In this episode, we meet my favorite understory shrub, Bottlebrush Buckeyes, and how I planted them to hide the Gnarly Tree Knees of Blue Spruce as they began dying from the bottom up from Canker Disease.
We chat about recent flooding, downed Ash trees killed by emerald ash borers, and the declaration of mainstream media gloom and dooming the changes in climate.
Nature is constantly changing. Nothing remains forever. But from endings come beginnings and renewal, encouraging listeners not to give up hope. Instead, be part of the change of kindness to our dear earth to help heal it. Nature is resilient.
Related Stories and Helpful Links
Bottlebrush Buckeys Hide Tree Knees
Spruce Disease Dilemmas
Lawn to Woodland Shrubs
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I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in.
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Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 118 Bottlebrush Buckeyes Hide Tree Knees
Sat, Jul 22, 2023 1:24PM • 9:40
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
buckeye, trees, garden, bottlebrush, buckeyes, porch, hummingbirds, plant, beach, hope, deer, caused, nature, tamper, branches, love, year, disease, flowers, Earth, dilemmas, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there, it's Mary Stone, and welcome to the screen porch. Thank you for joining me on another summer day. It is so lovely the sky is a little bit bluer. The Canadian smoke seems to subside some, and I'm so grateful. It's a bit later than I'd like to visit with you because there's been a lot of tree work going on, which is part of today's story. But before we get to that, I want to thank those that wrote back about last week's chat about deer remedies and rat snakes, as if on cue to exemplify why it's important not to tamper with wildlife by feeding them or leaving trash outdoors. New clients, Kate and John, live in Lake Mohawk and Sparta, NJ, one of the most concentrated areas of deer. They sent a video of a mama bear with four cubs strolling through their yard. They were within 30 feet of them. Of course, the bears weren't aware they were there because they were at the beach. But when they saw the folks, they did not scurry quickly. I can't imagine four cubs. It's not what nature intended. But so very cute. It was the first time they saw them. And while they were in awe, they are now concerned for the safety of their children, so I have a feeling that a fence may be in their future.
Mary Stone 01:41
So we are recovering from a series of storms that caused power outages and fallen trees. Hence all the tree work that's going on. This leads to this week's story featuring one of my favorite plants Bottlebrush Buckeye, and it starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:58
Hello fellow listeners and readers. We went from a drought spring where we were behind and rainfall to a summer on folding with too much rain. After last week's storms and winds, we endured significant flooding from heavy rains. Trees came down, wreaking havoc, blocking roadways, and causing power outages. Many of them, the ash trees now dead from the emerald ash borer.
Mary Stone 02:24
And now beach trees are struggling with beach leaf disease. I'm concerned about Mr. Beach outside my bedroom window showing evidence of the disease, and the smaller younger trees are as well. But I hug Mr. Beach and tell them you'll be okay. You're strong and have endurance, and we'll ride this out. Perhaps we'll talk more about Beech leaf disease another day.
Mary Stone 02:46
After the heavy rains and wind, we took a road walk, Jolee and me, and there was a lot of debris. The brook turned brown from the soil erosion. It kind of looked like chocolate milk; so amazing. Jolee loves to run through the runoff along the sides of Cobblewood Road, causing me to run some too. It was such fun. We pass the blue spruce that remain on Mohican Road. Each year the dieback from the ground up continues. Eventually, they will have to be cut down as mine were. We've spoken about spruce diseases in Episode 21 - Lessons from Spruce and Forest Pansy of Hope, which you may wish to tune into. I planted bottlebrush Buckeye while the trees were in decline, anticipating the sad day. And now the Buckeyes are in their glory, attracting butterflies and bees.
Mary Stone 03:38
Aesculus parviflora is one of my favorite transition shrubs between woodlands and lawns. They are a sizable suckering shrub native to the southeastern United States to Pennsylvania, and they grow well in zones four to eight, reaching eight to 12 feet in height and width. It's a stunning plant for massing, providing a wave of texture with its hefty compound leaves of five to seven leaflets and lovely mounding shape.
