Name That Native Plant - Quiz 21

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply, more photo clues posted later.

More Feathered Friends

No need to watch television this time of year when so many things are going on outside. This morning we had two juvenile Red Shouldered Hawks cruising the yard calling back and forth to each other. Hot on their trail were many crows.











The crows became more animated and louder and on closer inspection in the same tree there sat a Great Horned Owl. This spring we have seen three instances where hawks are hanging out in the same vicinity as owls.











This morning the hawks later returned to perch nearby the Owl and seemed to help scare off the crows so the crows could no longer continue to harass the Owl.

Have you seen hawks and owls working together?

Native Plant of the Week: Harebell ~ Campanula rotundifolia

Harebell ~ Campanula rotundifolia


Harebell is a beautiful native perennial, with light blue-purple 5 parted bell-like flowers that open in June. It reaches about 12 inches in height, taller in richer soils. The lower leaves are roundish in shape, but the leaves on the flower stalk are very narrow and linear.

We introduced Harebell to our yard after seeing it growing on the rocky shores of Lake Superior in Upper Michigan. It was arising from the rock crevices in shallow soil.

In our yard, Harebell was planted in crevices in the rock retaining wall in full sun and sandy soil. It has done well in this spot.

The tiny seed matures in dried capsules and is wind dispersed through the openings in the top of the capsule like a salt shaker. Timing is important if you wish to collect seed from this plant. Harebell seed needs light to germinate so broadcast on top of the soil and do not cover.

Habitats for this native include "dry to moderate moisture; woods, meadows, cliffs, beaches; in sandy, gravelly soil." (Wildflowers of Wisconsin)

It is native to much of North America except for the southern most States east of Texas.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 20

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply, more photo clues will be posted later.

Evidence of Owls

Barred Owl

With our still heavy snowload on the ground, I've taken to looking at the skies for birds and scrambling under trees where there are thinner patches of snow for signs of spring.

Owl activity increases in January as they prepare to nest in February. We will hear both Barred and Great Horned Owls calling to one another in late winter and early spring.

Returning home one evening in late January, a Barred Owl silently swooped through our yard and landed in the large white oak tree. We scurried into the house and watched him from there as he surveyed our yard for prey.


I found potential evidence of his catch in the back yard this weekend, under our large white pine tree. There, the dark gray fur and bones of the rodent victim was neatly formed into a regurgitated owl pellet and lay on the snow.

Owls don't chew their food but instead rip up portions of their prey with their beaks and swallow it whole. Their digestive systems sort the soft tissue from the indigestible bones and fur, the owl then later regurgitates these indigestible parts into a pellet.

Great Horned Owl

A good place to look for owl pellets is under evergreen trees. I often see owls resting in evergreen trees during the day. These trees provide more cover to help conceal them from harassing crows and bluejays.

You can report owl sightings in Minnesota through the Minnesota Bird Breeding Atlas project. More information is on the Audubon Minnesota website.

Our Native Landscape Story (Part 12): Expanding a Woodland Plant Community

This is Part 12 of Our Native Landscape Story.

Each of the posts in this series has showcased sections of our yard and what we've done in each section including before and after photos.

Part 1 and Part 2: Removing Impervious Surfaces

Part 3: Removing Stone Mulch

Part 4: Removing Invasive Species and Smothering Grass

Part 5: Smothering More Grass and Planting Woodland Natives

Part 6: Planting Natives on a Steep Hillside

Part 7: Planting the Hillside

Part 8: Removing More Stone Mulch and Planting Prairie Plugs

Part 9: Working with Damaged Soil

Part 10: Acquiring a Grant

Part 11: The Other Half of the Grant Area

Part 12 is our backyard from the fenceline inwards to the lawn. The entire backyard (and the majority of the whole lot) was lawn when we bought our house in the fall of 2004. Our backyard is situated on top of a gravel esker overlooking a wetland area. It slopes steeply beyond the fence downwards to the property edge. This area is about 25 feet deep and 50 feet across.

