May Notes 2024

I don’t talk much about the black cherry trees (Prunus serotina) in my garden but this year their flowers seemed to smack me in the face, literally, as some of their branches hang down in the pathways. They are one of the wild native plants in my garden in that I didn’t plant them. There are five fairly large trees in my garden about maybe 15 feet tall or more? They grow like weeds and are common in early successional habitats. Back when I started my garden over ten years ago, I saw them growing wild along roads and highways and figured they were weed trees or what some might call invasive. Then renowned entomologist, Doug Tallamy brought their status up a notch by the discovery that they host some 450 species of butterflies and moths. Apparently, many birds such as chickadees need these trees because they rely on caterpillars to feed their young. So, here is a chickadee hopefully finding some caterpillars for its young. And, just because I rarely see caterpillars in the trees, that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Also, this year I noticed the flowers smell nice.

The above photo was taken on May 1st which seems so long ago but that’s spring for you. Now, the flowers are turning into berries, another food for birds and chipmunks.

If you follow my blog, you’ll probably notice my devotion to the wild plants in my garden that I didn’t plant, aka the uncultivated ones like the the wild cherry and quite a few others. These are the plants that really do well in my garden despite all the destructive forces such as herbivores, compacted, disturbed and probably nutrient depleted soil, frequent droughts and heavy rains and excessive heat and cold. Many of the plants I’ve bought from native plant sales have died or aren’t doing that well. Some are crowded out by the uncultivated native plants. My vegetable garden is a disaster at the moment. So much so I’ve pretty much resorted to growing some peppers and tomatoes in containers requiring a ridiculous use of resources. But the violets, white avens, ground ivy, Virginia creeper, bindweed and goldenrod seem to be licking their chops at the vacant space. It all makes me wonder if this dependence on cultivated crops is sustainable. So many of these wild plants are edible like violets except that violets aren’t too tasty from my experience. I think the cherries from wild cherries are edible but the seeds aren’t and there isn’t a lot of fruit on a berry. I think bindweed is edible too. Hmmmm.

It makes me think a lot when I see hundreds of cellophane bees making nests everywhere and I mean everywhere including the pathways. This poses a problem for me because I don’t want to disturb or hurt them. I know killing things can’t be avoided if I’m to survive and growing my own food is probably much better than buying lettuce grown in California. Wasn’t there a philosopher with this same kind of dilemma?

One of the hundreds of Rufous-backed Cellophane Bee nests that are everywhere.

The dilemma goes on to include something that bothers me about gardening. If I hadn’t taken up macro photography I’d never notice all these bees because I’d be thinking about getting my garden beds prepped and ready for planting. I’d mow nice tidy paths never thinking that maybe I’d be destroying lives. It makes me wonder if there’s a way to achieve some kind of balance. Hmmmmmmm.

So, lots of hmmming going on with me these days.

Black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis)

But, black raspberry, one of the cultivated native plants is doing really well and it has edible berries. So, soon I’ll be doing a lot of canning. I hope I don’t fall off the stool trying to reach some of the berries…

Swamp rose (Rosa palustris) is already blooming.

After a week of gloomy weather that I can’t complain about because it brought much needed rain, it seems summer is fast approaching. We’re about a month ahead so it seems very summer like. The swamp rose, another cultivated native plant is already blooming. I will have to see if I can tip toe over to one of the heavenly scented flowers without stepping on a cellophane bee’s nest.

A masked Bee (Genus Hylaeus) on golden Alexander (Zizia aurea).

The tiny masked bees are out collecting food from golden Alexanders, another cultivated plant that’s doing well.

A robin with something good.

But spring is still here with its sounds of baby birds and protective parents and the cheerful songs in the early morning and like every spring I don’t want it to end.

Rufous-backed Cellophane Bee (Colletes thoracicus)