C'Mon Irene

It's impossible for me not to do cartwheels when I know I'm going to get to experience my first real hurricane in a week that I already experienced my first earthquake. However, the hurricane has me a bit worried - not so much for the house, but for the garden.

Yes, that's a hurricane - who cares if it will be a minimal one? - cruising right up the New Jersey coast.

We took in the potted plants today, along with the birdfeeders and baths. I did my best tying up the tomato plants, but I fully expect them to bite it. The flowers left on the phlox and black-eyed susans probably won't make it, either. The peach tree is so young and flexible that it should be fine, and I have faith in our little wee street tree out front. Our neighbor's tree across the street...not so much.

It's been a good growing season. Hopefully Irene doesn't bring it to an abrupt end.

Signs of Late Summer

Last time I blinked it was the end of July and school was starting. One more blink, and August was magically half over. As I listen to a wonderful severe thunderstorm rumbling outside, I'm reminded that we still have plenty of time left in the growing season; however, the signs are there that summer is on the wane.These are our Phlox paniculata, 'David's lavender' and 'David.' They grow approximately 4-5' tall, and the flower heads get so big and heavy that they tend to flop over, especially after a heavy rain. My dad and I built cages for them out of copper pipe. I learned how to cut and solder pipe, which barely scratches the surface of all the amazing things my dad can do with tools (he's a machinist). The pipe has darkened to a beautiful patina, and the phlox no longer do a nosedive after summer thunderstorms.These are some of the few non-natives in the flower garden. I first saw the lamb's ear while visiting the Well-Sweep Herb Farm in Port Murray, NJ with my cooking students. As one of them said, it's so soft that you would want to make a pillow out of the leaves. The flowers are lantana, a big favorite of nectar-loving insects. I like them because each flower is so tiny.Joe Pye weed, Eupatorium purpureum, is a native that butterflies, moths, and bees absolutely adore. It is fascinating to watch bees forage in the blossoms, growing their pollen baskets on their legs, and fly off...only to return almost immediately for more of the good stuff. We also see a lot of yellow tiger swallowtails making a snack of it.Finally, in this corner...northern bayberry, Myrica pensylvanica, in the back, and Rudbeckia fulgida, black-eyed Susans, in the front. The bayberry is female and is growing its little berries, which are now light green but will fade into a dusky gray-blue in a few months. The black-eyed Susans stay in bloom from August through September, and we leave the seed heads up all winter for the birds. They are an especial favorite of the dark-eyed juncos and goldfinches. They are also a big hit with tiny black ants.

Another sign of late summer is that the crabgrass is going to seed. Sparrows will get buried in patches of it, and pop up and down as they grab at more seeds. It almost makes up for the crabgrass part.

Next up...hopefully...our first sweet potato harvest. Wish us luck!

Warriors in the ISF

Brian adopted a trail, through the New York New Jersey Trail Conference, last year. It's in Stokes State Forest in northwestern NJ - right where my school's freshmen go backpacking each May - and he keeps it clean and passable. It always has fun things to see - a bear one time, a small lizard the next - and this time, mushrooms took the prize.

We got the opportunity to take our service project a step further this spring by joining the Invasives Strike Force, a program through the trail conference to map the locations of invasive species. The idea is that workers can be sent out to eradicate invasives in areas where they haven't completely taken hold and pushed out native plants. Why is this important? Native plants provide food and shelter for wildlife, nesting sites for birds, tend not to choke out waterways, and contribute to ecosystem diversity.

Today I would like to highlight two invasive species, multiflora rose and autumn olive. They get really big and can take over an area easily.
Meet Elaeagnus umbellata, autumn olive. I'm so disappointed this is invasive. Its leaves undulate along the edges, and each one is dotted with silver spots that give the foliage an overall sheen from a distance.
Now that I am properly acquainted with this plant, I see it by the side of the parkway all over the place.
This is Rosa multiflora, not to be confused with the native Carolina rose. This highly invasive species has white flowers, while the native has pink ones.The giveaway field marks that distinguish multiflora from Carolina rose are the recurved thorns (thorns that curve down, rather than up) and fringed stipules (the base of the stem, where it attaches to the main branch, looks feathery).

What can you do if you find an invasive in your yard? Eradicate it. Some can simply be pulled up, while others need to be poisoned. An internet search can help you determine the right method for a particular plant.

I've Got the Blues

I've just finished our first week back to school (we have a bit of a non-traditional schedule), and even though it is still summer outside, being back in a classroom makes me feel like cold and miserable winter is peeking over my shoulder. I love my job, but it gets in the way of digging in the dirt and slaying Japanese beetles.

We were trying to decide how to prepare our blue potatoes, and decided to use my Aunt Pat's fabulous potato salad recipe with them. It is a little odd-looking, but very tasty, and eating periwinkle-colored potato salad has grown on me.
I'd also like to share a product recommendation...Repels-All. The cutest, tiniest little rabbit was doing the biggest, baddest job on my produce, and this stuff keeps it far, far away. I just sprayed it on the stones surrounding my garden, and even the squirrels stay back. The active ingredients are garlic oil, putrefying egg solids, and dried blood. It smells freaking foul - I gagged a bit after catching a whiff - but the smell dies down quickly and it does its job. Thank you, Repels-All!

Confidential to the rabbit: come back and eat my new carrot sprouts, and you become cacciatore.