Before Photo. Early April 2005
We wanted to reduce the size of the lawn and
enlarge the existing woodland that remained.

April 2006. We planted 200 bare root native shrubs (Nannyberry
Viburnum, Elderberry, Cranberry Viburnum, Downy Arrowwood
Viburnum, Red Osier Dogwood, Serviceberry, Gray Dogwood
and American Hazelnut) in the background and some potted larger native shrubs in the foreground. These were all planted through the existing lawn. We layered extra leaves in the area where we would be smothering the lawn around the shrubs.

In the photo above, the main plant growing around the shrubs is
the invasive creeping charlie which grew extensively throughout the lawn.

June 2007. Lawn around the shrubs was smothered with paper
and mulch to redefine the woodland edge. New trees were planted
including Ironwoods, Hackberries and Red Maples (all existing species
in this area).

Early May 2009. Started to add native perennial forbs and sedges to
create an herbaceous layer amongst the shrubs and trees. Woodland phlox,
Big Leaved Aster, Penn Sedge, Wild Columbine, Early Meadow Rue,
Zig Zag Goldenrod, Downy Yellow Violets and Wild Geraniums.

July 2010. More trees species added, Basswood, Bur Oak, Black
Cherry, Wafer Ash and Sugar Maple. Hazelnut shrubs in foreground
left are thriving in the dry gravelly soil. A nice layer of leaf litter
has built up and so we added more spring ephemerals like Hepatica,
Large Flowered Bellwort and Bloodroot.

Returning Birds and Spring Hoarfrost

Today we awoke to a beautiful hoarfrost on the trees. All the lakes are still frozen in our area, but some smaller creeks and rivers have open water.







Right on schedule the male Red Winged Blackbirds have returned. A flock flew overhead last night and this morning at our local park, one lonely male was calling out over the frozen wetland in a hoarfrosted poplar.

It finally feels like spring has arrived here in Minnesota with our seventh snowiest winter on record we have at least another week and half for all the snow to melt.

The Red Wing Blackbirds will come to our feeders in early spring from the wetland behind our house looking for extra nourishment until the insects emerge and the water opens up.

The Cooper's Hawks have returned too, within a day of last year's records. Three were cruising the skies above our house this morning, calling out to each other. A few crows flew alongside and harassed them.

One Hawk suddenly dove after another over our neighbor's yard. They became entwined and tumbled from the air falling into the trees. The hawk above is resting on a branch with its wings outstretched and hanging by one talon is the other hawk below.

They stayed like this for several minutes, the hawk below struggling to get away. There was a crashing sound through the branches and the top one flew away followed by the one below.

I don't know if these were two males fighting over a third female or perhaps for nesting territory. There's never a dull moment this time of year.

Native Plant of the Week: False Rue Anemone ~ Enemion biternatum

False Rue Anemone ~ Enemion biternatum (Isopyrum)


False Rue Anemone is an attractive native spring ephemeral of deciduous woodlands. It looks similar to the real Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) in flower and leaf shape, but the False Rue Anemone has only five white petals and the Rue Anemone has 5 - 10 petals.

The basal leaves are softly lobed, two - three times parted, with three leaflets per part.

The small 1/2" wide white flowers can emerge as early as late April in central Minnesota, opening up with mid-day sunshine. This native prefers medium to moist soils under the canopy and in the shade of trees.

A good place to see this native in flower in the spring in Minnesota is at Nerstrand State Park.

False Rue Anemone is native from Ontario southwards to Texas. See the USDA map for more information on the native range.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 19

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply, more photo clues posted later.

Answer: Nodding Trillium ~ Trillium cernuum

Our Native Landscape Story (Part 11): Other Half of Grant Area

This is Part 11 of Our Native Landscape Story.

Each of the posts in this series has showcased sections of our yard and what we've done in each section including before and after photos.

