Catching the Eye

It was a sunny, late summer morning with a clear blue sky when I was on my way out of an industrial park after teaching yoga.  Driving out, my eye was caught by what at first looked like little dancing flames among a stand of cattails.  The sun was hitting the yellowing slivers of cattail foliage and the breeze was making them dance.  It was so pretty, I had to take a photo--in fact I took two. My camera is nothing to envy, but hopefully you can catch a glimpse of flames dancing among the cattails.  The second photograph is a close-up, and thankfully, its much clearer.  One of my favorite shots of plants is too look at them from underneath, to see them climb vertically against the backdrop of blue sky.

Appreciating Autumn

Admittedly I am not much of a photographer, but because I always have my phone on me I can now catch a few good shots of things that I find beautiful.  It is almost always of a landscape, or perhaps some detail of a planting, or the striking architecture of a plant.  And that what fascinates me the most--their crazy, unique, almost alien forms-- but you have to take the time to really see them.  You don't have to go to a botanical garden to appreciate plants, just look underfoot.  This photo is taken from a bank parking lot where I found that puffball fungus mentioned in my previous blog:

Echinacea seed heads against Feather Reed Grass, probably Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'

 

 

 

 

 

Feather Reed Grass is, so far, my favorite grass.  I love its vertical nature, and the way its flaxen seed heads catch light.  It is often used in parking lot boundaries and beds:

Not a very attractive photo, but you can see the kind of effect that this grass makes--its vertical and linear form makes it a very orderly looking plant, but the feathery seed heads soften the edges and catch sunlight.

Remember, every once in a while look up and take a look at what plants are growing in unexpected or overlooked areas--you might be surprised!

What the Fungus?!

 

Pear Shaped Puffball fungus (Lycoperdon pyriforme)

This past October, as I traipsed through the planted parking lot border of my bank, I was startled by this wild looking blob.  I have seen giant puffball fungus before but never this type of puffball.  This species likes mulch, and homeowners who have had a neglected mulch pile in their yards might wake up one fall day to find a mulch larger pile of these eating their mulch.  Careful though, inhaling too many of the spores can give you lycoperdonosis-- an allergic reaction in which the lungs become inflamed.  It is tempting to want to stomp on it, like its some sort of living bubble-wrap--in fact this creature would like you to do that--but being engulfed in a cloud of lung-damaging spores is enough to stop me in my tracks!  Oh and just to clarify, for the nerds out there, it was originally put in the genus Lycoperdon, then moved to the genus Morganella, and then in 2008 moved back into Lycoperdon (according Wikipedia). 

First official blog post:  Why I Will Never Use Rubber Mulch

 

Before delving into the appalling phenomenon of rubber mulch, I would like to take a moment to appreciate the lovely, bright gold fall leaves against the high blue skies of the last week.  I first noticed them while traveling down Glastonbury Boulevard toward Main Street, and then later in my own neighborhood.  Every autumn, the reds and oranges steal the show, with yellow leaves playing a supporting role--but this year I am really in LOVE with the golden fall colors.  Its opened my eyes as to what is possible for "fall color".  Thank you nature, for the countless ways you are beautiful.

Now onto the topic of rubber mulch.  I am not sure when rubber mulch appeared on the landscape of green industry, but I don't know why it took me so long to discover it.  Right from the moment I heard about it, I just knew it was a bad idea.  Tires have heavy metals in them from the start, and then they pick up more from the roads they travel and the dumps they sit in--not to mention the industrial material they are made from breaks down so so slowly, that is probably bad for the soil composition as well as the natural beneficial microbe colonies.  What if you ever need to grow your own food?  Never will you or any person owning your property after you, be able to produce food safe enough to eat in an area that had rubber mulch.  If you want more of an educated opinion on the topic refer to this article by Professor Linda Chalker Scott from the
Pullyup Extension and Research Center at Washington State University :

http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/horticultural%20myths_files/Myths/Rubber%20mulch.pdf


Hopefully this article will provide you with the information you need to make the decision not to buy this material.  Please spread the word so that others can avoid unknowingly polluting their own landscapes with this stuff. 

In the meantime, don't forget to appreciate the leaves--it should be a fabulous year for leaf peeping!