Norway Spruce: The Melancholy Trees
The road to the Chuctanunda Rural Cemetery, in the town of Florida, NY. It’s a lovely country road, and is—I’m sorry but it’s true—a dead end. There’s something about old graveyards that I love, especially around Halloween. The tilted tombstones, the autumn light, the quiet rustle of the leaves behind you…it’s all pleasantly spooky without being terrifying. But most of all I love the trees. Trees in graveyards have personality, I find. Planted singly, they don’t have to compete with other trees for sunlight, so they can spread out their arms, grow wide and impressive. This cemetery is one of...
Read MoreDandelions: A Number of Reasons to Love Them
Parking lots are fertile fields for the weed-loving botanist. You wouldn’t think that anything could grow without soil, without water, in a big pile of rocks–in fact, the reason the rocks were put there was so that weeds wouldn’t move in. But once again, the wily dandelions have outsmarted the humans. Reason #23896 that I love dandelions: they can grow just about anywhere. I never cease to be amazed at the spots where they can thrive. Reason #23897 that I love dandelions: their diversity. Dandelions are like snowflakes: no two alike. Look at these plants, all dandelions, and the...
Read MoreVirginia Creeper: Stop Sign
It’s the very first sign of fall. A sudden spatter of bright red leaves, red as a stop sign. A red warning, mingled with the green leaves. Pulls me up short every time. It’s the Virginia creeper. A slightly ominous sounding name, like an old folktale—beware the Virginia creeper, my son. The plant does have a bad reputation, because many people confuse it with poison ivy, which often grows in the same places. But Virginia creeper is harmless. Well, almost. The leaves are certainly harmless—they have five leaflets, not three, and aren’t related in any way to PI. Virginia creeper’s a...
Read MoreThe Mystery of the Singing Pumpkins
Okay, maybe I’ve been reading too many Sherlock Holmes stories. Or watching too many episodes of Sherlock. But I swear this really happened. Last spring, I planted a total of six pumpkin seeds, in the little patch of garden just by the kitchen door. And something about this year’s odd weather– the early heat, the mid-summer drought, the late summer rain–made the pumpkins go absolutely berserk. The vines crawled along the side of the house, devoured the walkway, tripped up unsuspecting passersby, and even made repeated attempts to climb in the window. And they produced some nice...
Read MoreSumac: Deep Red
Sumac. A strange little word. I assumed it must be Native American—it just sort of sounds like it. And sumac is a dirt-common American plant, lining roadsides, springing up in empty lots, under power lines–all across the country, literally from coast to coast. But when I googled the word sumac, it turns out to be derived from ancient Aramaic, of all things. Sumac doesn’t refer to just the native American varieties, there are hundreds of sumac species all across the world. Sumac, it turns out, was a prized spice and also a medicine in the ancient world, a very valuable commodity. In the...
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