Unfurling
...
Thanks to all the lovely older trees and fencing at our house, a lot of our little garden is in deep, deep shade. I'm embracing this, and planting native ferns, and other shade-lovers. These plants are supposed to provide good habitat for wildlife. At the moment, they're providing a hang-out spot for the local feral cats, so I doubt we'll see a lot of birds moving in to our would-be fern grottoes.
I really enjoy the forms of the uncurling fiddleheads. I know that certain Eastern ferns' fiddleheads are edible. I ate fiddleheads from the local grocery stores, when I worked in Central New York. They were a fleeting springtime treat, coming at about the same time as garlic scapes.
I planted a few ferns last fall, and when they weren't devoured by slugs (like the Western Columbine -- alas), I planted some more last weekend. I'm trying to replace the invasive oxalis plants with more suitable -- and tough -- natives.
For most of this past year, I've been feeling terribly shy. It's time to unfurl. I've got to take a lesson from the ferns. Open up. Be tough. And flourish.
Thanks to all the lovely older trees and fencing at our house, a lot of our little garden is in deep, deep shade. I'm embracing this, and planting native ferns, and other shade-lovers. These plants are supposed to provide good habitat for wildlife. At the moment, they're providing a hang-out spot for the local feral cats, so I doubt we'll see a lot of birds moving in to our would-be fern grottoes.
I really enjoy the forms of the uncurling fiddleheads. I know that certain Eastern ferns' fiddleheads are edible. I ate fiddleheads from the local grocery stores, when I worked in Central New York. They were a fleeting springtime treat, coming at about the same time as garlic scapes.
I planted a few ferns last fall, and when they weren't devoured by slugs (like the Western Columbine -- alas), I planted some more last weekend. I'm trying to replace the invasive oxalis plants with more suitable -- and tough -- natives.
For most of this past year, I've been feeling terribly shy. It's time to unfurl. I've got to take a lesson from the ferns. Open up. Be tough. And flourish.
Comments
Grumpy
We were on a hike later in the summer and I saw some amazing ferns that were as tall as my daughter (a leggy 6 year old at the time) and while I fully support the "no taking plants" policy of the National Park Service...... I was sorely tempted! I scoured our mountain looking for that same fern, to no avail. So I must be content with what I have ;-))
Annalisa
I'm a great fan of theater, and wonder if you've had any connection to Magic, or Intersection's Campo Santo productions? Just curious....
My background is sculpture, but I find theater sustaining. best,
Alice
Your photographs are stunning!
I enjoyed your crazy neighbor/raccoon story :) We have our share of raccoon stories...some not so happy. They're very cute, but unfortunately they can be extremely vicious and have killed our cats in the past.
The past couple of mornings we've had a possom cleaning up the birdseed under the feeders. Funny fellow he is :)