Thursday, December 13, 2007

Next

Pieces of things persist, like pieces of my sanity. I've probably had too much caffeine, nicotine and sugar and not enough sustenance. Too much liftin', totin' and shovelin' leads to an arm and hand that goes numb with a painful tingling. Plenty of rest in the wrong position aggravates that nerve that must be pinched in my shoulder. A few other nerves have been pinched of late. I'll persist.


















In the naked forest the ferns have not given up after lows in the twenties several times, a few bouts of tiny frozen pellets and the first snow. This tells me that drifts of ferns will be a good choice for winter interest in the garden.














The native Putty Root Orchid, Aplectrum hyemale is spread in drifts all across this mountain. It is reappearing for a second time from beneath the thick layer of leaves that buried them after their initial emergence. It persists as long as it has a native habitat undisturbed. My book warns not to collect them in the wild. They are not likely to survive. I can garden around them and spread the seed to places where I would like to have them.














And what is this? Some new offering to the winter forest floor is emerging in droves. I will have to watch what it does and look for clues to its identity.














I'm the next two poles on the line. Tomorrow will be the big day perhaps. With driveway access, existing smooth ground, tidy surroundings and orange flags marking "Do not Disturb", those things I hope will persist after the coming disturbance wait in anticipation.














I do some things thinking they will persist for a time and then move on to the next thing.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know how close you are to a newsstand, but you might want to read the article on the demise of Eastern Hemlocks in your neck of the woods in this week's issue. Abstract only online.

Christopher C. NC said...

The Hemlocks in my woods are heavily infested and in dire straits. The prognosis is not good.

Brian Heath, Pest Control Forester with the NC Forest Service said he believes the Hemlocks will go the way of the Chestnuts.

Unknown said...

Isn' that part of the fun of being a gardener, though? Waiting to see what persists, and doesn't, through our constant disturbances? *smile*

Christopher C. NC said...

Yes. We root for the survivors.

chuck b. said...

Your next assignment: To clear the brush around around the fireplace and transform it into a garden room.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Christopher,

Don here, from GardenRant. So, you are just up the road, in Clyde. Great! I have to go drive kids to school, but nice to know you are in the neighborhood.

It is true - if very hard sometimes - that we have to let go of things we love, such as chestnuts, and maybe now hemlocks? Hard to imagine. And over the longer term, who knows. You can still find immature American chestnuts growing at the top of King's Mountain, west of here near Shelby. They die at about 20, but the stand somehow survives. In the pasture beside where my uncle and aunt still live in Franklin, Macon Co., is a stuggling chestnut. Might be a hybrid, might not, nobody seems to know. It is mature and surviving, though it reminds me a lot of a pear tree that lives on inspite of fire blight.

Anyway, if you ever have to come down to the big city, be glad to have you visit.

lisa said...

I may be wrong, but I think the plant in that second to last picture is poison ivy ("leaves of three, let it be"). Not sure, but I wanted to toss in my 2 cents just in case. And I feel silly to ask, but what's up with chestnuts dying? I'm buying one next spring, so I hope my colder climate will help with whatever it is.

Christopher C. NC said...

No I don't think it is Poison Ivy. That is deciduous and has gone bye bye for the winter.

The Chestnut Blight pretty much wipe out Chestnuts in the US. There is resistance breeding being done and other species or cultivars available I think. Here are two links to info on the Chestnut Blight.

http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/chestnut/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_blight

I see we have a new Blogger icon by our names now. There is a drop down menu in the comment section now too for other kinds of users.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I can feel your pain about the Hemlocks. We have some Pines that the pine bark beetle have descimated.

I called the tree removal company today to take one more out before it falls. UGH...

Chris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener) said...

The three-leaved guy reminds me of Bugbane (Actea), but I've only seen that as mature plants in the garden, never young'uns in the wild. Looking forward to its id!

lisa said...

Thanks for the chestnut links!