The Monday Garden, January 16, 2005, Issue 147
Eco-gardening at its best
This past week, it was unusually foggy, warm and wet for mid-winter. My mother and I went walking in the part of Stamford, CT, aptly named “Waterside”. The birds were ecstatic to find it 55F instead of 20F; us, too.
picture: a bird-planted juniper bush with a crabapple to the left. Stamford CT January 2005
Where we were walking was a roadway around a man-made inlet off the Long Island Sound. Many years ago, when the inlet had just been excavated, it had been landscaped with junipers, crabapples, pussy willows, and a few larger pines. It was interesting to see what native and alien plants had added themselves to the landscape.
The water had an unusual jade-green cast which was variously explained as an optical effect caused by the fog and the result of excessive run-off from the recent rains.
picture: invasive Asian bittersweet overwhelms its neighbors along the shore of the Long Island Sound. Stamford CT January 2005
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pictures: a young wind-planted native birch graces a human-planted pine grove. Stamford CT January 2005
picture: native goldenrod, Stamford CT January 2005
picture: alien Queen Anne’s Lace, Stamford CT January 2005
picture: a squirrel-planted baby red oak (native). Stamford CT January 2005
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picture 1: a female cardinal in a dripping pussy willow.
picture 2: detail of the baby red oak
picture 3: a mocking bird keeps watch for enemies, foreign and domestic.
picture 4: invasive rosa mulitflora also enjoys the seaside.
picture: pine branch in the fog, Stamford CT January 2005
picture: dock poles, inlet from the Long Island Sound, Stamford CT January 2005
Photo credits: Sue Sweeney
© Sue Sweeney 2005
Comments (3)
Your photo compositions are lyrical. They always leave a smile on my lips. Thanks for the pleasure.
Posted by Barbara S-P | January 17, 2005 12:21 PM
Posted on January 17, 2005 12:21
You mention that various plants are squirrel-planted, wind-planted or bird-planted. I'm interested in how you can tell the difference. Thanks.
Posted by jweld | January 19, 2005 11:54 AM
Posted on January 19, 2005 11:54
good question from jweld:
In each case, the baby tree was quite a distance from an adult of its type,
so the seed had to be transported by some means other than gravity alone.
The red oak's acorns are too big for the wind to carry any distance. Unlike
small seeds, acorns don't usually pass through a critter's digestive track
intact, so acorns aren't usually carried to a new location in the gut of a
bird or furry critter. Therefore, they need to go by squirrel or water.
In this location, there are no mature red oaks near the water but there are
some up over the the hill. So while water transport is a possibility,
it's a bit remote; squirrel is the likely choice. Chipmunks could also do
the job but there aren't any at this location.
The birch has small seeds that can be wind-carried and are also spread by birds. This
sapling could be either as there are some older birches directly up-wind
and the surrounding pines would be a bird roosting area. Since there was
only one birch sapling under the two dozen or so pines, my guess is wind.
The juniper's blue "berries" are too big to be wind-carried and
are not a prime target for internment by squirrels. However, the birds use
the berries as winter survival food and spread the seeds.
Posted by Sue Sweeney | January 19, 2005 4:59 PM
Posted on January 19, 2005 16:59