A Quiet Week on the whole
29 March
My apologies, but this has been quite a busy week and the words have not flowed as they should (is that a sigh of relief I hear from the back row?) so here are some early seasonal observations now reappearing around our patch.
But first - Seeds of four varieties of Tomatoes have been sown … the season has started !! 🍅 🧑🏼🌾
And for the gardeners …
“Noticing Nature” No 25 : Winter Aconites
Before anyone comments, yes, the genus Aconitum is not native to North America … and the “Aconites” I am writing about here are not actually Aconitum spp despite their common name. These winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis), do belong to the same family (Ranunculaceae) but are a completely different genus. Early European gardeners linked winter aconite to the classical poisonous Aconitum, which was dedicated to Hecate, the Greek moon goddess associated with witchcraft and crossroads. This connection gave winter aconite an air of mystery, despite being far less dangerous than true aconite.
Winter Aconites typically only grow to a height of at most 5-15 cm. They have cup-shaped yellow flowers surrounded by a ruff of green bracts which are actually modified leaves known as an involucre. Flowering is in late winter to early spring during February-April depending on climate - here, we are certainly at the tail end of that period as there is still some snow on the ground and the temperature is usually below freezing most days. They grow from tubers that spread slowly to form colonies. These tubers are small, potato-like underground structures which store energy needed to support the early spring bloom before other plants start to appear.
Although not, as mentioned above, in the genus Aconitum (monkshood) which contains some of the most toxic plants found in the northern latitudes, they are still toxic and contain similar cardiac glycosides, though far less than true aconites. They will cause irritation and illness if ingested, but are not typically lethal in the way Aconitum species too often are.
The very early flowering means they open when few pollinators are active other than some early bees such as mining bees which might visit the flowers. This means that pollination is rather hit and miss and so spread by tuber division is important to the species. Given time they will naturalize in woodlands and shade gardens. Winter aconite became a fashionable garden plant in 18th-century England and continental Europe. Landscape/estate gardeners prized it as a “winter flower” that could create golden carpets under deciduous trees. (Quote): “It was considered chic and sophisticated- almost a status symbol of the era’s botanical enthusiasm.”
Probably because of their ability to push through snow and to flower in late winter, in Celtic and Christian traditions of the countries where it is a native, it became associated with the Imbolc and Candlemas festivals of early February, marking the turning point toward longer days.
I know that more than a few of you will enjoy this - another writer complains about leaf blowers.
Quote:
It seems to me that if we insist, as we should, on planting trees and shrubs in urban areas, then to repeatedly resort to leaf blowers in an attempt to keep the environment tidy is much like very calmly, and in all seriousness, continuing to mop the kitchen floor when the nearby river has flooded its banks, and seeing absolutely no problem with our approach.
Back to the Early Arrivers
This picture bears sharing again - a couple of Grackles have appeared in the past two days but this photo was first posted last year on this date. I had a face to face encounter with a Common Grackle. Now, as you know, Grackles are not in the slightest bit shy when it comes to telling you what they think of you … our one-sided conversation proceeded thus:
More Rabbits … is this good?
All winter we have had a single rabbit in the garden - then two nights ago as the sun goes down, there were two leaping and playing and eating. This morning the population had increased to three. Should we be worried?
The chap in the pointed hat is called Gnorman, with a hard-G.
An Undergraduate Entomology Class Investigates the Insect Life Lost with Autumn Cleanup
A garden reminder
https://academic.oup.com/ae/article/72/1/34/8510655
