Recent rainy weather has made it easy to pull garlic mustard (and almost anything else). I was out this morning for a combination of jogging and garlic mustard removal and noticed that the area between High and Cooke is a mix of good and bad. The area from Canyon past Lenappe to Cooke is pretty much free of garlic mustard. However, there are some pretty bad spots between Canyon and High, especially on the north side of the road.

Evil Garlic Mustard

Last night Dave Anderson showed me all the trout lily he exposed under the vinca and winter creeper that he pulled off the slope in front of his house. His house faces High Street and the rain garden.

A neighbor asked about the flowers currently in bloom in the ravine (yellow, buttercup-like; blue, grass-like; and white droopy flowers). The yellow flowers are winter aconite (European non-native, Eranthis hyemalis), the blue flowers are Siberian squill (non-native, fairly invasive, Scilla siberica), and the white flowers are snowdrops (non-native, Galanthus sp.). We are currently discussing with our mentors about possible issues with such large blooms of non-natives, but at this time have not decided on a course of action. The first step in maintaining a healthy ecosystem is knowledge of what is there.
–Derek

The Franklin Soil & Water annual native plant and tree sale is underway. Orders must be received by March 26, and your orders can be picked up April 16 & 17.  Get together with your neighbors to order different bundles of seedlings to spread native species around the area.  (Most orders are for 5-10 bare rooted seedlings of a single species, similar to the trees we plant in the ravine area each year.) 

It would be great to develop an area filled with Spicebush, Ninebarks, and Witchhazels to demonstrate native alternatives to the honeysuckles we work so hard to get rid of.  Go to their website for more information.

Hi from National Wildlife Federation Habitat Ambassadors!

It’s rewarding to see what creatures have found benefits from your yard. I watch for tracks in fresh snow before I step. Some common Ohio tracks can be seen at Ohio Dept of Natural Resources track examples. Scroll down to the second page and the answers are upside down.

What difference does your yard make? Read this short 2-page article called Gardening for Wildlife by Douglas Tallamy, who will be speaking at the Ohio Botanical Symposium (See ‘Nature Stuff’ below for details on that event)

The Annual Franklin County Soil And Water Conservation District Tree, Fish and Wildflower Sale. Orders need to be in by 3/26. order by mail or online using the link.

Curious about organic lawn care? Try to find books at the library, such as The Organic Lawn Care Manual by Paul Tuckey. This flyer has some information on the left (corn gluten is organic): Environmentally Friendly Lawn and Garden Care. Google the web for organic lawn care, here’s a start: Ohioline OSU Extension Fact Sheet

Thanks for helping backyard wildlife!

- Toni, www.backyardhabitat.info

Toni’s latest nature article:

‘Help Robins in your yard‘ – select Jan. 2010 and go to page 3 in the bottom right corner, Help Robins In Your Yard

Nature ‘Stuff’

• NWF’s Schoolyard Habitat Guide and Lesson Plans are now free online! Schoolyard Habitat Materials
• National Wildlife Federation’s CEO, Larry Schweiger, book “Last Chance” takes you on a journey of climate change discovery across the world from his perspective as a grandfather and a conservationist.

Nature Events

• Sat, 2/13, 10AM, Mud, Dirt or Soil?, Dr. David Barker, Inniswood Metro Park, Westerville, Scroll down at http://www.for-wild.org/chapters/columbus
• Thurs, 2/18, Ohio Invasive Plants Research Conference, Connecting Research and Land Management, Indoor Adventure Center, Franklin Park, Columbus www.oipc.info
• Thurs, 3/11, Central Ohio Stormwater & Erosion Control Expo, Longaberger Alumni House, OSU Campus, Columbus. Contact the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District at 614-486-9613 for information.
• Fri, 3/26, 8-4, Ohio Botanical Symposium, Keynote Speaker: Dr. Doug Tallamy, author of ‘Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens’, Villa Milano, 16730 Schrock Rd, Columbus. Register online at Symposium Registration before 3/22

I take back what I said about buying wildflowers at Lowes. Thanks to Jeff Frontz, I got a good education about the difference of “nursery grown” and “nursery propagated”. It seems the nursery that supplies Lowes with their wildflowers has collected them from the wild and then resold them. This depleted or wipes out native populations of these plants. They have even been in trouble with the USFWS for collecting and selling venus flytraps from the wild.

So I guess the action we should take is to tell Lowes we want natives but only those that are “nursery propogated”.

Here are some websites and input from Jeff:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/natives/msg0617012515531.html
is where there is a discussion about wild-collected vs. nursery-propagated and (about half-way down, July 7 at 8:46).

http://southeast.fws.gov/news/1999/r99-087.html is the press release on the owner’s SECOND conviction on trafficking in endangered species.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/woodland/msg0209172431638.html

talks specifically about Lowe’s (it wanders on and off topic, so keep scanning until the end) and also mentions the provenance issues that the supplier has faced.

