What better way to usher in an earlier spring than to snip a few flowering tree branches and place them in water in your warm home. Watch the buds swell and than explode. Pictured here is cornus mas, a type of dog wood.
This is a converted chicken coupe I’ve been working on. It is also my summer kitchen. I’m to the point on the project where I need to build luvered vents for ventilation above the windows. I’m very excited because I’d like the vents to also function as habitat for bats. I’m currently looking for reclaimed unfinished cedar boards to build them as I’ve found out bats prefer raw wood to hold on to. I also need to find bat guana ( bat shit ) to put in little cheese cloth bags, staple them to the newly constructed vent to attract new residents. There will be screening on the inside as to keep the bats out of the inside. Why bats? Why not….they eat a lot of bugs and they don’t bother me
So we had a really big wet heavy snow this winter that snapped many trees in half. One such cedar ( juniparius virginianaI ) lives in my yard. When I came upon the tree I was shocked by the dramatic new silhouette. Took a deep breath and studied the tree for a bit. The break in the trunk was ripped and torn and a large section of the tree was just hanging there exposing a long trunk of exfoliating bark. I found it to be beautifully exposed. It wasn’t until a little bit later after continuing to look at it that I thought I could leave the branch to die wear it lay, loose all it’s needles and turn that wonderful gray driftwood color. So as in a wild woodland somewhere, I will observe the succession of a tree and how it develops with new plants that grow around it into a new environment……unless I can’t stand how messy it looks and get out the chain saw.
Filed under: Garden, Inspiration, Nature, Why Not? | Tags: birds, color, fall, groundwork, nesting, plant, poison ivy, spring, trees, Why Not?
Why not plant Poison Ivy on a large tree. For one, you can see the beautiful fall color. If you plant it on a tree off the beaten path you can avoid contact. It creates heavy dense cover for nesting birds in an other wise open branched tree. It also produces berries that the birds love. With a little thought, You can have a plant inside a plant.
