Hello, Mom

Daniel Stowe Botanical welcomed more than 5,500 people to the Garden this weekend in what has become one of the most successful events of the year--Mother's Day Weekend.

Thanks to our partners, WSOC-TV Channel 9 and its Family Focus program and Rountree Plantation Garden Center, the Garden is able to create an unforgettable day for Moms and their families. With Channel 9's help we offer free admission to all Mothers and Rountree Plantation offered a free plant to each those Mothers lucky enough to get here early enough each day.

Something Classic, one of the Garden's preferred caterers offered picnic lunches in advance of the big weekend. Dr. Mitch Moser offered free mini-massages and Mary Kay Cosmetics Consultants were on hand with beauty tips for Mom.

Great planning by Garden staff paired with beautiful spring weather made for the creation of some fantastic Garden memories for the families that were here. And that' a lot of what a botanical garden is all about--creating memories with a connection to plants and nature.

If you haven't made it by the Garden this spring, and you want to see what we're talking about, you might want to make plans to come out soon. Our exhibit, "Come Sit A Spell," is now in it's second month. And connecting you to plants is what this exhibit is all about. In it, we hope you find inspiration for your garden, backyard deck or patio.
  

Fresh Faces and the Evil Eye

With the end of April here, there are twenty-three bluebird chicks being fed and nourished by doting parents. Within the next week, ten of them probably will be out in the world learning the ways of chasing their own food. In addition there are forty-four eggs being incubated so the bluebird season is well on its way.

We have nests in seventeen of the thirty-three boxes. This is a slight increase over the number of nests last year at this time. Also, there are chickadee and titmouse nests in three of the boxes but we don’t include those in our data.

Unfortunately there is evidence of predators in the bluebird nests as some of the eggs have disappeared. The nests themselves don’t seem to be disturbed and we don’t find the eggs on the ground near the boxes so perhaps snakes are invading and eating them. Also, we are seeing the stick nests of house wrens in one box. The wren is persistent and we do remove them because, at this point, they are only the beginnings of nests and no eggs have been laid. If there are eggs or chicks in those nests, it is not lawful to remove them.

House sparrows have chosen one particular box for their use. They are a threat to the bluebird population so their nests are being removed also. House sparrows are not native birds and, therefore, not protected by law. They are messy birds and use lots of trash in their constructions. We’ve found materials such as cellophane, cigarette butts, and goose feathers. Like the house wrens, they will destroy bluebird eggs as well as chicks and sometimes prevent bluebird parents from entering the box.

As we peek into the nests, we are finding that the mother bird sometimes refuses to leave the box. We knock on the side of the box to make the bird fly out and when we open the panel to peek in, the bird is in there and just gives us the evil eye. When mama is glowering at us and refusing to budge, then we just tell her we’ll wait until next week to see what she’s hiding. Maybe her mood will be better then.

That’s the status of things along the bluebird trail here at the garden the last week of April.

Spring Cleaning in the Garden

Spring is here and now we are looking for those April showers that will bring May flowers and save us the trouble of watering our plants. There are a few clouds this afternoon, maybe we'll get lucky. If you have irrigation it is a good idea to test the system for leaks, adjust the heads so they are not watering the sidewalk, and check the run time so it does not allow runoff. Water conservation is everyone's responsibility.
Here at Daniel Stowe we are cleaning up, pruning back and enjoying the cool weather and colorful garden while we work. It is important to get ahead of those late winter/early spring weeds. Henbit and chickweed are the most common and pulling them before they have a chance to set seed will save time later. Prune spring flowering shrubs as soon as they are done blooming, this includes forsythia, spirea, quince, cherrylaurel and azaleas. Now that leaves are out we can remove any winter damaged branches and cut back the fig tree by one third. If you have naturalized daffodils it is important to leave the foliage alone (no knot tying) until it turns brown. These leaves are feeding next year's bulb. If they are trying to produce seed it is OK to trim off the very tip so energy is not wasted on seed production.
Finally, there is a fragrant flowering, silver leaved shrub in bloom in the woods right now that merits our attention. This is Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) also known as Silver Berry and Wild Olive. While it has long been cultivated in Europe and sometimes used along highways here (as is it's cousin Autumn Olive) we should be on our guard.It has invaded the piedmont woodlands and is as thick as privet in many locations. Make it's removal part of your spring cleaning in the garden this year.