Mary Stone 04:04
Bottlebrush Buckeye thrives in full shade to full sun, although it does best with some shade and is an ideal woodland buffer. This flexible fellow prefers well-drained, moist soil but tolerates flooding and moderate drought. The branches are gracefully horizontal and ascend towards the ground, the lower ones touching it. It's just so lovely. It flowers in June through July with feathery white flowers that look like bottle brushes, hence the common name, which bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds adore.
Mary Stone 04:37
The flowers give way to glossy pear-shaped nuts (Buckeyes) encased in yellow husks. Squirrels love them; they are the only animal to eat them without getting sick. As with other Buckeyes, the nuts and foliage are poisonous if consumed by humans. And it must be true for deer because they stay clear, which makes it a great plant, as I mentioned. Come fall; you'll adore the sunny yellow of the leaves.
Mary Stone 05:04
As many of you may know, one of my pet peeves is cutting lower branches off evergreen trees. It looks as bad as wearing knee-highs with a short skirt. I'm just saying. But despite one of my do-not-dos, I ended up cutting the lower branches off my beefy Blues as a desperate measure because, frankly, I didn't want to lose the trees. But that's where my favorite Bottlebrush Buckeye came to be to hide the gnarly knees. About the time the Aesculus parviflora grew to be head high, it was time to cut down the poor blue spruces. Still, it was hard to destroy the trees whose tops seemed so healthy. Sometimes we must let things go. But never wear knee-high pantyhose with a short skirt. Garden Dilemmas, AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 05:55
So now, several years later, the wounds from the sadness of losing the blue spruce are replaced with the joy of observing the gorgeous swath of Bottlebrush Buckeye. This time of year, it's such a delight to see the swallowtails monarchs and bees clustering on one bottlebrush bloom all together on the same plant.
Mary Stone 06:15
I saw a solitary hummingbird coming in for a taste this morning. And then he hovered by the screen porch. I marveled over its beauty. And I told him so. My mom loved hummingbirds; feeding them sugar water became one of her late-in-life delights. The beautiful Hummer felt like a visit from my mom.
Mary Stone 06:35
As you know, I often say Mother Nature knows what she's doing. But too many times, we've caused so many things by tampering and disrespecting our Earth. There's lots of talk about climate change, and now the media is declaring a climate crisis due to fossil fuels and implying things are hopeless. It saddens me as I don't believe in instilling fear as a solution to improving things. We've spoken before that you can choose to live in love or fear; other feelings are subsets of those. Fear is paralyzing, while love is nurturing. We still have time to heal our Earth as nature is resilient. And while we are concerned about weather patterns, think about the thousands and thousands of years such things have happened.
Mary Stone 07:23
Nature is constantly changing. Nothing remains forever. Everything is either coming into being or dying. But from endings come beginnings and renewal - new growth fertilized by what went away. Not to say we remain careless and not take action. But let's not give up hope. Let's not succumb to the fears and gloom and doom being broadcast and instead shift to love and take the initiative to be part of a change. We still can turn things around, as said by Mother Teresa; "I alone cannot change the world. But I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." Didn't she create so many ripples that are still with us today?
Mary Stone 08:05
I hope as we transition, big business doesn't put band-aids over the neglect of our dear Earth by throwing another technology and energy source at the dilemma that is also abusive to our precious planet. By doing so, we aren't changing our behavior, just how we satisfy it. It seems overwhelming. I agree. But change begins with one person.
Mary Stone 08:28
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." And that was said by Margaret Mead. So thank you, dear friends, for visiting with me on the screen porch. I always appreciate it, and I hope you've enjoyed it. And if so, please share the podcast with a friend or two so more can join us, learning and growing in the garden of life and spreading hope amongst the world that we can change it. One person at a time. One yard at a time. One heart full of love at a time. We can make a difference. Let it start with you. Thanks again. See you next time on the screen porch.
Mary Stone 09:10
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.