Monthly Archives: May 2015

Ripley, 2000-2015

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Our Ripley died with us around 1:30 this morning.

It’s still the middle of the night. We had an 8am appointment with the vet for an ultrasound exam to find out what was going on. Instead, I’ll be taking his body in for cremation.

I need to try to get at least a few more hours sleep. I needed to write something first.

We adopted him when he was almost 8 years old.
Ripley


He had a good seven years with us – almost half his life. He had lots of love.
John & Ripley

He loved to get brushed. He had a porch to watch the birds, and more love.
Ripley and John, in mutual bliss

So much love.
John & Ripley mutually kissing each other

We adopted his baby sister, Annie, to help keep him company, because two grown men weren’t enough for him.
Greco-Roman Cat Wrestling

He’s been in decline for a few months. This is the last photograph I took of him. Three weeks ago, when the weather had warmed up, I took him outside into the front yard. He wanted to wander around and I had to keep herding him back. It was the most active he’d been in weeks. Eventually, he let me brush him – which used to be his favorite activity – and he settled down into the grass.
Ripley in the Grass.

I don’t want to dwell on the details of his passing. I might have more I want to say later. I’m just grateful we were both with him. With us there to give him what comfort we could, he passed quietly at the end.

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Meet Mr. Ripley, 2008-04-14

Native New Yorkers: My Garden’s NYC-Native Plant Checklist

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This is a checklist of just the plant species native to New York City I’m growing in my garden. I’m posting this for the benefit of anyone attending the NYC Wildflower Week tour of my garden, Friday, May 15, from 1-3pm. It may also be of interest to those who attended Tuesday night’s meeting of the Long Island Botanical Society. I only had time during that talk – Place, Purpose, Plants: Urban Gardening with Native Plants – to highlight a handful of plants I’m growing.

Visitors are also going to get to witness a rare treat: “My little bees”, Colletes thoracicus, are actively nest-building in the garden right now. Most years, they would be finished by now, not to be seen until April of the next year. If we’re lucky, we will also get to see the Nomada sp. cuckoo bees I just noticed in my garden for the first time this year.


