Mulberry Woods Native Plant Nursery Newsletter
April 2011
Volume II, Number 3.
Life Returns, a Viola Trio, Herbs and Onions, and a High Flying Fox
Gentle Readers,
First of all, I would like to invite all attendees of the Alabama Wildflower Society spring meeting to stop by the nursery on Sunday, May 1, after the last meetings (see the map of our location on the website). We will be available to show folks around and answer any kind of growing or propagating questions. And naturally, to sell plants at our special AWS prices.
At this time of year it's blink, blink, don't blink, or you will miss the show. For various reasons I missed one newsletter, but the plants didn't notice. They just kept growing. My grass is not even mown due to the fact that 100+ seedlings of the rare Clematis reticulata decided to germinate in my yard. When I have finished transplanting all of them, then, and only then, will I give the lawn a good clipping. Though it may appear now that I am living at an abandoned home site, the answer is simple: life returns. At this time of year you can hardly keep good things from growing.
A Trio of Violas
In a symphony orchestra a viola is a kind of string step sister, sandwiched between star brothers, the violin and cello. A viola trio is something that only Beethoven may have considered writing during one of his more inebriated moments. Likewise, the little native eastern perennial Violas tend to be overlooked as powerhouse shrubs take over the spring landscape. However, three of these little sweeties are some of my favorites: Viola pedata, Viola walteri, and last but not least, Viola sororia f. priceana, otherwise known as Bird's Foot Violet, Prostrate Blue Violet, and Confederate Violet. Pictures of all three are available on their individual pages on our website, http://mulberrywoodsnursery.com.
Everybody's favorite is of course the Bird's Foot Violet, that produces blooms the size of which are far out of proportion to its tiny stature. Add to that the incredible variability in bloom color and the appeal is understandable, instant, and undeniable. I once had dozens of these plants naturalized in my garden before the swamp rabbits found out they were edible. My last surviving plants are of the variegated flowering variety, and I am propagating these. I will be adding other selections in the future.
Almost totally unknown, on the other hand, is the evergreen violet called Prostrate Blue Violet. While not a showy bloomer, this little violet works well as an evergreen groundcover on any moderately damp site. Even in drier shady ground it will form decorative clumps as pictured. It may be the best of the native violets for use in a semi-shaded rock garden. I have lots of these as they are hardy, easy to grow, and the rabbits don't touch them. Maybe there is something to be said for being inconspicuous.
Finally, there is my favorite, the Confederate Violet, a "form" of the Common Blue Violet. The South may not rise again, but almost nothing can stop this violet. Instead of the regular blue flowers of the species type, this form has stunning blue streaked white flowers that rival any Bird's Foot Violet that I have seen--but weren't the confederates gray and the union blue? At any rate, I hate to say that any flower is completely no maintenance, as there is always someone who can kill anything, but this plant is tough to the point of being called invasive. My only wish: please confederate violet, invade and take over about an acre of my woods!
Production Notes
Like my lawn, I have been neglecting posting my herbs on the website, though they are also threatening to take over my garden and my life. Growing herbs is worse than collecting varieties of wine, as herbs reproduce on their own. Currently we have for sale nine varieties (flavors) of mint, five oregano, three species of thyme, two species of chives, etc, etc. Buy them here or wait until I finally get "around to it."
And don't get me started on Alliums (onions)! By this summer/fall we will have varying quantities of three heirloom multiplying onions, shallots (which are really just another multiplying onion), and hardneck garlic. My main problem is to resist the temptation to eat my entire crop myself, though even I would be hard pressed to eat 300 head of garlic. Not that I wouldn't try.
A Incredibly Strange but Disturbingly True Wildlife Story
If you signed up for this newsletter you probably reserve a part of your garden for wildlife, aka "Gardening for Wildlife." I sometimes get the impression that the wildlife is merely tolerating my presence here because I provide them with some good eats. Take the example of the den of red foxes that took up residence on my property last year.
Winter floods in 2010 displaced our red fox family from their usual haunts in Blowing Wind cave down on the Mulberry River. They headed for higher ground and excavated a comfortable abode under a huge boulder on the hillside below my house. I would have gladly fed them every swamp rabbit within fifteen miles, but they were invisible to the eye, and furthermore were into "sustainability." They ate only what they needed and disturbed nothing except for the neighborhood dog and cat population. And I thought they were clever until I found the story of Romeo the fox.
Romeo was the name given to an urban fox in England that eluded authorities for a considerable time. When they finally caught him, it wasn't at a dumpster scavenging garbage. He was found in London on the 72nd floor of the tallest building in Europe. The BEEB has the details right here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_9400000/newsid_9407200/9407275.stm.
The Fine Print
All newsletters will also be posted and archived on our blog for those who wish to add a public comment. Anyone irritated, annoyed, or in any way flummoxed by this newsletter should email me, Jeff Cupp, through the website http://mulberrywoodsnursery.com and be forever removed from this mailing list.