Part 1 and Part 2: Removing Impervious Surfaces

Part 3: Removing Stone Mulch

Part 4: Removing Invasive Species and Smothering Grass

Part 5: Smothering More Grass and Planting Woodland Natives

Part 6: Planting Natives on a Steep Hillside

Part 7: Planting the Hillside

Part 8: Removing More Stone Mulch and Planting Prairie Plugs

Part 9: Working with Damaged Soil

Part 10: Acquiring a Grant

Part 11 is the second half of the grant area from Part 10. It is the north eastern fenceline in our back yard. We smothered the grass in the back half by the fence in 2006. Bareroot native shrubs were planted including American Hazelnut, Prickly Ash, Ninebark, Red Osier Dogwood, Cranberry Viburnum.

Before July 2004

June 2009, Native shrub backdrop. Ironwood tree on left.

Late fall 2009. Before smothering grass.

Fall 2009. Raked leaves from lawn into area.
One layer added below paper, another layer added on top
to smother grass over the winter.

Late June 2010. Newly smothered area planted with grant acquired
natives. Paper birch and American Basswood trees added.

August 2010. Native prairie forbs & grasses in foreground
transitioning to woodland forbs and sedges in background.

August 2010. View from other end. Birch logs added to help
retain moisture for new shrubs and slow runoff. Also great
overwintering insect habitat.

Native shrubs added to the foreground were Downy Arrowwood Viburnum and Nannyberry Viburnum. American Hazelnut and Ninebark are behind in the older planting. 


Woodland species included Early Meadow Rue, Wild Geranium, Virginia Waterleaf, Zig zag Goldenrod, False Solomon's Seal, Yellow Violets, Solomon's Seal, Pennsylvania Sedge and Sprengel's Sedge.


Prairie species on the left were Butterfly Milkweed, Silky Aster, Side Oats Grama, Rough Blazingstar, Gray Headed Coneflower, Little Bluestem, Blue Grama and Wild Lupine.

Native Plant of the Week: Wild Petunia ~ Ruellia humilis

Wild Petunia ~ Ruellia humilis

Other Common Names: Fringeleaf Ruellia, Hairy Wild Petunia

We just planted Wild Petunia in our yard last summer in the area where we acquired a grant.

It is a very attractive perennial native with light blue-purple, 5 parted tubular flowers that are around 2 inches in width. After planting our 1 gallon sized plants in June, it started to flower almost immediately and continued to do so throughout July and August.

"The colorful flowers open during the night and fall off without fading the following night or sooner if the plant is shaken." (Native Grasses, Legumes and Forbs, Phillips Petroleum Company, 1956)

We planted ours in sandy dry soil in full to part sun. The leaves are blue-green in color, with fine long white hairs. It can reach heights to about 2 feet but more commonly it is shorter in poorer soils.

The seed is an especially hard smooth brown capsule that I had to break open by crushing it with two stones. The capsules will open when mature and shoot the seed a fair distance.

"Fringeleaf ruellia is found throughout the plains and prairies of the central and eastern United States where it grows on a wide variation of soils. It is especially noticeable in the bluestem belt and adds considerable beauty to the range aspect." Native Grasses, Legumes and Forbs, Phillips Petroleum Company, 1956)

In Minnesota, we are on the western edge of its range, its main range is from Iowa and Indiana southwards to Texas.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 18

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply, more photo clues will be posted later.

Answer: 
Self-Heal ~ Prunella vulgaris

Our Native Landscape Story (Part 10): Acquiring a Grant

This is Part 10 of Our Native Landscape Story.

Each of the posts in this series has showcased sections of our yard and what we've done in each section including before and after photos.

Part 1 and Part 2: Removing Impervious Surfaces

Part 3: Removing Stone Mulch

Part 4: Removing Invasive Species and Smothering Grass

Part 5: Smothering More Grass and Planting Woodland Natives

Part 6: Planting Natives on a Steep Hillside

Part 7: Planting the Hillside

Part 8: Removing More Stone Mulch and Planting Prairie Plugs

Part 9: Working with Damaged Soil

Part 10 is the area to the north of our house outside the front door. This is the where we have the most gravelly soil in the yard. When digging here, we're sure to find large rocks and sand deposits. 