Adiantum pedatum, Maidenhair Fern, Pteridaceae
Ageratina altissima, white snakeroot, Asteraceae
Allium tricoccum, ramps, Liliaceae
Andropogon gerardii, NYC-local ecotype, Big Bluestem, Poaceae
Andropogon virginicus, Broom Sedge, Poaceae
Anemone canadensis, Canadian anemone, Ranunculaceae
Angelica atropurpurea, purplestem angelica, great angelica, American angelica, high angelica, masterwort, Apiaceae
Antennaria plantaginifolia, plantain-leaved pussytoes, Asteraceae
Aquilegia canadensis ‘Little Lanterns’, Eastern red columbine, Ranunculaceae
Aquilegia canadensis, Eastern red columbine, Ranunculaceae
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, bearberry, Ericaceae
Arisaema triphyllum, Jack in the pulpit, Araceae
Asarum canadense, Canadian wild ginger, Aristolochiaceae
Asclepias incarnata, NYC-local ecotype, swamp milkweed, Apocynaceae
Asclepias syriaca, NYC-local ecotype, Common Milk Weed, Apocynaceae
Asclepias tuberosa, NYC-local ecotype, Butterfly Weed, Apocynaceae
Athyrium filix-femina ‘Lady in Red’, ladyfern, Dryopteridaceae
Baptisia tinctoria, NYC-local ecotype, False Indigo, Fabaceae
Carex laxiculmis ‘Bunny Blue’, spreading sedge, Cyperaceae
Carex pensylvanica, Pennsylvania sedge, Cyperaceae
Caulophyllum thalictroides, blue cohosh, Berberidaceae
Chelone glabra, white turtlehead, Scrophulariaceae
Chrysopsis mariana, NYC-local ecotype, Maryland Goldenaster, Asteraceae
Claytonia virginica, Virginia springbeauty, Portulacaceae
Clematis virginiana, virgin’s bower, devil’s darning needles, Ranunculaceae
Cunila origanoides, NYC-local ecotype, common dittany, Lamiaceae
Dichanthelium clandestinum, NYC-local ecotype, Deer Tongue, Poaceae
Elymus hystrix, NYC-local ecotype, eastern bottlebrush grass, Poaceae
Equisetum hyemale var. affine, scouring rush, Equisetaceae
Eragrostis spectabilis, Purple Lovegrass, Poaceae
Euthamia caroliniana, Slender Goldentop, Asteraceae
Eutrochium maculatum, NYC-local ecotype, spotted joe pye weed, Asteraceae
Fragaria virginiana, Virginia strawberry, Rosaceae
Gentiana andrewsii, Andrews bottle gentian, Gentianaceae
Geranium maculatum ‘Espresso’, spotted geranium, Geraniaceae
Geranium maculatum, spotted geranium, Geraniaceae
Helenium autumnale, NYC-local ecotype, sneezeweed, Asteraceae
Heliopsis helianthoides, smooth oxeye, Asteraceae
Hydrophyllum virginianum, eastern waterleaf, Hydrophyllaceae
Ilex verticillata ‘Southern Gentleman’, winterberry, male, Aquifoliaceae
Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’, winterberry, female, Aquifoliaceae
Ionactis linariifolius, Stiff Aster, Asteraceae
Juncus effusus, NYC-local ecotype, common rush, Juncaceae
Juncus tenuis, Path rush, Juncaceae
Krigia biflora, Two-Flower Cynthia, two-flowered dwarf dandelion, Asteraceae
Lespedeza capitata, Round-headed Bush Clover, Fabaceae
Lilium superbum, Turk’s Cap Lily, Liliaceae
Lobelia cardinalis, cardinal flower, Campanulaceae
Lobelia inflata, indian tobacco, puke weed, Campanulaceae
Lobelia siphilitica, great blue lobelia, Campanulaceae
Lonicera sempervirens, NJ-local ecotype, trumpet honeysuckle, Caprifoliaceae
Monarda fistulosa, NYC-local ecotype, wild bergamot, Lamiaceae
Oenothera biennis, common evening-primrose, Onagraceae
Onoclea sensibilis, sensitive fern, Dryopteridaceae
Opuntia humifusa, Eastern Prickly Pear, Cactaceae
Osmunda cinnamonea, cinnamon fern, Osmundaceae
Osmunda regalis, royal fern, Osmundaceae
Oxalis stricta, upright yellow wood-sorrel, Oxalidaceae
Packera aurea, golden ragwort, Asteraceae
Packera obovata, round-leaved ragwort, Asteraceae
Panicum virgatum ‘Cloud Nine’, switchgrass, Poaceae
Panicum virgatum, NYC-local ecotype, switchgrass, Poaceae
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virgina creeper, Vitaceae (Grape Family)
Penstemon digitalis, NYC-local ecotype, talus slope penstemon, tall white beardtongue, Scrophulariaceae
Phlox subulata, Moss Phlox, Polemoniaceae
Podophyllum peltatum, mayapple, Berberidaceae
Polygonatum biflorum, smooth Solomon’s seal, Ruscaceae
Polystichum acrostichoides, Christmas fern, Dryopteridaceae
Prunus maritima, beach plum, Rosaceae
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, Sweet Everlasting, Asteraceae
Pycnanthemum muticum, NYC-local ecotype, clustered mountain-mint, short-toothed mountain-mint, Lamiaceae
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Slender-leaved Mountain Mint, Lamiaceae
Pycnanthemum virginianum, NYC-local ecotype, Virginia Mountain Mint, Lamiaceae
Rhexia virginica, Virginia meadow-beauty, Melastomataceae
Rhododendron periclymenoides, pinxterbloom azalea, Ericaceae
Rhododendron viscosum, Swamp Azalea, Ericaceae
Rosa virginiana, Virginia rose, prairie rose, Rosaceae
Rudbeckia laciniata, cut-leaved coneflower, tall coneflower, Asteraceae
Saururus cernuus, lizard’s tail, Saururaceae
Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Bluestem, Poaceae
Solidago caesia, NYC-local ecotype, blue-stemmed goldenrod, Asteraceae
Solidago juncea, NYC-local ecotype, early goldenrod, Asteraceae
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Chilly Winds’, New England aster, Asteraceae
Thalictrum pubescens, NYC-local ecotype, tall meadow-rue, king of the meadow, Ranunculaceae
Thalictrum thalictroides, rue anemone, Ranunculaceae
Thelypteris noveboracensis, NYC-local ecotype, New York fern, Thelypteridaceae
Thelypteris noveboracensis, unknown provenance, New York fern, Thelypteridaceae
Thelypteris palustris, marsh fern, Thelypteridaceae
Trillium erectum, red trillium, Liliaceae
Vaccinium angustifolium, lowbush blueberry, Ericaceae
Vaccinium corymbosum, multiple cultivars, highbush blueberry, Ericaceae
Verbena hastata, Blue Vervain, Verbenaceae
Vernonia noveboracensis, New York ironweed, Asteraceae
Veronicastrum virginicum, Culver’s root, Scrophulariaceae
Viburnum dentatum, southern arrowwood, Caprifoliaceae
Viola lanceolata, Bog White Violet, Violaceae
Viola sororia, common blue violet, Violaceae
Zizia aurea, golden alexander, Apiaceae

About this list:

  • This isn’t all of the “native” plants visitors will see in my garden. I have half again as many eastern North American species that are not native to NYC. 
  • This list doesn’t include any plants I’ve acquired this year; I don’t “count” anything until it’s survived a year of my gardening.
  • My most treasured plants are those listed as “NYC-local ecotypes.” These have been propagated by the NYC Parks’ Greenbelt Native Plant Center from populations in and around New York City.

