Lilacs and Whitman

My lilacs are beginning to bloom.

I have a number of varieties of this fragrant deciduous shrub. Lilacs are not a favorite of the deer, and in my yard, they have lots to eat so they leave the lilacs alone. Therefore, it makes a good specimen for the back half of the property.

It's not native to this area -- but it is hardy. I'll be planting it on the eastern side of the garden near the hemlocks just behind the moon garden. This area is a at the top of a hill and they'll be happy there because of the drainage pattern (gravity = drainage); lilac roots should not be saturated.

The butterflies will love it. Mice and moles too. They might want to winter near the base of the plants which will grow thick, over time, into a sort of privet, so clearing the area in your winter cleanup is a good idea. One mildew it is susceptible too can be treated with a mixture of milk and water, so no pesticides needed which is always good.

I recommend planting lilacs near southern and eastern windows. We get the heat of the summer sun coming through these windows, making the house hot. With lilacs here, we can enjoy the fragrance inside, but the lilac branches cool the house because the leaves create a dappled effect, filtering the blazing sun. Since it's deciduous, the window is not blocked by leaves in the winter and we get the full effects of the sun for warming the house.

Consider grouping it with a conifers, peonies, dogwood, crabapple, magnolias, and/or hostas.


Anyway, their pending blooms made me think of Walt Whitman, one of my favorite poets who wrote a poem about lilacs in honor of Abraham Lincoln. A perfect choice, since it's also 200 years since Lincolns birth.




So in honor of National Poetry Month and the Favorite Poem Project, I offer...

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd

from Memories of President Lincoln by Walt Whitman


1

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd,

And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night,

I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.....

Read the full poem at Poet's Corner

Danger! Urushiol (pronounced oo-roo-shee-ohl)

In my garden lurks a silent evil. For years, we've battled with this formidable three pronged enemy, Poison Ivy. She lurks in the hemlocks and in the lawn. Now, brushing up against the ivy doesn't harm a person per se. It's the urushiol oil in the plant that causes distress.

We know this rash well. So, let's talk Poison Ivy today.

Poison Ivy belongs to the plant family Anacardiaceae and is not really an ivy. It's a woody vine and while it will climb up tree trunks, it will also sprout from rock crevises, as a bush or as ground cover.

Recognizing it in the field: "Leaves of Three, Let it be"
It has an alternate pattern of its leaf structure, the plant has no thorns and the roots are "hairy".

If you rub against it, wash everything! Poison Ivy's urushiol that rubs off the plants onto your clothes can remain potent for years. Now to be fair, it depends on the environment, but if you have it on your shirt or seat cushion or jacket, it stays there. Every time your skin comes in contact with the object with the oil on it, you are likely to get a rash again.

Birds love the berries. But our yards are for OUR enjoyment too ..and if our pets run through the ivy, they bring the oil inside on their fur and then its on the furniture, rugs, comforters etc and the whole family is miserable!

Eradicating your yard from poison ivy:

• Wear gloves!
• Wear long pants, sleeves etc.
  
• For vines climbing trees, break the connection with an axe or branck cuttur between the root and vine.
• Your garden center likely stocks Ivy killer and often, it takes repeated applications to destroy it altogether. Apply it in dry, low wind conditions. While I am not a fan of chemical applications, poison ivy is one of the few exception I make. (lily leaf beetle is another but I am eager for more natural approaches to managing them besides "picking" the bugs and larvae from my lily garden)
  
• I've heard that a mixture of acetic acid and oil of cloves can weaken poison ivy plants. But that this does not work on mature growth.
• Recruit other plants to help you fight this enemy: If you plant vinca or some other fast growing ground cover early enough you can "block" the ivy or keep it's incidence low.
• Wash hands, shower and wash clothes immediately after encountering the plant.
  

I've resorted to "weeding" the roots out of my garden. Turning and tilling the soil in search of this silent enemy. Slowing, each year, I get a little rash, and a big reward, clearing more and more of the property of my mortal enemy. Slowly I am reclaiming the property. As the area becomes cleared, I use repeated applications of Poison Ivy killer, lay down landscape fabric. Add topsoil, regrade/replant and mulch, mulch, mulch. I am in the final stretch of the eastern side of my garden. Wish me luck while I apply some more calamine lotion.

