Finding the Beauty in Everything

 By Kristy Belaney

  Yesterday I took a route home I don’t normally take. As I was rounding the corner of a particularly overgrown weedy area, something caught my attention. It was a giant patch of blooming Asclepias syriaca, swarming with bumblebees, moths and other pollinators working away, unknowingly doing their good deeds.

   I paused, took a moment to gather it all in and smiled. I have lived at this address for nearly ten years and never noticed this simple but beautiful gift just two hundred feet from my front door. Maybe if I had seen them before, I would have thought the flowers were cute or enjoyed the pleasant smell they gave off as I walked by. But that is probably where the admiring would have ended. By the time I got home I would have forgotten all about the not so particularly memorable flower. And what a shame that would have been.

Pesticides and the Threat They Pose to Pollinators

Kristy Belaney

Conneaut, Ohio, USA 

                         

  Bee and Butterfly attracting plants are popping up at Lowes, Home Depot and other garden centers with eye catching tags and labels. These plants are easily accessible and usually already flowering when purchased so it is instant gratification for your money and yard. But the benefits may just end there.

  We have all heard about the massive decline in bee populations around the world and the negative effect this is having on not only bee keepers but on farmers as well. The following paragraph is quoted from The Xerces Society, a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.

Marsh Marigolds Something a Little Different

 Growing Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) From Seed

 

Native Black-eyed Susan's - Granby, CT

  Everyone is familiar with Marigolds (Calendula officinalis) the annual, that Kindergartners start in paper Dixie Cups for Mother's Day. Although, not native to the state of Ohio, USA, it is still by far one of my all time favorite plants. It is not very particular; blooming most of the growing season, adapting well to a wide range of soil, water and sun light conditions.

  On the other hand, the perennial, Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), a native Ohio species which belongs in the Buttercup (Ranunculaceae) Family, has very little is common with traditional Marigold, found in the Aster (Asteraceae) Family. Although, both have unique and personal interpretation of the color gold, you can hardly call them cousins. Each year, I choose a native wildflower that I know very little about to raise from seed, Marsh Marigolds was one of my choices for 2014. Since the germination rate from one seed package was higher than I expected, I decided to get busy and start learning to care for them.

 

Managing Milkweed Aphids

Inviting Syrphid Flies for Lunch!

Syrphrid Fly - Hover Fly

  How to best deal with Milkweed Aphids (Oleander aphids) which have a preference for Asclepias species (milkweed) has created a bit of a dilemma for sometime now.

    As an aspiring organic farmer, applying pesticides is out of the question, besides it doesn’t make sense to raise native plants only to exterminate insects one attracts. In addition, there is risk of accidentally damaging butterfly eggs and larvae.

    In the past, I devised a strategy which temporally outwitted those six legged beady-eyed, mustard colored aphids; I sold milkweed plants early in the season, before they flowered. This provided a reasonable solution as typically aphids infest our plants late in the summer. It quickly became apparent that customers preferred purchasing plants in bloom, especially ones they were not familiar with. Another possible course of action was to wipe down each plant. Not only does that mask the problem, I honestly don’t have the time or patience for it.

 

Growing Jack-in-the-Pulpits from Seed

Arisaema triphyllum - Jack-in-the-pulpit seed

   An Army of Jacks Plus One!

          Propagating Arisaema triphyllum

 
  Last year was an exciting year! I raised enough Jack-in the Pulpit seed that purchasing commercially grown seed wasn't necessary. I must warn you that raising Arisaema triphyllum for seed is a slow process, four years to be exact. If you are pressed for time then by all means purchase a mature plant. Actually you will need two, both a male and female.

  On the other hand if you are up for a challenge, and are interested in raising woodland plants from seed then, Jack-in the Pulpits are a good place to start.

Spring Wildflowers in February

Guess Who is Sleeping in My Garden?

Spring Beauty -Caytonia virginiana

  With the temperature hovering at -3°F° and the snow piling up, it is hard not to dream about spring. I thought this was a great day to bring out the spring wildflower photo album, well really the flash drive. How up-lifting and encouraging it is to be reminded of what lays dormant patiently waiting for spring. I hope that these Spring Beauties bring some sunshine into your home!

 Spring Beauty, Caytonia virginiana were a charming addition to my garden last year. The blossoms didn't last as long as I expected, perhaps the excessive amount of rain we had last spring impacted them. Caytonia virginiana like most woodland species appreciates filtered shade and a nice cozy blanket of leaf hummus. Winter's protection ideally is two-fold, leaves and snow. Other woodland companions like: Jack-in-the-pulpit, Mayapple, Trillium, Wild ginger, Bloodroot, Goldenseal, Wild Ginger, Wild Geranium, Wild Columbine, Dwarf Crested Iris, Shooting Star and Solomon's Seal are also reaping the benefits of an extra layer of icy insulation.

How to Grow Milkweed From Seed

 Raising Milkweed from Seed is Easier than You Think

 

Butterfly Weed, Swamp, Poke Milkweed

  Don't be intimidated by the term stratifying. Stratifying native plant seed is nothing more than, “tricking” seed into believing it is time to rev up their engines and start growing. Plants that are native to Ohio have a built in “safety mechanism", which prevents them from starting the germination process until conditions are optimal, length of daylight and ground temperature are a few of the ways seeds receive their "signal" that spring has arrived. If species like Asclepias (milkweed) are duped in to believing spring was right around the corner during the first January thaw their seedling survival rate would certainly plummet.