In this episode, Mary Stone shares the treasures encountered during her overdue fall cleanup in early winter, including dozens of Bottlebrush Buckeye seeds. We learn how to plant them and the benefits of the native beauty.
Then, we end with reflections on early Winter Treasures in Nature and ideas of clearing spaces at home by giving a few treasures to those we cherish.
Related Stories (and Episodes) and Helpful Links:
Sowing the Treasures of Buckeye Seeds
Bottlebrush Buckeye Hide Tree Knees featured in Ep 118
The Magic of Sprouting Avocado Seeds - featured in Ep 39
We're All Just Seeds featured in Ep11. The Promise of Seeds
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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.
You can Follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook and Instagram #MaryElaineStone.
Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page
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
Ep143. Sowing the Treasures of Buckeye Seeds
Sat, Jan 13, 2024 12:49PM • 9:24
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
seeds, plant, snow, gardens, nature, winter, dilemmas, treasures, cedar trees, buckeye, gather, tree, cherish, beech, propagating, remnants, winter months, garage, life, 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 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.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there, it's Mary Stone, and welcome to the screen porch. We had our first big snow, followed by a deluge of rain. So once again, the Jacksonburg Creek is like a river running through the front yard. Can you hear it? The power of water. I am grateful for the fun of playing in the snow the last few days. Jolee's become quite a snow dog and a cross country ski buddy.
Mary Stone 00:50
I want to thank those who reached back after last week's chat about berries for winter beauty and wildlife. Elisavet wrote, "Wow, how fun to read this - very poetic language in this one. I have a poem that I wrote about winter berries, only I did not know their name and called them red berries. They do stand out in the winter, as there are not many fruits around. Now I know more about them." I invited Elisavet to share her poem, and I hope she does.
Mary Stone 01:20
Before the storm, I rallied around, tending to the long overdue garden fall cleanup. I know it's winter; you've likely heard the phrase a shoemaker without shoes. The idiom expresses the irony of folks experienced in providing a service neglecting to provide the service for themselves. The poor gardens, it's a good thing gardens are forgiving, and they come with delightful surprises, leading to this week's story that starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:49
Hello, fellow listeners and readers. Once again, I'm late tending to my gardens, the last of the to-dos after tending to clients. One of the benefits of doing the fall cleanup in early winter is coming upon seeds from the Bottlebrush Buckeye that dropped to the ground. I'm sure they've always done so every year. I've had the plants for 10 years and never noticed the seeds on the ground. We chatted about my adored plant in Episode 118, Bottlebrush Buckeye Hide Tree Knees. I invite you to tune in, and I'll put a link in the show notes. It's one of my favorite native transition shrubs between woodlands and lawns reaching eight to 12 feet high and wide and zones four to eight in full shade to full sun.
Mary Stone 02:32
The tough leather-like capsules that cover the smooth brown seeds were gone and some of the taproot started to emerge. They look like tiny little white fingers coming from the seed to are deeply rooted, sitting on the soil surface around their parents' shrubs; I let them be. Then I grabbed the others to disperse around the property, where I would love more waves of texture with its hefty leaves and lovely mounting shape. Plus, the feathery white flowers in summer that look like bottle brushes will attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Mary Stone 03:07
In the flurries of the first falling snow, I dug in the Bottlebrush Buckeye seeds only an inch to two inches deep in the soil about eight feet apart. I planted some near our boggy area in the higher regions that aren't always saturated, as the flexible fellow prefers well-drained, moist soil but tolerates flooding and moderate drought. And I dug others along the woodland edge near the feeder to the cement pond. I call it a cement pond because there's a dam that holds the mountain runoff, and now it's overflowing, and it's running down to the creek, making that bigger than ever, as you hear.
Mary Stone 03:44
I consider bringing one inside and propagating it like we did the avocado seed and Episode 39 The Magic of Sprouting Avocado Seeds, bringing up a question. Now that I have this bouncing baby two-foot tree, what will I do with it? It's not Hardy in this zone, and I can't have a big tree growing in the house. Do you have any ideas?
