May 2011
Volume II, Number 4.
Storms and more storms, a perennial Clematis, and a one man crosscut saw
Gentle Readers,
Having just sat through another severe thunderstorm with more high wind and more heavy rain, all I can say is the following--severe thunderstorms are for wimps. We Alabamians know what a real storm is, and like many people, I still have a few trees lying around my house from the "Great Storm" of April (more on this later). I now have enough firewood to last a couple of years, and for those trees, it is ashes to ashes. Later in the year, when the inevitable drought hits, the left over brush may turn out to be nothing more than dust to dust. Right now, however, with all the rain, the surroundings are a jungle combined with what looks like a temperate rain forest. Whatever downed timber that remains has two options--it is either ashes to ashes, or compost to compost.
Clematis Growing Wild
I have been saving this one for some time, just counting the days until I could get some really good photos of these spectacular plants in bloom. Fortunately the wait was short, for even though these Clematis are perennial vines (they die down to the ground in the winter), in the spring they shoot out of the ground like a Saturn V and are blooming by April. What is this little known plant? A variety of the leatherflower (aka, an “American Bell” clematis--check out the great website http://clematisviorna.info) named Net Leaf Leatherflower, or more technically, Clematis reticulata.
Net Leaf Leatherflower is a true Southerner, native from Texas eastward just into South Carolina. Little known outside of its native habitat, this vine inhabits sandy soil habitats and river valleys throughout its range. It is rarely noticed because it does not often receive enough sunlight in its native woodlands to flower heavily. Usually vines have only a few blooms, if any. Most people walk by them without even noticing the just one more tiny vine creeping along the ground and into the understory shrubs,
Given a chance in edge habitat, such as a forest border or shrub border, however, the vine becomes a flower producing fool. The color range is unusual as well, ranging from lemon-limey green to pink to purple. Check out the pictures on the “Native Vines” page at http://mulberrywoodsnursery.com, and on my Clematis reticulata home page. All the plants pictured are growing within a few feet of each other!
For the first time this year we have quite a few of these plants, in both one gallon and smaller (perennial) pot sizes. They will be ready to ship by October, but if you just can’t wait, come by and pick up a couple of the best looking plants at the nursery. Anyone who comes by in the next couple of weeks can also see the unbelievable blooming display of my semi-cultivated semi-wild plants. I have mine growing up through oak leaf hydrangea, red buckeye, and sparkleberry,. but a couple have gotten so happy that they have taken off and are growing up (respectively) a dogwood and a black cherry.
An Incredibly Strange But Disturbingly True Landscaping Story
Back in April, while preparing to teach the last class of the spring semester, I was greeted at breakfast by the wailing of the Garden City tornado sirens. Melanie Jane and I gathered ourselves together and headed for the basement. After a couple of minutes of howling winds we heard the dreaded giant WHOOSH sound and a crash into the side of house. I ran back upstairs and shone a flashlight out the kitchen window (it was still before daylight). In what had been our side yard now sat a giant pile of pine trees, including one eighty footer that was just perching on the roof.
Upon inspection at first light the damage appeared minimal--the heat pump was knocked off its foundation and the perching tree had not cracked our roof. I cranked up the old chainsaw and removed the first tree from the heat pump--not even a scratch was visible. Getting the eighty footer off the house proved more problematic, as water had infiltrated my chain saw fuel and the saw sputtered to a stop. There was only one alternative--the old German one man crosscut saw.
I have felled many trees with the crosscut saw before, as it is many times safer than a chainsaw. A leaner creates many problems, however, not the least of which is the possibility of it popping up into the air and giving the sawyer a good whack in the chin. I first cut out a decent escape path, and then proceeded to saw into the pine.
The most disturbing thing was the almost immediate creaking sounds that started coming from the tree. Of course, the wood grain ripping sounds that followed were no better. Even when I stopped to rest, the popping continued. POP, POP, POP. At half way through the tree a giant crack appeared, but the trunk barely budged. At 90% cut the tree rolled a quarter turn and then stopped, leaving only a strip of wood holding it together. With a last few cuts the trunk popped into the air (as predicted) and started spinning. I made one giant backward leap for mankind, and watched the tree roll off the house and land right on top of my favorite white buckeye.
Strangely enough, only part of one roof shingle was pulled from the house, and I have saved it as a memento. The tree also perched up on its limbs one last time and only broke a few leaves off the buckeye, which is now covered with bloom buds. The pine trees are now a pile of limbs and logs. The saw sits next to me as I type. High tech is defeated by low tech once again, or maybe sometimes it is definitely just better to be lucky instead of skilled.
The Fine Print
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