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Place, Purpose, Plants: Urban Gardening with Native Plants

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At last night’s meeting of the Long Island Botanical Society, I spoke about my experiences gardening with native plants in an urban setting. These slides accompanied my talk.

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All my blog posts about My Garden
Other Native Plants blog posts, resources, and references
My insect photography on Flickr

Links

Bennington, J Bret, 2003. New Observations on the Glacial Geomorphology of Long Island from a digital elevation model (DEM) (PDF). Long Island Geologists Conference, Stony Brook, New York, April 2003.

Garden Deeper

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I had a visceral (in a good way) reaction to Adrian Higgins’ writeup of a visit, with Claudia West, to Shenk’s Ferry Wildflower Preserve.

I think I’ll adopt “ecological horticulturist” to describe my own approach to gardening. Whether you specialize in gardening with native plants, as I do, or prefer to grow plants from around the world, studying their native habitats is, in my experience, the best way to learn how to grow them in a garden.

That doesn’t mean you have to recreate the conditions exactly. In many cases, this is impossible, anyway. The native Aquilegia canadensis, eastern red columbine, thrives in the crumbling mortar of my front steps; this location recreates some aspects of the face of a limestone cliff where I saw, decades ago, a huge colony of them in full bloom.
Aquilegia canadensis, Eastern Red Columbine, growing out of my front steps, April 2012

This is why I’m trying to go on more botanical walks and hikes. Like many, if not most, gardeners, I’ve never seen most of the plants I grow in the wild. I visited Hempstead Plains for the first time in August 2013.
Hempstead Plains

That inspired me last year to remove most of the remaining lawn in the front yard and approach it as a meadow, instead.
The Front Garden, before de-lawning, June 2014Weeding is Meditation: Removing the old "lawn" for the new short-grass "meadow" in the front yardFinal grading for the new front yard short-grass meadowThe berm, planted. Took 45 minutes, >2/min, including some rework for overly loose and linear spacing.

Schizachyrium scoparium, little bluestem (grass), in my front garden, November 2014

Rain gardens and rock gardens are both examples of creating gardens to grow plants requiring specific conditions, and to meet human needs. But we don’t need to go to so much trouble. For all the “problem areas” in our gardens, there are plants that want nearly exactly those conditions. We need only think like a plant to see these as opportunities, and embrace the habitats waiting to emerge.

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Links

What you can learn from a walk through the woods (with Claudia West), Adrian Higgins, Washington Post Home & Garden

Native Plant Profile: Adlumia fungosa, allegheny vine, climbing fumitory

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A species new to me that I picked up at yesterday’s plant sale for the Manhattan Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society (MCNARGS). Since I don’t know anything about it, I researched it to figure out what it wants and find a place for it in my garden.

Adlumia fungosa, climbing fumitory, scrambling into Clethra in the backyard in July 2015

Adlumia fungosa is a biennial vine in the Fumariaceae, the fumewort family, or Papaveraceae, poppy family, depending on the accepted taxonomy. It can grow up to 12 feet in length by scrambling over other plants and rocks in the moist, wooded slopes it requires. Common names include allegheny vine, climbing fumitory, and mountain fringe.

Its primary native range is New England and northeastern United States. Following the mountains, its range extends as far south and west as Tennessee and North Carolina. It’s also found in scattered counties as far west as Minnesota and Iowa.

Biota of North America Program (BONAP) floristic synthesis county-level distribution map for Adlumia fungosa. In this map, yellow and light green highlights counties where specimens have been recorded. Dark green shows state-/province-level nativity.

Although not native to New York City, it is native to adjacent and nearby counties in NY, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The New York Flora Association (NYFA) Atlas lists its endangered/threatened status as as S4: Apparently secure in New York State. Other sources, including the New England Wildflower Society (NEWFS), list it as threatened or endangered throughout its range.

I’m going to try this plant on the north side of my garage. That area is consistently moist from runoff from the garage roof. There’s no slope there, but it’s densely planted with shrubs and perennials, so this plant should have lots to scramble over. If it’s really happy, there’s also the nearby arbor.

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