New Acquisitions

 I have purchased several new plants this spring (and still have more birthday money to spend!). I'm doing this showcase as much for my recollection as anything. Roughly they fall into a few categories.

First we have plants I've never tried before.

This is Saxifraga x arendii 'Deep Red,' sometimes known as rockfoil. This is an experiment. It likes full sun, but may want a bit more water than most of the rock garden gets. We'll see. I made it a little microenvironment (I hope). The rock below it should catch water and make that spot slightly more damp, and I put it in a place that gets shadow until about 11 am, so it doesn't have blazing sun for 12 hours in the summer. It's such a great color, I hope it survives.

Here's another that looks simple, but I paid a little more for it. This is Carex oshimensis 'Evergold,' sometimes called Japanese Sedge. I have wanted some things with this texture other than more of the blue fescue (which is pretty but a pain to keep looking nice, and it spreads everywhere if you aren't vigilant). So now I have something that meets those requirements. We will also see how this does, but it should tolerate the rock garden all right. I hope it spreads enough to split, because I would like to have this in more places.

You saw this one yesterday with friends, but here it is again. I've thought about adding one or more of these to the rock garden. Down side is it will have to come in every winter. Up side is it's gorgeous. I saw this one that was brighter colors than all the others with it... and it was only $2.49. I couldn't pass it by. This is Setcreasea purpurea 'Variegata.' Wandering Jew or Dude as it's now being called.

I've seen this small evergreen being used more and more in rock gardens. It's very attractive! I didn't figure it would be in my budget, but this one was marked at half price. Ultimately there should be more than one for balance, but I'll see how one goes before making that leap (and read up on how this tolerates being split). This is Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star.' Supposedly deer don't like it. Another plus.

The next category is things I already have but wanted more of.

This is another of the Sedum takesimense 'Atlantis' that was one of my favorite purchases from 2023. The one I have is very healthy, but it grows slowly, so I decided to get another. This has been in a greenhouse and is very leggy, but it will be fine.

And here is what the first one I bought looks like right now. Here's the thing. These sedums that are hardy take a while to get filled out in the spring. So this almost doesn't look like the same plant, but it is.

Next up, we have Sempervivum 'Gold Nugget.' I found one of these at the end of the season last year. I'd been looking for it because it is more yellow than the 'Gold Rush' I had already purchased. This is my second one that I just bought. You can see that in the greenhouse, it was bright yellow and orange.

A lot of the rock garden plants change color significantly through the season depending on how much direct sun they get and the temperature. Here is the 'Gold Nugget' I bought last year. All of the rosettes it had then have survived. Now we will wait and see if they get brighter gold as the season warms.

I certainly wasn't looking for another one of the next plant on purpose because I bought my first one just last year, and I knew it was alive, but wasn't sure how healthy it was. But... this one was half price because most of the blooms had been broken off, so it came home with me. This is Armeria maritima, sea thrift. This one is 'Morning Star Deep Rose.' You can see it has two flowers yet for this year. This is a full size one, the stalks can get 10-12" tall, but I was looking for something about this height for this space, and the leaves are a texture that contrasts with other things near it. Why not?

The one I got last year is a miniature. It only gets about 6" tall. A week ago it was looking iffy, and I wasn't sure if it was just too early to look good, or if it wasn't happy." This one is variety 'Dusseldorf Pride.' But it's looking good now, and in fact I can see at least two flower stalks starting up (it also has pink balls). And this one was a much smaller pot, so even when it was new the plant was much smaller than the one I just bought.

I think this also goes in the category of "plants I've previously killed one of, but should be happy here." However, I can't find the plant record for the earlier one, so perhaps my track record is clear on this.

There are two more purchases this year, but they need a couple of days to look happier after being transplanted, so I'll wait to show you. Neither one will bloom until later anyway.

Busy day- all the usual things, plus a delivery (the big purchase- I'll show you another day), bell choir, laundry. I was hoping to walk, but the delivery messed up my timing.

See Spring Color Palette

Hunting for (but Not Finding) Spring

 Cathy and I hiked four miles this morning, and I was determined to find some signs of spring. Well, not much success there.

This is Pennsylvania Sedge, and if you squint, you can just see the stems starting to come up in the middle of this clump.

This picture is terrible, but the blackberry canes have just the tinyest leaves starting.

The best evidence is swelling buds on the red maple, but they haven't even erupted in flowers yet.

But when I got home... there are primroses in bloom. So there's that!

After lunch, Cathy and I did a jigsaw puzzle. It's called "Dog Days," and it was a lot of fun. 750 pieces and just the right level that we managed to finish in one afternoon.