Adventures in the moon garden

The inspiration

Yesterday, I attended an earth day celebration at the local Middle School. I obtained lots of brochures, flyers and ideas for my garden plan as well as a new composter and a chinese dogwood. The composter is made of recycled plastic. I bought one last year too. A steal at $20USD. The dogwood I won in a free raffle.

Anyway, it needed a home and I've been long fiddling with the re-working of the moon garden for a few years. The composter and dogwood got me thinking ...

The project
The small tool shed 20" X 48" needed to be moved. Made of cedar it's proven perfect for in garden storage of the stuff a garden needs. One side has three shelves. The other is the full height of the shed allowing for storage of shovels and rakes etc. Last winter, the shed kept blowing over .. So it had to move.

The whole garden itself was in upheaval for some time now. I've slowly been moving the perennials, leaving only the shrubs behind. A white beach rose, A white bridal wreath spirea, a snowball hydrangea, two more hydrangeo varieties, two rosa sharon varieties (one with a red center and one without). The bordering hemlocks are not healthy (a common problem in this area) and poison ivy tries to weave its way into the garden when I'm not paying attention.

Anyway. on the stone and brick foundation where the shed was last year, I place a birdbath and some planters I keep in the garden. I had help to take down a few of the most sickly looking hemlocks and some weed trees along the border w/my neighbor. There was a dogwood to the south side...so I planted the new dogwood to the north side. Over time I expect the two to provide a lovely canopy over this bird's paradise.

Now for the shed. I moved it southeast, closer to the shade garden. It now sits directly in front of some strong hemlocks (which will prevent it from blowing full over) and on a stone and brick footing with a 4X4 rail tie surround in the back and two sides.

The composter was moved to the north side in the full sun -- and what remains of an old cedar compost bin surrounds it for aesthetics. There were other odds and ends and yes it was a lot to do in one day. And yes, I risk another bout of ivy... but alas I think it's coming together. When the spirea blooms, I'll take a snapshot to share.

The unexpected surprise
Mice! I had stored a bucket of some stone with a bag of some potting soil in this shed over winter with some extra grass seed. A perfect home for an expecting mother mouse. The cats were curious about the shed and found her of course. She ran one way. Her brood ran the other. While the cats busied themselves seeking mother in the rock wall, her babes sunbathed in wait. For a bit Whisper toyed with one but it played dead, she got bored and eventually went back to the wall. I checked a little while ago and three were still sunbathing.









Now, I don't prescribe to "keep" mice in the garden. But they are there. Cats keep their population in check, but if you have outdoor cats, be sure to get them all their shots and keep a some worm medicine from your vet on hand to keep your cats healthy. These mice however are nowhere near my vegetable garden and may not live if mother doesn't find them anyway.

A little about garden mice:
Mice eat what we eat. They shred anything to make a nest. In this case, the mother shredded some twine I had in the shed. Here you can see the size of it compared to a piece of gravel.

They don't 'travel' across the garden much. Where you find them tends to be where they live. They tend to be nocturnal. Sense of smell, hearing and taste are how they maneuver; their eyesight is somewhat poor.

I counted at least 4 offspring, about average. These have fur and their eyes are open which tells me they are at least 1 week old but hopefully closer to two. If not, in all likelihood, if their mom doesn't find them tonight, they won't survive. If she does, the outlook still isn't all that good. Hawks, owls, cats ..lots of predators view mice as a nice snack.

Writer's Compost... Take a look at that mouse sunbathing from beneath the shed. What brazen disregard for danger! There must be a poem here...

Birds & Nesting Materials

My sister's Golden, Tucker, just returned from the vet -- fully shaven. He looks like a gentle lion. No worries, he'll fully recover from the sponge meal he enjoyed last Sunday. Anyway, with all that fur gone I've lost my best source of nesting material for the birds. I thought in honor of Tucker, I'd discuss nesting material options today.


It's that time of year. The birds are busy looking for nest sites and showing off their construction skills.

