Fall Planting Part Two
Nov. 2nd, 2006 12:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianThe order from Musser Forests arrived recently, and, after sopping up some water from roots wrapped in newspaper, they were planted. This round was fairly systematically placed, each species getting a particular use, for the most part.
Seven Myrica pensylvanica 'Bayview' (Northern Bayberry or Candleberry) were planted along the banks of the Rachel River, three on Driveway Island, two behind the mailbox, and two further down, between the dawn redwood and the forsythia. They'll help hold the bank together - they should be well out of range of even the most extreme flood (that we've experienced thus far,) but they should keep things from crumbling, and they should also do well when the bank dries out or if any salt is used on the road. Their berries are very waxy, and, as one of their common names implies, they were used in the Colonial days to make candles.
A half-dozen Picea omorika (Serbian spruce) - very narrow, reasonably tall - add to the screening. Quoth Musser, "considered the most beautiful and adaptable of the spruces" these trees really do have a nice appearance. Two are placed down along the woods edge of Spruce Alley, where they'll join the Colorado blue spruces that give the area its name, as well as a couple of hemlocks, to provide privacy for us and our neighbors downhill - although these folk don't have the late-night parties of the previous owner, they'll still enjoy some privacy out on their large deck. One of the spruces will accent the path into the Back Woods, and another will be framed by hemlocks on top of the garden. Two others are on the narrow area between our driveway and the neighbors uphill - they accompany Norway spruces and an Austrian pine.
One of the half-dozen Abies balsamea (balsam fir) also adds to that Driveway Island screen, a bit further down between the Scotch pine and another Colorado blue spruce. The others dot the edge of the wooded property from the Ivy Triangle to the Fire Pit. Even with them being dormant and fairly small - only a few feet tall, without a lot of branching - their fragrance can already be caught on the breeze. Their job is to help make the highway disappear - of course, the handful of hemlocks scattered along the back edge - along with the 95 or so I plan to plant in future years - will do the lions share of the work.
A half-dozen Liquidambar styraciflua (American sweetgum) were scattered in the woods, with one down in Spruce Alley. They add diversity to the woods - although I'll plant non-natives such as the Serbian spruce and other US natives like the balsam fir, I won't add anything to the woods themselves unless it is a native plant species naturally found in this area. Sweetgum fits that bill - it's also Justin's chosen tree (the two planted for him last year didn't make it, so these are essentially replacements.) Although lots of people hope not to get the "gumballs" and try to seek ways to sterilize the trees to avoid the spiked pods, I'm hoping for them - they make a great anti-slug mulch! Of course, they're 30-50 years away, if I recall. In the mean-time, they'll have beautiful star-shaped leaves that turn yellow, purple, and red in the fall.
The half-dozen Carya ovata (shagbark hickory) finish off the planting for the season - they're scattered in the woods, with one pretty far down Driveway Island. They will take 25-30 years before they produce nuts, but they're an investment in creating an edible forest. I'm not entirely convinced they'll be practical - or even possible - to harvest, but they will certainly keep the squirrels well-fed. Their beautiful bark is also quite welcome, as is their compound leaves - I really don't have much that has compound leaves, so this adds diversity on several levels.
Seven Myrica pensylvanica 'Bayview' (Northern Bayberry or Candleberry) were planted along the banks of the Rachel River, three on Driveway Island, two behind the mailbox, and two further down, between the dawn redwood and the forsythia. They'll help hold the bank together - they should be well out of range of even the most extreme flood (that we've experienced thus far,) but they should keep things from crumbling, and they should also do well when the bank dries out or if any salt is used on the road. Their berries are very waxy, and, as one of their common names implies, they were used in the Colonial days to make candles.
A half-dozen Picea omorika (Serbian spruce) - very narrow, reasonably tall - add to the screening. Quoth Musser, "considered the most beautiful and adaptable of the spruces" these trees really do have a nice appearance. Two are placed down along the woods edge of Spruce Alley, where they'll join the Colorado blue spruces that give the area its name, as well as a couple of hemlocks, to provide privacy for us and our neighbors downhill - although these folk don't have the late-night parties of the previous owner, they'll still enjoy some privacy out on their large deck. One of the spruces will accent the path into the Back Woods, and another will be framed by hemlocks on top of the garden. Two others are on the narrow area between our driveway and the neighbors uphill - they accompany Norway spruces and an Austrian pine.
One of the half-dozen Abies balsamea (balsam fir) also adds to that Driveway Island screen, a bit further down between the Scotch pine and another Colorado blue spruce. The others dot the edge of the wooded property from the Ivy Triangle to the Fire Pit. Even with them being dormant and fairly small - only a few feet tall, without a lot of branching - their fragrance can already be caught on the breeze. Their job is to help make the highway disappear - of course, the handful of hemlocks scattered along the back edge - along with the 95 or so I plan to plant in future years - will do the lions share of the work.
A half-dozen Liquidambar styraciflua (American sweetgum) were scattered in the woods, with one down in Spruce Alley. They add diversity to the woods - although I'll plant non-natives such as the Serbian spruce and other US natives like the balsam fir, I won't add anything to the woods themselves unless it is a native plant species naturally found in this area. Sweetgum fits that bill - it's also Justin's chosen tree (the two planted for him last year didn't make it, so these are essentially replacements.) Although lots of people hope not to get the "gumballs" and try to seek ways to sterilize the trees to avoid the spiked pods, I'm hoping for them - they make a great anti-slug mulch! Of course, they're 30-50 years away, if I recall. In the mean-time, they'll have beautiful star-shaped leaves that turn yellow, purple, and red in the fall.
The half-dozen Carya ovata (shagbark hickory) finish off the planting for the season - they're scattered in the woods, with one pretty far down Driveway Island. They will take 25-30 years before they produce nuts, but they're an investment in creating an edible forest. I'm not entirely convinced they'll be practical - or even possible - to harvest, but they will certainly keep the squirrels well-fed. Their beautiful bark is also quite welcome, as is their compound leaves - I really don't have much that has compound leaves, so this adds diversity on several levels.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-03 04:04 am (UTC)I have a bay tree and it has made bay berries. I've been looking for instructions as to how to process them. They smell wonderful and I want to use them.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-03 01:51 pm (UTC)