Mount Cuba Center (Hockessin, Delaware)

To end Summer on a high note, we joined a field trip to the Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware. It’s a garden dedicated to native plants, and a place of astonishing beauty! Their slogan is “gardening on a higher level”. Certainly it’s a garden on a higher level than I can aspire to.

“Native plants” require some definition. The garden goes a little beyond what is truly native to northern Delaware, including some specimens from other parts of the eastern United States. There are no “exotics”. Everything I saw could be maintained by an average gardener, except perhaps pitcher plants and lady slipper. I was happy to see that a few things I consider “delicate” were spreading abundantly there, like Pine Barrens lobelia and cardinal flower. (Forgive my use of common names, I know you can puzzle out the correct nomenclature if you need it.)

Mt. Cuba was wonderfully free of the invasive species, like autumn olive. They have a large staff of volunteers to care for the plants.

The day was hot and sunny, so butterflies were out, especially on the thistle flowers. Some of my favorite fall flowers were getting started, like Joe Pye weed.

A first for me was a look at Monks’ Hood in the wild, a plant so toxic we were advised not to touch any part of it, though its danger is greatest if you eat it.

Perhaps my favorite flower was the bottle gentian, which I never saw in the wild before except in Vermont.

I was simply dazzled by Mt. Cuba. When I figure out how to download pictures from my phone, I’ll post some. Meanwhile, you can gaze at the web site and dream. http://www.mtcubacenter.org

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“Looking for Longleaf – the Fall and Rise of an American Forest” by Lawrence S. Earley

(The University of North Carolina Press, 2004, 272 pages plus notes, bibliography and index. Extensive illustrations.)

This is a “must read” book! It’s a highly enjoyable combination of ecological science and regional history.

The longleaf pine forest of the Southeastern US was an astonishing natural resource. It was never truly “primeval”, being influenced by human activity since the original Americans arrived from Asia. But it was vast and rich in ways we can scarcely imagine.

Longleaf pine is “managed” no matter what is done to it. The range of outcomes (from commercial timbering to bird habitat enhancement) is broad and the time scales (from a few years to over a century) are impressive.

To my surprise, I’m currently following the progress of TWO forest management plans.

One covers the campus where I work, specifying practices for perhaps half of the 1600 acre property. It has two purposes. One is to get the campus out from under a misguided state policy that requires one-to-one replacement of every tree that gets cut for construction or other development (like parking lots). The other purpose to keep the forest healthy and enhance biodiversity. A healthy forest can hardly be taken for granted in New Jersey, battered as we have been by storms and insect infestations. (Remember the gypsy moth?) We also suffer from invasion by non-native plant species. So our woods need careful management. So far, one “prescribed burn” has been conducted and some selective cutting is in progress. This is a wonderful accomplishment! Finally we are done with decades of neglect. Leaving a forest alone is NOT the best way to care for it.

The other forest management plan in my life was developed about five years ago, to protect land in North Carolina owned by my husband’s family. Some timber has been harvested under this plan, and other steps may follow. Will this include reintroduction of longleaf pine? I don’t know, but I’m glad that preservation is being combined with management on this rural property, with its beavers, bears, rice field and aged trees.

The only forest on MY side of the family, a seven acre sliver of New England hillside, was sold about fifteen years ago. It was important to my childhood. I miss it. A peak at GoggleEarth recently showed me that it remains undeveloped. Surprising!

I recommend Looking for Longleaf to anyone interested in the fate of nature in our rapidly changing world.

“Bringing Nature Home – How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens” by Douglas Tallamy

This is a review not just of this book but also of a lecture by the author presented on January 27, 2014. It wasn’t the first time I had the pleasure of hearing Douglas Tallamy speak.

To those frightened by what’s happening to our planet and discouraged about the limited impact an individual can have, Tallamy offers practical advice and hope in an important arena, the preservation of wildlife through careful landscaping decisions. Many of us own a yard , and even a small patch of ground can provide host plants that attract butterflies and moths. These lay eggs which hatch into caterpillars that are a vital food supply for breeding songbirds.

Interesting questions came up after Tallamy had showed his gorgeous slides of butterflies and birds.

How far will insects travel to get to a desirable host plant? Pretty far! Tallamy cited an enclosed (urban?) courtyard only 15 by 15 feet that developed healthy insect populations a few years after native plants were established. He has found a few surprises in his own back yard in Delaware, which is one of his primary sites for scientific study.

Is it helpful to feed birds? Yes, but feeding should be restricted to winter unless you can keep everything very clean. Summer feeding can, unfortunately, spread disease.

Tallamy issued some stern warnings. Sadly, the monarch butterfly population “is crashing”. People need to know “how close to the edge we are” in terms of species extinctions of insects and birds.

BUT landscaping with native species can make a BIG difference! Bring on the Virginia creeper and plant oak trees and wild cherries. Reduce your lawn and plant flowers, shrubs and trees. It will look beautiful and be less work.

I’ve moved towards the encouragement of native species in my yard. I carefully protect holly trees and whack out autumn olive. I planted birch trees last year.

One more thing – Bringing Nature Home contains beautiful photographs. They make lovely browsing for any idle moment.