But, really, it’s the labeling that clinches it for me– nurseries that actually propagate their stock plaster their packaging/ads with this fact. They know that folks will pay for the assurance that they’re not contributing to the depredation of wild areas. Not trumpeting the fact that something is actually nursery propagated would be tantamount to an organic food producer leaving “USDA Organic” off of their packaging.

Jeff

Hi All,

I was at Lowes today and was excited to find many varieties of native bulbs/corms/tubers for sale.  It was a great variety:

Hepatica, Virginia Bluebell, Wild Geranium, Sessile Trillium, Trout
Lily, Large-flowered Trillium, Bloodroot, May Apple, Fire Pinks,
Maidenhair fern, Christmas Fern, Butterflyweed, Jack-in-the-pulpit, and more that I don’t remember right now.  AND they are only $1.98 each. The package also indicated they were nursery grown.

I am so pleased that they are carrying natives.  And they are at all the Lowes locations.  I encourage all of you to go out and get some to show through our buying power that we want natives available.  Also, please send this information along to others that you know support the use of natives in our landscaping.

It would also be great to comment to the managers how much you appreciate them stocking native plants/bulbs.

Elayna

Hi from Toni & Marc, National Wildlife Federation Habitat Ambassadors!

What do you see when you look at a flowerbed that has gone to seed?  I see beautiful songbirds, natural mulch that retains water, tiny leaf-litter animals improving soil, materials for next year’s native bird nests, and cover for bugs that are a critical part of our food chain.  Leaf litter is much different than most human litter. It is used and recycled by the soil food chain.

Being a neat freak in the yard not only destroys habitat value, but it’s important to us too. “Perhaps solid waste landfills … are the single largest man-made source of methane in the United States” says Janet Marinelli in an article from the National Wildlife Magazine at www.nwf.org/NationalWildlife/printerFriendly.cfm?issueID=124&articleID=1646

Watch for Chimney Swifts gathering for migration at very large, uncapped chimneys.  They look like smoke going into the chimney – what a show! 
Here are directions to one site in Columbus:  http://columbusoh.wbu.com/content/show/25766

Migration is here.  See approximate fall migration timetable from birdnature:   http://www.birdnature.com/falloh.html

Cricket weathermen!  Count the cricket chirps in 13 seconds and add 40 to get the approximate current temperature. Only males chirp for courting and this only works down to about 55 degrees.  Below that it’s too cold to court.  http://www.snopes.com/science/cricket.asp

Take time out each day to look in your yard and enjoy! 

– Toni, www.backyardhabitat.info

+ Nature ‘Stuff’
- Weds, 9/9, 8:45-3:15, Invasive Plants in Southeast
Ohio, 710 Collegiate Dr, Marietta, see: www.oipc.info for more information
- Sat, 9/12, 10AM, Growing Native Trees in Pots, Inniswood Metro Park,Westerville,  Scroll down at http://www.for-wild.org/chapters/columbus
- Sun, 9/13, 2-5pm, Green Family Fun event, in front of wind turbine and solar panels at Glacier Ridge Metro Park
- Sept 11, 12 or 13, A Swift’s Night Out, 30 minutes before dusk. 1919 West Bridge Street in Dublin. If you’d like to count them and report your tally see http://www.chimneyswifts.org/
- Sat,9/19, 9am-6pm, Scioto Gardens’ Fall Equinox Festival, page down to special events at Scioto Gardens here http://www.sciotogardens.com/events.html
- Sat, 10/3, Wildlfest, Ohio Wildlife Center, http://ohiowildlifecenter.org/ click on Events
- Tues, 10/6, MORPC Summit at COSI, 8am-6pm, www.greenregion.org/

Nan Platt writes:

Bill is just back [from a walk] and he told me of a thrilling moment seeing a deer soaring across Overbrook. Several weeks ago, we had a young fox visit us in the early morning, circling round and round in and out of the plants and shrubbery, before trotting off.

Looking back at its siblings.

We have been enjoying the company of baby foxes recently. Above are two photos that my dad took of one of them.

Earlier this spring, we heard our neighbors had a den in their backyard… several weeks ago, the babies started exploring the area. I’m not sure how many there are, but we’ve seen at least two at once. They wander around our yard like a pet dog or cat. They have been very bold and curious. I’ve seen them following our neighbors as they’ve unloaded their car…they kept a distance of about 8-10 feet…darting backwards if the people changed direction.

One of them came right up to our side door when it smelled the cooking inside; Mike had to shoo it away. They’re so cute, I almost wanted to toss it a treat….(of course I wouldn’t). One day, another one followed Mike around while he was working in the yard. They started becoming so friendly and fearless, we wondered if something had happened to the parents, but our neighbors said they still saw the parents coming and going from the den.

A few days ago, we saw one following a cat….it stayed about 15 feet behind it. We thought it might be stalking it, but when the cat took off running, the fox didn’t give chase. We have found some partially eaten rabbits in the yard. The adult foxes don’t hang around very long and maintain more distance, so it’s been fun to watch the young ones. We look forward to watching the babies grow over the summer!