Most birds build a structure of some sort that serves to contain their eggs and nestlings. Increasing bird diversity in our backyards is simple and within our control. We may already have feeders and bird baths, but we shouldn't forget to also provide nesting materials as well. In addition to attracting some species that might not visit our backyard feeders and birdbaths, it's also a great way to "recycle" some household items in a way that benefits the environment.

Reviewing the basics of supplying nest material

Birds include fallen leaves and twigs in their nests so you might leave these in some part of your yard. When you do your fall and spring cleanup consider leaving one area or pile of debris untouched. It doesn't have to be a large area and your back will appreciate the respite.

If you are aesthetically opposed to any untidyness, you might create a small nook where you collect some of this material possibly by your compost which they may pick through as well.

If you want a more hands on approach, consider concentrating specific stashes of nest material. You might include dead twigs, dead leaves, straw, moss, barkstrips, and pine needles.Any combination of these with the following is useful.

Recycle some of this material to add to your nesting assortment

• Dry Grass (untreated w/pesticides)
• Yarn or string (4-8 inch pieces)
• Human and animal hair (e.g. horse hair/sheep's wool)
• Pet fur (before you start their flea and tick treatments)
• Feathers (Don't throw out that old pillow - donate the feathers to the birds
• Scraps of cloth (cut into 1"X 4-6" strips), cotton battingand other stuffing scraps you find when you do your spring cleaning.

For the hardy amongst us, providing a safe environment for spiders and snakes (snake skin) will also enhance nesting opportunities for these birds.

If you have Barn and Cliff swallows, phoebes, and robins in your area and want to encourage their nesting, consider creating or keeping a muddy puddle somewhere. I shallow metal pie tin you no longer use or that you pick up at a tag sale with some dirt you keep muddied will due.

I don’t recommend offering dryer lint.It doesn't withstand the rain and it may have chemical residues from the detergent which is harmful to birds.

Place the nest material around your garden

You can buy some fancy cages to hang these materials in around your yard. But you don't have to. For the fluffyier materials and the homemade combinations, you can gather them into an extra suet cage or even a set of extra wreath forms you bind together they can pick at.

Of course you can simply create "piles" of debris which works for a collection which isn't prone to blowing away. You might even push the material into the nooks and crannies of some mid-sized trees if you have them or drape them into your shrubs and small evergreens. Whatever method you consider, ask yourself "Could this potentially "harm" a bird or fledgeling" and if not, let your creativity unfold.

Be patient! Sometimes, it takes a while for the birds to find it. But they will. Whether or not they use it depends on how safe the area seems. If after a month or two it looks untouched, reexamine it's location from a bird's point of view. Does it offer to much exposure to predators?

Writer's Compost : So now you've collected your nest materials and offered them, maybe the birds have started to pick at it. Maybe you are still waiting for them to find the collection? Is this an opportunity for a list poem or a piece about: patience, offerings, anticipation, scraps?

Enjoy!

Do you ebird?

Are you a recreational bird watcher? (If you answered no, we'll chat about that later but for those of you who said yes...) Check out ebird!

ebird is a real-time, online checklist program and it's revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society launched the tool in 2002 and today eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. For example: In 2006 4.6 million observations were reported in North America alone. Think of how rich a sample exists with year over year reporting.

The program pulls together vast numbers of bird observations made each year by recreational and professional bird watchers so scientists can develop insights into bird distributions across the globe.

Signups are NOW for New Jerseys' World Series of birding! The WSB begins at midnight on the second Saturday in May and ends 24 hours later. This annual event falls during a time of peak migration in New Jersey. Support the ebirding teams in this annual fundraiser.

Cheers, Eli

April moves forward...

Good morning. Welcome to my blog. I imagine not many people will read this first blog today so for now I'll just write something for my cat Miss Millicent Hissyfitt (Millie as we call her).

Millie, You are a beautiful and interesting creature. Petite but strong-willed. How may I learn from you? (Other than to watch out for your left hook?) What might we all learn from the creatures around us every day?



Please join me here at PottingShedPoetry to explore the little things lurking in our gardens and be inspired. Cheers, Eli