I did manage to get two loads of laundry done and dried on the line as well.

Four miles with 22 pounds. That is great because I believe I can do a two-day one-night backpack with only 22 pounds. So, now I just need to work on the mileage. My back is sore, but not too bad.

Miles hiked in 2025: 97.5. Hile 100: 32.5.

NCT, Timber Creek south to Wingleton and back. 4 miles

See Leitch Bayou

Weeds that Get to Stay

  Well, today I have to report a breakdown of the internal systems. I worked on things in the morning and then lost focus and energy. Sigh.

These weeds get to stay in the rock garden until further notice. First up is a Cyperus schweinitzii. MI Flora calls it Rough Sand Sedge. It likes dry and sandy soil rather than wet areas like most Cyperus and Carex. It showed up in my gardens as soon as they were gardens, and because I have an affinity for these brown and green plants, I just like it. It's those long skinny stalks. It's too tall and not very showy. But I still like it.

Here is the seed head. Pretty classy I think. It gets a Coefficient of Conservatism of 5: native, kind of average.

If you look down on the dirt in the first picture, you'll see a low matted plant. That is Spotted Spurge, or Spotted Sand Mat, Euphorbia maculata, yes another Euphorbia! Wikipedia says it is native, MI Flora isn't so sure, saying it could have been introduced very early. However, it assigns it a trash plant value with a Coefficient of Conservatism of 0. Zero. Anyway... It's not too ugly, and it covers up spaces that are bare dirt, and it's easy to rip out when other things fill in.

This is Silvery Cinquefoil, Potentilla argentea, an alien, and fairly aggressive. I do let it stay in a lot of places, though. It has yellow blossoms, but not showy. Mostly the silvery leaves are interesting. Again, it just serves as a temporary filler, and doesn't develop huge root systems that are hard to get out.

You could make a case for the violets also being weeds, but they are nice weeds. I'll see how many bloom next spring. They could be a nice addition, although I tend to think the rock garden is too dry for them. And they get chewed the rest of the season. I think the grazer must be something very small, chipmunk or ground squirrel because I don't think anything bigger got through the fence. If some violets get to stay, I need to choose where.

Maybe tomorrow I'll be back on track.

See Up the Middle

More Goodies from the Woods

 No wonder I was so tired yesterday afternoon. I forgot that Gary and I held up this clump of trees so everyone could walk under it.

We saw several kinds of ferns, but I'm always a sucker for the Northern Maidenhair, Adiantum pedatum. These whorls are just perfect.

This is nothing special, but it's one of my favorite sedges, just because it's kind of showy. Carex intumescens.

Probably because the wind brought them down, we saw a lot of oak apple galls.

This one must be very new. The structure inside wasn't filled in like I usually see. For example this one

Here's another little oddity. This bracken fern should have 3 branches. But something has damaged the growth meristem. The frond that should have grown there is all bunched up. It looks kind of like "witches broom," but that usually only is found on woody plants. Like galls, this can be caused by more than one thing. Insect damage, a pathogen, a chemical. When you see something similar on goldenrod, it was probably caused by a midge or a fly making the plant create a chamber where its egg can grow. But I've never seen one on a fern before.

In other news, I edited big time. Minnesota is taking a lot of work. I had the data collected, but put it aside because I hadn't settled on a format that worked in all situations. But once I get Minnesota whipped into shape, everything east of there is pretty clean.

I also worked in my gardens for over an hour, total. I edit until I have to wiggle, then go outside for a while.

See Gary Hits 100

Sterling Marsh Again

  Today, Loren and I hiked through Sterling Marsh on the NCT. The water is quite low, but it's always a beautiful walk.

Way out in the open water there is a covering of water lilies. The vertical stripes are mostly hard-stem bulrush.

Here is one of the boardwalk sections. We didn't meet a single other person out there today. It was just us and the mosquitoes!

A lot of the sedges are in fruit right now. This is one of my favorites, because it's so showy, Carex intumescens.

And this was a new one to me. Pretty sure it's Carex flava, sometimes called hedgehog grass.

If you want a showy fungus, how about Stacked Hydnum?

And if you prefer something delicate, here is Unicorn Pinkgill.

We hiked about six miles. North Country Trail Miles for 2021 is at 352.

In other news: I am quite a bit poorer, but I have brand new, shiny, very good tires on my car. I went to the store and also did some more cleaning. I'd try to be a little more poetic or literary or something, but I'm tired.

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI. Jenks Road TH to 96th St and back. 6 miles total

See Trail Work- Easy Edition

Back to Midland to Mackinac - Day 4

  This should have been a message right here. This person must have hiked yesterday, because there was serious rain on Tuesday which would have obliterated any footprints. You will notice this person did an out-and-back hike.

