Wildlife in the Garden

It's been quite a year for wildlife in the garden. I take an holistic approach to sharing the garden, trying always to balance our needs with the needs of wildlife, choosing deterrence over violence whenever possible, and recognizing that we are all just trying to survive between the mountains and "civilization."

Here are a few photos I took this week of our newest residents...

Woodchucks are hard to share the garden with, but they sure are cute.

If only this one would stick to eating sunchokes all of the time!

One of my greatest delights right now is the pair of snowshoe hares living their best life in our yard. These are not docile, Peter Rabbit bunnies; they're wild!

I will never again wonder about the origins of the trope that hares are mad. Look at that side-eye!

Parking Lot Wander

We tend to think of vast box store parking lots as wastelands, but there are herbs growing even there. Herbs specialize in growing where other plants fear to tread — bold, strong, survivors. Here are the shots from my wander between box store parking lots this afternoon.

Flowers grow everywhere…

This stand of bird’s-foot trefoil was growing in a perfect circle. Such a beautiful and delicate weed!

Red clover is a champ when it comes to covering bare ground quickly.

More clover, living on the edge.

White clover is another excellent ground cover, growing lower and denser than red clover. Permaculturalists buy as much white clover seed as they can afford, and here it is, growing in no-man’s-land.

I’ve heard it said that Native Americans called plantain “white man’s footprint” because it sprung up everywhere white men walked. This is the indigenous blackseed plantain, identifiable by its reddish stems. Plantain is soothing and is an important ingredient in many of the Half Wild herbals, including Green Wonder Salve and Herbal itch Relief.

One of my favorite herbs — St. John’s wort, taking advantage of the hot, dry lot to soak up the June sun and soon turn it into flower rays that can be used for so many things. St. John’s wort oil is an excellent massage oil, and will be included in some new salves this year: Apres Ski and Apres Sun.

Milkweed always makes me smile with the memory of monarch butterflies. I have been tending a wild patch on my property for a few years, and the number of plants has just exploded. So many herbs just need a little attention, and they will thrive.

I love this shot with the always stunning wild dianthus in the front and a patch of yarrow flowering early in the back. How many other herbs can you spot in this one picture?

close-up on the wild dianthus

Purple vetch may try to trip you in the field, but it always looks so pretty among the green grass.

Black locust blossoms swaying in the breeze!

Dainty sorrel with its lemon-y leaves so often grows in locations where you don’t want to eat it.

June Sunset Wander

I'm trying something new this year...inviting you to join me on my wild wanders. Here are some of the plants I visited with this evening, just before sunset. It's a beautiful time in the North Country!

The first rugosa rose of the year. These flower flush in June and then continue to bloom until the first frost. Each day, I harvest their petals for Rosewater Toner while tiptoeing among a diverse array of bees.

There is something so lovely about the subtle white and yellow flowers that are blooming in the field tonight — not too showy, almost comforting.

The nannyberries are blooming! A tasty wild edible that tastes like raisins, if you’re patient enough to remove the huge seed.

Honeysuckle bush that has taken over the understory of my woods. Each spring, I hand pull the seedlings and cut back the bushes, hoping to give other species a chance at the light.

A Japanese honeysuckle bush that was a decorative planting in my yard. I’m conflicted about keeping it, as the berries are non-nutritious for the birds when they eat them, but the bush is so very pretty.

I associate asters with fall, but these beauties are popping up on the field edges today.

The hawkweed is thinking about blooming! Every year, they grow up right in the middle of the lawn, and we don’t have the heart to cut them back when we mow.

The yarrow is growing slow and steady this year. The flowering tops appear in many Half Wild herbals, including Green Wonder Salve and Herbal Bug Spray.

The wild red columbine poking up from ditches on the side of the road get me every year. Such defiant beauty; we could all learn something from these flowers.

Daisy, daisy, facing the setting sun. They always make me smile.