Green Dragon

Doesn't look like much does it? But I was so excited to receive these bulbs.  These are what will hopefully produce green dragons (Arisaema dracontium) this summer. Green dragons are similar to jack-in-the-pulpits, however the green dragons bloom later in the summer, are taller and have beautiful large foliage. Neither or these plants were growing here when we bought the property. I have introduced jack but had a difficult time finding any green dragons. A friend dug up these bulbs from his yard and suggested that I plant them in a shady damp location. The middle bulb is younger and hopefully will also produce a flower. The bulbet on the left was removed from the large bulb on the right and planted separately in an experiment to see what it will produce. They are all planted in the woods along the river where it frequently floods. The bulbs are not eaten by animals as they contain a toxic substance, calcium oxalate. But insects visit the flowers and many animals eat the berries. The foliage, unusual flowers and bright red berries of the green dragon are a beautiful addition to any moist shady area.

Invasive Plants

What are invasive plants?
Alien or "exotic" plant species are those which have been introduced by some non-natural process (primarily human transportation and/or planting) into an environment in which they did not naturally evolve or spread. Some exotic species are able to thrive outside their normal zones, and those termed "invasive" are capable of aggressively competing with native species to the point of displacing them. To accomplish this, invasives tend to exhibit very strong vegetative growth, abundant long-lived seed production, a high degree of germination, and rapid maturation to seed-producing capability. While there can be overlap, the term "invasive plants" generally refers to natural areas management, and is distinct from the more legal designation "noxious weeds" applicable to economic impact in agricultural systems and regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Why should we worry about invasive plants?
Invasive plants can have a tremendous negative influence on balanced ecosystems of soil, water, plants and animals. They can crowd out primary or even sole source species of food or hosts for a variety of insects, birds, mammals, and other organisms, and can restrict wildlife movements and natural migration patterns. The long term effect can often be a significant reduction in the diversity of species occupying a local or even regional ecosystem, in some extreme cases leading to native species extinction. Such a reduction in diversity can place both terrestrial and aquatic habitats and their occupying animal populations under great stress. Government agencies and local park districts charged with enhancing and preserving natural habitats face rising costs in their efforts to remove invasive plants and reduce their spread.

What can we do about them?
At Habitat Home, we follow a few simple rules.  First, we try not to introduce exotic plants of any kind, using only native plants in both our natural areas and in the landscaping around the house.  By the way, we consider the house landscaping to be just another case of the natural areas management we are doing in the prairie, savanna, and riparian corridor areas of the property.  Second, we actively remove invasive species as we find them.  And find them we do!  It is a never ending process.  The biggest problem species at Habitat Home are bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), and yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis).  Mowing helps, especially for the olives, but we cut the clover and honeysuckle and spray the honeysuckle stumps with a small amount of glyphosate (for example, Roundup).

Indiangrass

What a majestic beautiful plant Indiangrass Sorghastrum natans is. Or perhaps it just seems so because it is the last plant of the tall grass prairie plants to bloom and therefore just looks better than its neighbors. It is now a glowing golden color and will remain so throughout the winter. It is the tallest of the grasses in our prairie, reaching well over six feet tall. Indiangrass is often a co-dominant species with big bluestem, and usually sparser. In our prairie these two grasses are in separate areas so it will be interesting to see how they do develop together. Curently there is a very healthy stand of Indiangrass.

Rose Hips

Rosa carolina produces  beautiful rose hips every year if you leave the pink flowering  roses on the plant.  These rose hips are actually a structure called achenes, an urn shaped receptacle that contains the fruits of the plant.   Rose hips are sought after by deer, rabbits, squirrels and birds all winter long.  Rose hips are very high in Vitamin C and can be used in Jellies, jams, and to make tea.  The best time to harvest the hips are after the first frost but leave plenty for the wildlife.

Salt Marsh Caterpillar

My potted tomato plants are gone now.  The other day the leaves were all eaten.  I wondered who did it, but being the end of the season, I just dumped the soil and what was left of the poor plants onto the compost piles. This morning as I watered some  scented geraniums, I noticed this caterpillar.  Looking so cute and fluffy, I asked the resident photograher to photograph it.  It was not until tonight as I was looking up what it actually was that I realized it had eaten the  tomato leaves!  I  think it is a salt marsh caterpillar, the mature larval form of the salt marsh moth (Estigmene acrea).  The larvae are well known for their ability to skeletonize foliage of vegetable plants, one of which is tomato plants.  Doesn't look so cute and fluffy any more.

Migrating Monarchs

Last year, we removed most of the bush honeysuckle from the edge of the path adjoining the woods at the northwest corner of the bottom field near the orchard. This year, this cleared area is awash with volunteer brown-eyed susans (Rudbeckia triloba) and wingstem (Actinomeris alternifolia, image below). While we routinely observe Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) through the summer, this area has been visited by hundreds of monarch butterflies in the past two weeks; at any visit to the site now there are usually 20 or more present, both on the flowers and in the trees. These images were taken in the early evening, essentially standing still and rotating in place.

Monarchs (the State Insect of Illinois) are present in the state all summer, having up to three broods. But those that have become adults by September are ready to migrate south, either to the gulf coast or all the way to "traditional" breeding grounds in the highlands of central Mexico. These fall migrant Monarchs were born in Illinois or points north into southern Canada, probably three or more generations removed from their ancestors that left the winter roosting grounds last winter/spring. They have never made this trip south before, yet somehow they know when and where to travel. As many as 300 million will congregate in Mexico's Transvolcanic Plateau. How and why they pull off this feat is a mystery. Monarchs are the only butterfly that has such a fixed migration pattern; the migration behaviors of other butterfly species are much more erratic.

It's nice to see all these flowers still blooming and providing these Monarchs with some nectar as a source of energy for the next leg of their long flight ahead!

 

 

Trumpet vine

Campsis radicans is doing a fine job of attracting hummingbirds this summer with the large number of flowers it is producing. With its lovely orange flowers, lush foliage, and interesting seed pods this is a very ornamental native vine to grow. However, the vine is very aggressive and can take over an area, so be careful where you plant it. Often in the country one sees it growing in full sun on sign posts and old fence posts where it freely creeps over the whole fence. In addition to attracting hummingbirds, several insects are attracted to the flower, and a variety of songbirds will nest in the tangle of branches where they are hidden by the dense foliage.