My goal today was to hike from Grim Road to Guernsey Creek, hopefully cross it on a new bridge built by the Scouts, and reach Guernsey Creek Road.

A lot of the path was on two-track roads so I was concentrating on the plants. Here's a super-nifty one. This is a sedge. I know that most people don't care about sedges, but I love them, and this is a bit of a surprise. Tony Resnicek has IDed it coreectly as Carex folliculata. It has the highest Coefficient of Conservatism-: 10. And... It hasn't been found anywhere near the county where I was today. Gladwin County is very under-reported on botanical specimens.

The dewberries are just blooming. It's too hard to tell them apart in the field without books, so I won't try to tell you which species.

So, I knew it was supposed to rain for about an hour, mid-day. It rained for three solid hours. Just in case you don't get wet enough in the rain, add wading through wet ferns to finish things off. Well, I got to Guernsey Creek. First off, let me show you another nifty plant. This one isn't particularly special, but I like it. This is Common Bur-Reed, Sparganium eurycarpum. The stems are hollow and triangular.

And the flowers are spiky balls on a zig-zag stalk. Just fun- like a plant with a sense of humor.

Well, now I'm standing at the edge of the creek. Of course, I've walked an extra mile because there was no turn blaze for where to leave the 2-track. It's pouring. I'm in waist-deep weeds. Here's the creek. I'm in the right place. There's a blue blaze on the stump over there, and one on the next tree too. See a bridge?

The answer is "yes," however, it's not what you think. The Scouts actually built two bridges. The first one was a large log with the top flattened and a hand rail added. But that got swept sideways during a high-water event. The second one, not as fancy, apparently has now been taken completely downstream. Anyway, look hard and you can see the first one in the grass over there. Notice the cable railing, and then you'll see the end of the log.

I was only about a mile from the road I was aiming for, but I would have had to try to cross the creek, and then again coming back, so I turned around.

Now we get to the embarrassing part. There was only about a half mile of woods trail to connect a couple of those 2-tracks. The blazes were faded and hiding, but I made it through OK, and added a few pieces of flagging tape where I thought I might need it going back. On the way back, I lost the blazes twice, and I re-found them twice. That is a matching set, so we should be good, right? Nope, somehow I went back the way I had come and ended up at Walter Road which I knew pretty well by then, having already crossed it twice. It's still raining. I'm soaked and hungry, but don't want to stop and eat in the rain. I know where I am. And I know I won't get turned around on the road. So, yup, I walked around to my car. 4.3 miles around, being attacked by so many deer flies that I got out my head net. But at least it stopped raining then.

So I had a nice wet 9-mile hike.

Midland to Mackinac Trail, Gladwin County, MI, Grim Road to Guernsey Creek, and road walking. 9 miles

See Back to M2M- Day 3

The Greening, and a Little Color!

  Thanks to the rain we had a few days ago, some of the spring treats are beginning to appear. I was hiking 30 miles south of my latitude yet, but I should be seeing similar things near home soon. Since I've teased you several times with trailing arbutus buds, now I'll end the suspense and show you the clear waxy flowers. Epigaea repens. The flowers can also be light pink, and may age to pink.

One of the earliest wildflowers to open here is bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. I found quite a few but they were maybe the smallest I've ever seen. I don't think they like growing among the grasses.

Nearby was Virginia spring beauty, Claytonia virginica. The dainy flowers close up and droop unless they have sunshine. Can you see the delicate lavender veins in the flowers? Species virginica has narrow leaves.

No flowers yet, but I love the leaves of wood betony, aka lousewort, Pedicularis canadensis. Leaves are green and/or maroon. This is a nice collection of both colors. Flowers will be creamy yellow or maroon. There doesn't seem to be any correlation with maroon leaves to maroon flowers.

These are last year's, and they aren't a flower, but who can resist a cute fungus? I believe this is mini-puffball, Lycoperdon pusillum. Everything fits, except they usually grow on the ground. Well, I'm not a fungus expert! The central hole is lobed, and the surface has a somewhat netted pattern.

Finally, I can't let you off without a sedge! This is Carex pensylvanica, Pennsylvania sedge, which is just being sexy all over the forest floor right now. Those yellow things are the anthers, and they are spreading pollen like crazy.

Maybe more plants tomorrow- it's spring, green is popping, and I can't help myself!

In other news: I edited till I thought my brain would explode, and then I would put some pieces in a jig saw puzzle, then go back to editing. That, and I over-ate. Does that count as an accomplishment?

See 10 More Newaygo County Miles