Before Photo taken in July 2004

There was a patio outside the front door with an old wood retaining wall and lawn. We started to smother the lawn in 2006. In one portion of this side yard, we created some raised beds to propagate native perennials.

September 2009. 

We tore out the wood retaining wall in the fall of 2009 and reduced the size of the patio. We then installed new stone steps and a rock retaining wall. 

I applied for a Watershed Cost-Share Grant in the winter of 2009 to create a wildlife corridor and add more native plants to connect the prairie plantings from the front hillside to the back yard. We received the grant in early spring 2010, acquired the plants from Natural Shore Technologies and Outback Nursery and planted the area. This part of the yard is only half of the grant area.

Area just planted, June 2010 with prairie plants

We added some Chokecherry trees to the backdrop by the fence which don't get too tall (we have overhanging power lines here that limit plant heights). Other shrubs added to the backdrop include Downy Arrowwood Viburnum, Nannyberry Viburnum, Gray Dogwood and Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle. Many of these will provide shelter, insects and berries for the birds. 


Two trees were added into the middle of the area, far enough away from the power lines, an Hackberry and American Plum.


The prairie species included Little Bluestem, Butterfly Milkweed, Side Oats Grama, Prairie Dropseed, Pale Purple Coneflower, Wild Petunia, Button Blazingstar, Pasque Flower, Wild Lupine, and Silky Aster.

Flies in the Native Landscape

Syrphid Fly

Flies are often overlooked insects but they play important roles in the native landscape. Flies can be pollinators, predators and excellent recyclers of organic matter and waste.


POLLINATORS
The most commonly seen flies on flowers are Syrphid or Flower Flies. Many have black and yellow coloration to mimic bees, a survival tactic to keep predators away.

"The search for a suitable place to lay eggs requires energy, which many flies derive from flower nectar..." (Attracting Native Pollinators)

Syrphid flies are able to hover around the flowers and "can abruptly dart off in a different direction. After they land, their abdomens commonly bob up and down." (Insects of the North Woods)

The type of mouthparts that flies have will often dictate what type of flowers they will visit. "Adult flies generally have tubular, sucking mouthparts, which occasionally terminate in a fleshy spongelike pad." (Attracting Native Pollinators)

In most flies, the mouthparts are short so you will often see them on "shallow, flat flowers from which the small droplets of nectar are readily available." (Attracting Native Pollinators)

Flies also help spread the fungal spores of mushrooms. Read an earlier post here about flies and mushrooms.

PREDATORS
Flies are excellent predators. Many flies in larval form predate on other insects. Some Syprhid fly larvae feed on aphids. "Other species live in ant nests where they feed on ant brood..." (Attracting Native Pollinators)

Long Legged Fly

Long Legged flies are small bright green flies with long legs. They are predators of small insects.

We have many long legged flies in our yard in mid summer. We will see them perched on the foliage of perennials.

Tachinid flies are also predatory, parasitizing caterpillars.

Friendly flies, pictured below parasitize the Forest Tent Caterpillar.

Robber Fly

Robber Flies, another bee mimic are voracious predators. They are "strong flyers, and usually capture prey on the wing. It is not unusual for them to capture insects larger than themselves". (Insects of the North Woods)

Friendly Fly

RECYCLERS
Muscid fly larvae "live in dung, carrion, or other decomposing organic debris and eat bacteria or prey on other dung inhabitants." (Attracting Native Pollinators)

Muscid Fly

Some bee mimic flies "make use of mimicry to enter the nests of bumble bees, where they lay their eggs. They are not parasites on the bumble bees; their larvae act as nest cleaners, feeding on the dead bees and other detritus." (Attracting Native Pollinators)


What kind of flies do you see in your landscape?