What is unusual about this fern is that it is an evergreen plant. I should find the greenish-blue fronds against a blanket of snow next January. Another distinguishing feature of this fern is that only the upper parts of the fronds are fertile (but there are no separate sterile and fertile fronds like in other […]
Archive for June, 2011
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal wood fern)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on June 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Adiantum pedatum (northern maidenhair fern)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on June 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This is one of the pickier ferns in my woodland garden, especially when it comes to moisture: The northern maidenhair fern likes it moist but not wet. At the same time, it won’t survive if it dries out even a bit. Just a few yards further I have royal fern which likes much wetter feet. […]
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (eastern hayscented fern)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on June 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
As is the case with a lot of other fern species, hayscented fern is best grown in moist, rich, humusy, and acidic soil. As for light, it prefers partial to full shade. However, it can take full sun if you keep it moist. Preferences aside, it tolerates a wide range of soils, including poor rocky […]
Anemone canadensis (canada anemone)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on June 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This member of the buttercup family (Ranunculacea) is native to most of North America, except for Alaska, the U.S west coast and the southern states. This is a great plant for naturalizing purposes, as it tends to be somewhat agressive under the right circumstances. It spreads by rhizomes as well as seed. If you don’t […]
Meehania cordata (creeping mint)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on June 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Everyone told me that Meehania cordata would be a good plant for those dark and foreboding corners of the garden where light is scarce. The plant has been in a spot for well over two years with better light conditions than that, but it has not really thrived. This year I thought I had lost […]
Mitella diphylla (bishop’s cap)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on June 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Mitella diphylla is a great little plant for the woodland garden. It prefers dappled sunlight during early spring, but likes shade when summer kicks in. A canopy of trees overhead will provide just that. The plant sends up stems covered in miniature white flowers. The flowers are starting to fade now, but the neatly mounded […]
Actaea rubra (red baneberry)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on June 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This is another poisonous beauty. I have already blogged about white baneberry. The two species have many similarities, and can easily be confused for one another. White baneberry has thicker stems. The red baneberry normally produces red fruit, but to complicate matters even more, I happen to have Actaea rubra neglecta in my woodland garden. […]
Iris cristata (dwarf crested iris)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on June 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I observed this interesting little plant at the Brewster Museum of Natural History. It is native to the eastern United States, but will only be found south of the Wisconsinan glaciation spread (which occured some 11,000 years ago). Iris cristata spreads by rhizomes, so it could take a long time before it reclaims territory to […]
Waldsteinia fragarioides (barren strawberry)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on June 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Barren strawberry is native to the eastern provinces and states from Quebec all the way down to Georgia. The round and shiny leaves provide a beautiful groundcover, and you get the yellow flowers as an added bonus. This plant is easy to maintain and will do well in most soil types, and it can stand […]
Random June garden collage
Posted in Fauna on June 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
We inherited the garden with a lot of established plantings, which go extremely well with the native plants I have added. These flowers and plants are quite beautiful and colorful in their own right, and deserve at least a visual presence on the cape cod woodland blog. It does not make sense to be a […]