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Here is a plant introduced into the Nature Center this week by its director Misty Brooks. It is a lovely vermilion Yarrow, and a hybrid of our native species at that! (Achillea millefolium 'Strawberry Seduction' is its formal name.)
I asked Misty how she goes about choosing the plants to display there, and she said, "I mainly base my plant choices for the Nature Center on the following:
deer/rabbit/groundhog resistant- otherwise they don't last
drought tolerant-because we are not staffed to water often
native or very close (hybrids, cultivars, or regionally native)-to keep the biology folks happy, and because this really is a better thing to do than planting something that might become invasive or is useless to our local critters
I choose colors that look good with our building and the other plants
prices and availability - with Bob and I both being in the horticulture business, we sometimes get really good deals on neat things that we can't turn down...the blue himalayan cedar planted in front of the center is a good example of that
This is also how we select things to plant at home."
Let's see some of this week's visitors. Here are some of those magenta geraniums I like so much. Then one of my favorite purple-topped crowns! Is this a Bull Thistle? Is my community back? Last year a bunch of kids thought they would do me a favor and killed off all my supposed Bull Thistles. I will be so happy to think some have survived!!
Here are a couple of Deptford Pinks from a late crop. And a beautiful little Buttercup.
The first almost-ripe Black Raspberry. Start of what is hopefully a great season! There's nothing common about these Common Day Lilies.
This pretty Spider seems to be an Orchard Orbweaver. It is definitely weaving an orb!
And so, my friends, you will be able to say you saw some pretty, some prickly and another pretty Spider!
Enjoy the rest of the afternoon, and see you next week if not sooner! If you have seen something new and interesting, you are welcome to send it to me and maybe see it in pseudoprint next week. Love, Martha
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