Mary Stone 04:06
Beyond propagating by seed, Bottlebrush Buckeye colonizes by suckering. Shoots come from the roots and the stems of the plant. Then, the shoots put out roots to form a new plant genetically identical to their mother plant. You can transplant the babies by carefully cutting the new plants away from the parent plant and transplanting them. Preferably, do that in early spring before the bud break or late fall when it's dormant. But before the snow. I'm just saying.
Mary Stone 04:36
Looking around at Nature's landscape after the 10 inches of snow followed by the flood of rain, I marvel over the swath of lime green grass near the vegetable garden where the underground spring runs through, with remnants of snow and slush on each side. It's so odd that the grass is still green in January here. This morning's walk, passing the same creek that runs through our yard, turned into a rushing river with racing currents. In front of it, a healthy young beech tree, unaffected by Beech leaf disease, with many Tawny tan leaves still intact, dancing in the wind.
Mary Stone 05:13
The sky was blue and then grew overcast, and spritzes of frozen raindrops, almost sleet, tickled my face from above. The winds kicked in as the cold front began moving in. Note to self - I'll gather that snow before it freezes and put it in the garage to melt, giving the house plants a nitrogen boost. The garage looks like a nursery with overwintering potted gardens and the gift of perennials I never got into the ground.-- Not a bad thing for a lover of all things green. Adding buckets of snow will add to the landscape in the garage - right?
Mary Stone 05:49
On the return trip, I gathered remnants of cedar trees knocked off from the snowplow, reminding me of the story of decorating with roadkill long ago. I haven't dressed the window boxes for winter yet. There was no roadkill until then. So now I have the treasures from the side of the road.
Mary Stone 06:07
I wondered why cedar trees rooted themselves where the hemlocks once stood. I have never had cedar trees on the property. And now it occurs to me that they are from the previous pilfering of roadside treasures, spreading the seeds of life. Moving tree remnants, including berries, to areas other than where nature intended may be considered tampering. But consider yourself a bird or a mammal; humans are, after all, and how wildlife transports seeds from place to place. It's part of the cycle of nature, the infinity of life in the winter months. Cherish all the beautiful treasures around you, including family and friends.
Mary Stone 06:46
As we spend more time near home, maybe gather some of the belongings you no longer or rarely use and pass them on to someone who will enjoy them. Perhaps as you clear your spaces, give one of your most treasured things to someone you treasure, who will cherish the gift and see how good it feels. We come into this world with nothing, no things, and we leave with no things. But we leave behind the love we give. It's the circle of life that never ends. Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone.com.
Mary Stone 07:22
It's true in the winter months are so many joyful things to look at and observe around you. And there's beauty in things that you may not consider beautiful. So, look for them, enjoy them, and cherish them as you cherish your family and friends.
Mary Stone 07:37
And I have a favor to ask kind and faithful listeners. What are your thoughts about tweaking our podcast title to include something about nature? "I have a black thumb," one of my writer friends said, "but I love nature." And so, she thinks that more folks would find us if there were "nature" in the title. The current title is Garden Dilemmas, Delights in Discoveries in the Garden of Life. So, do you have any good ideas?
As you know, our chats are not only about gardens; they're about nature's inspiration, 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, if you have any great ideas for name changes, I would appreciate hearing from you. Perhaps we can attract more lovers of all things green so that more of us can learn and grow together and nurture nature and ourselves.
Mary Stone 08:30
Oh, and another favor. If you have not subscribed to the podcast, I wish you would. It's free to do on your app of choice so that a magically appears in your feed. Anyway, thanks again. I hope you enjoyed all the sounds of the rushing water and the wind kicking in. And I hope you enjoyed our time together as much as I have. See you next time on the screen porch.
Mary Stone 08:53
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.