the trash to keep the phlox bug from over wintering and decimating the plant the next season.

*Practice peaceful coexistence. Bees sometimes choose to nest in inconvenient places. Rather than exterminating them, think of it as an opportunity to watch and learn about them up close.

As a gardenblogger, I  consider educating others about native bees to be an important job. If you want to help, here's a few things you can do.

Share your knowledge through your blog.
Talk to your gardening friends.
Invite native plant experts and ecologists to speak to your garden clubs.
Request pesticide free plants at garden centers and/or refuse to shop at nurseries that can't or won't acknowledge whether or not their plants are treated with pesticides that are known to be harmful to pollinators.
Plant more native plants.

*Of course, you all know that the very best thing you can do for bees and other pollinators is to never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides! 

xoxogail



Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday and thank you for stopping by to see the native ex-asters and their happy pollinator visitors. October is the best time to see clouds of lilac blue flowers in my garden and I have been thrilled to see that they have been blooming and attracting pollinators despite the drought that has been a challenge most of the summer and fall. It seemed only right to share all those lovely flower faces and the pollinator visitors with you for October's WW post. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I have enjoyed writing it and finding the best photos to illustrate my points! You have seen some of the photos from previous seasons, but, the critters and stellar flowers are in the garden today.

Symphyotrichum is a genus of about 90 species of herbaceous annual and perennial plants that were formerly treated within the genus Aster, but, are now known officially at Clay and Limestone as the ex-asters.  

The ex-asters* in my garden, Symphyotrichum shortii, S cordifolium, S laeve var. laeve, S  novae-angliae, S oblongifolium, S patens, S pilosum, S praealtum, S priceae are all endemic to Middle Tennessee and grow and thrive in the  clay soil and semi-shady to almost full sun conditions of my Zone7 garden (formerly Zone6b). Symphyotrichums are found all over North America and there are many that will grow in your garden.

Many kinds of insects, especially long-tongued bees, small-tongued bees, butterflies, skippers, and flies are attracted to the pollen and nectar of ex-asters and several bees are known to specialize on them. I was excited to learn that the cats of the Silvery Checkerspot and Pearl Crescent feed on the foliage. One can conclude from the long list of critters that feed on all parts of ex-Asters that they have good wildlife value! (Illinois Wildflowers) *Not all of the ex-asters named are shown in this post.


Thanks for joining in and if you are new to Wildflower Wednesday, it's 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 your wildflower is in bloom or not and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. 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.

Little Ex-Asters Everywhere

Ex-aster time is the best time to be in the garden. The days are warm and Autumn angle of the sun makes everything glow.

Leaves from the oak and hickory canopy have begun to fall and the sunlight that gets blocked all summer is now able to reach the woodland floor where it warms up the garden and spotlights these little beauties.

Even on cool mornings the sunny spots are alive with bees and other pollinators. You have to be very patient to capture a photo of the Bumbles, they're very busy in their mad dash to collect pollen and nectar to fortify their nests for the winter.

 Later in the day the skippers and Sulphurs can be seen flitting from flower to flower.

 Bee mimics, like the fly above are busy nectaring, too.

Green metallic bees are all over the little ex-asters.

 Although, the Bumbles are my favorites, I am pretty crazy about all the critters that visit and live in this garden. The little bees make me smile, they always travel in a pack. If you see one step back and look around and you'll see dozens of them.

 The ex-asters introduced me to the Bumbles and we've been friends ever since...

Asters (as they were once known) and other Central Basin natives grew with happy abandon in the forested woodland where this garden now stands. Sixty years ago a neighborhood was carved from the woodland and a house was built. Homeowners came and went, while the asters grew quietly on the woodland  edge. Thirty years ago almost to the day, my husband I bought this garden and this brand new gardener fell head over heals in love with the blue clouds of flowers that were covered with bees and butterflies.

 I built my garden around the flowers. I've allowed them to root and seed themselves with abandon.

They've spilled into the paths, crept into the wildflower beds and cozied up to the benches all over Clay and Limestone.

Each fall I wait with anticipation for those first blooms. With them come the pollinators. It's not that there aren't pollinators during the spring or summer, it's knowing that these will be the last until next spring that makes my heart soar and finds me dashing to the garden first thing in the morning.

What a beautiful dance. Swaying flower stalks and busy bees.

It's been a happy and successful relationship, if I do say so myself!

xoxogail

PS All the pollinators~ Bumble Bees, honeybees, Green metallic bees, hover flies, Miner bees, and large Leaf-Cutting bees, bee flies, beetles, butterflies, and skippers that visit the flowers for nectar and/or pollen are essential for cross pollination. So never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides if you want pollinators to pollinate your ex-asters and other plants!

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.