A woodland garden

It was so nice to see the woodland border thriving, in spring guise, returning from the mountains to the Piedmont in the final stages of relocation.

This was a created woodland spot; it was shallow dry grass beneath a water oak when we bought this house.  And there was no pathway to the front of house, either. We put one in ourselves.

Crested Iris in flower

Now the space is full of Christmas ferns, crested iris, bloodroot, pussy-toes, and green and gold - it's a lovely small drought-tolerant woodland patch.

Lonicera sempervirens flowering on the fence nearby

The bloodroot is reseeding everywhere. Here's a "mama" plant with her babies -- remarkable, seen this afternoon.

A "mama" bloodroot and seedlings

Bloodroot seedlings

I'm delighted to see them flourishing.  They've been a favorite spring wildflower for many years.

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Paring down books

I've been paring down my gardening and natural history books, with upcoming consolidation to a smaller living space.

It's an interesting process (not without angst).

I think about and weigh (based on my de-cluttering inspirations):  have I looked at this field guide lately?  Do I really want to know as much about dragonflies as this very nice guide provides?  Ditto about caterpillars?  Hmm.

My gardening companion and I don't need duplicates, either, so extras are being shed.

And doesn't the internet now provide access to virtual field guides of all sorts, I'm thinking?

This is at least the 4th time I've gone through the book shedding process, now with increasing intensity as moving looms near (three weeks from Friday), thinking about how much space I'll have for books, and what I really need to go forward in my work in the future, volunteer and otherwise.

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Time in the Low Country

The Low Country of South Carolina was naturally a place of coastal rivers, cypress swamps, and maritime forests. Historically, it included rice fields and indigo growing and plantations.

A visit today to Magnolia Gardens and Middleton Place (part of a Garden Writers regional meeting) brought largely moments of appreciating the natural beauty along the Ashley River.

Ashley River from the Magnolia Gardens river trail

Bald eagle above the Ashley River

An old live oak at Middleton Plantation

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A brazen woodchuck

If the squirrels eating the kale weren't enough, a woodchuck appeared in the back garden yesterday chewing on buckeye leaves. 

They're full of nasty compounds.  Amazing.

At least the squirrels don't seem to like spinach, Japanese red mustard, or parsley (at least not yet).

This is quite a sub-par photo, taken through the window, and blurry, but you get the idea.  Hmrph.

Eating buckeye leaves?  Really?  No wonder that they'll chew their way through cilantro, etc.   This one has just come out from its burrow, so probably hasn't discovered the small amounts of spinach, etc. that I have in flats.

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Moving forward

As we get ready to pass on an old house (built in 1929) and relatively new garden (we've been here 22 years) to the next owners, I'm happy and wistful.  We accepted an offer last weekend, so it's now "contract pending."

My dad, not a sentimental sort, reminded me this morning via email of Robert McCloskey's words in The Time of Wonder, "a little bit sad about the place you are leaving, a little bit glad about the place you are going"  (he remembered:  happy about the place you’re going to, sad about the place you’re leaving.)  

My mother often read that book to my sister and me, along with his other books. 

I've thought about that phrase a lot over the last couple of months.  

She's been gone for a long time, now, sadly, and wasn't married to my dad for quite a long time before that, but I still have the book.

I'm glad about the place I'm going to, but still a little bit sad about the place I'm leaving.

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Sassafras and dogwood

The flower buds of sassafras and dogwood are visibly swelling.  Sassafras flowers, both male and female, should be open any day, with the return of warm weather.

Today brought chilly and rainy weather as a cold front pushed against warmer air.

Flowers on our rabbit-eye blueberries are ready to open, and quince flowers are already visible.

This was March 6, 2012 -- with a sassafras in full flower.

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Bloodroot in flower

Coming back to the Piedmont today, I was delighted to see bloodroot in full flower.  I've made so many posts about bloodroot -- it's a favorite early spring flower.  Here's a post from last year.

We planted it in various places around the garden, starting with one plant. Ants have spread the seeds and patches have popped up all over the front woodland border along the front path.  Totally rewarding.

There are a number of large clumps now in the front, along with smaller plants.  Lovely.

It's in flower in the South Carolina Botanical Garden, too. I took this photo late this afternoon.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

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