April 2011
Volume II, Number 3.
Life Returns, a Viola Trio, Herbs and Onions, and a High Flying Fox
Gentle Readers,
First of all, I would like to invite all attendees of the Alabama Wildflower Society spring meeting to stop by the nursery on Sunday, May 1, after the last meetings (see the map of our location on the website). We will be available to show folks around and answer any kind of growing or propagating questions. And naturally, to sell plants at our special AWS prices.
At this time of year it's blink, blink, don't blink, or you will miss the show. For various reasons I missed one newsletter, but the plants didn't notice. They just kept growing. My grass is not even mown due to the fact that 100+ seedlings of the rare Clematis reticulata decided to germinate in my yard. When I have finished transplanting all of them, then, and only then, will I give the lawn a good clipping. Though it may appear now that I am living at an abandoned home site, the answer is simple: life returns. At this time of year you can hardly keep good things from growing.
A Trio of Violas
In a symphony orchestra a viola is a kind of string step sister, sandwiched between star brothers, the violin and cello. A viola trio is something that only Beethoven may have considered writing during one of his more inebriated moments. Likewise, the little native eastern perennial Violas tend to be overlooked as powerhouse shrubs take over the spring landscape. However, three of these little sweeties are some of my favorites: Viola pedata, Viola walteri, and last but not least, Viola sororia f. priceana, otherwise known as Bird's Foot Violet, Prostrate Blue Violet, and Confederate Violet. Pictures of all three are available on their individual pages on our website, http://mulberrywoodsnursery.com.
Everybody's favorite is of course the Bird's Foot Violet, that produces blooms the size of which are far out of proportion to its tiny stature. Add to that the incredible variability in bloom color and the appeal is understandable, instant, and undeniable. I once had dozens of these plants naturalized in my garden before the swamp rabbits found out they were edible. My last surviving plants are of the variegated flowering variety, and I am propagating these. I will be adding other selections in the future.
Almost totally unknown, on the other hand, is the evergreen violet called Prostrate Blue Violet. While not a showy bloomer, this little violet works well as an evergreen groundcover on any moderately damp site. Even in drier shady ground it will form decorative clumps as pictured. It may be the best of the native violets for use in a semi-shaded rock garden. I have lots of these as they are hardy, easy to grow, and the rabbits don't touch them. Maybe there is something to be said for being inconspicuous.
Finally, there is my favorite, the Confederate Violet, a "form" of the Common Blue Violet. The South may not rise again, but almost nothing can stop this violet. Instead of the regular blue flowers of the species type, this form has stunning blue streaked white flowers that rival any Bird's Foot Violet that I have seen--but weren't the confederates gray and the union blue? At any rate, I hate to say that any flower is completely no maintenance, as there is always someone who can kill anything, but this plant is tough to the point of being called invasive. My only wish: please confederate violet, invade and take over about an acre of my woods!
Production Notes
Like my lawn, I have been neglecting posting my herbs on the website, though they are also threatening to take over my garden and my life. Growing herbs is worse than collecting varieties of wine, as herbs reproduce on their own. Currently we have for sale nine varieties (flavors) of mint, five oregano, three species of thyme, two species of chives, etc, etc. Buy them here or wait until I finally get "around to it."
And don't get me started on Alliums (onions)! By this summer/fall we will have varying quantities of three heirloom multiplying onions, shallots (which are really just another multiplying onion), and hardneck garlic. My main problem is to resist the temptation to eat my entire crop myself, though even I would be hard pressed to eat 300 head of garlic. Not that I wouldn't try.
A Incredibly Strange but Disturbingly True Wildlife Story
If you signed up for this newsletter you probably reserve a part of your garden for wildlife, aka "Gardening for Wildlife." I sometimes get the impression that the wildlife is merely tolerating my presence here because I provide them with some good eats. Take the example of the den of red foxes that took up residence on my property last year.
Winter floods in 2010 displaced our red fox family from their usual haunts in Blowing Wind cave down on the Mulberry River. They headed for higher ground and excavated a comfortable abode under a huge boulder on the hillside below my house. I would have gladly fed them every swamp rabbit within fifteen miles, but they were invisible to the eye, and furthermore were into "sustainability." They ate only what they needed and disturbed nothing except for the neighborhood dog and cat population. And I thought they were clever until I found the story of Romeo the fox.
Romeo was the name given to an urban fox in England that eluded authorities for a considerable time. When they finally caught him, it wasn't at a dumpster scavenging garbage. He was found in London on the 72nd floor of the tallest building in Europe. The BEEB has the details right here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_9400000/newsid_9407200/9407275.stm.
The Fine Print
All newsletters will also be posted and archived on our blog for those who wish to add a public comment. Anyone irritated, annoyed, or in any way flummoxed by this newsletter should email me, Jeff Cupp, through the website http://mulberrywoodsnursery.com and be forever removed from this mailing list.
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