why weeds and wild things?
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- LadyB
- Michael
- Carol Wallace
- Michael
- LadyB
- Inez
- Marge_Talt
- KevinP_3
- MelindaR
- LadyB
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» LadyB - Alright, Michael, we're all set. Mr. Nyren was kind enough to za
Alright, Michael, we're all set. Mr. Nyren was kind enough to zap me a URL about Common Silver Birch (betula pendula) so I was able to see that it is also called White Birch or European Birch. Now we're GETTING somewhere.I asked a Canadian friend of mine about them and she immediately launched into a rousing Canadian song (so perhaps you should go out and sing to them.....)
While it's true that the leaves of most all birches will yield a nice yellow wool dye, (and I understand there are a few sheep in Ireland,) I'm afraid you'll be hard-pressed to come up with the POUNDS of leaves needed from your tiny friends.
However, I think I've got your answer. In a neat old book called USING WAYSIDE PLANTS by Nelson Coon, there is a suggestion that the best use of birch TRUNKS is for making plant boxes! Well, there ya' HAVE it! Since you're into growing microscopic little alpine gems, these diminutive trunks will make splendid microscopic plant containers. Bingo, a new industry is born...
-- posted by LadyB
» Michael - Barbara,Sorry I should have given you their proper name 'Betula
Barbara,Sorry I should have given you their proper name 'Betula Pendula', The common silver Birch. There is 6 trees planted across the street from me ,and they shower my garden with millions of seed each year.They germinate, every last one of them.-- posted by Michael
» Carol Wallace - Michael, Why not pot them up and sell them. A miniature birch n
Michael, Why not pot them up and sell them. A miniature birch nursery. Don't they have bonsai potential? Give classes and use them as free material. Or I'll trade you for the millions of maple and sycamore seedlings that I get each year.Why is it that the big maples germinate, but I never see any lovely little Japanese maple seedlings? Carol virtually gardening
-- posted by Carol Wallace
» Michael - Carol,The lovely little Japanese maple seedlings do not appear b
Carol,The lovely little Japanese maple seedlings do not appear because that would nake life too easy,the one's you want never germinate.The Japanese seedlings have to be carefully nursed and protected and watched like a baby,and even then it takes years to grow anything worthwhile.I do have some Silver Birch seedlings trained as Bonsai,but there is a limit to how many I can stock. There is not enough interest here in Bonsai to start classes of even to sell them.It is a very limited market,and then only for mature plants.
Michael Campbell
Gardening-Ireland.
-- posted by Michael
» LadyB - Michael, now that you've given me the missing piece, perhaps we
Michael, now that you've given me the missing piece, perhaps we all should stop fighting with your Silver Birch seedlings. Perhaps they just really want to be on your side of the road. I'm serious. I've seen stranger things happen. Perhaps, just perhaps, if you gave just a few of the seedlings a special place to BE, the trees on the other side of the road wouldn't work so hard to throw more seeds your way.Also, look at those 6 trees across the way. Are they sick? Is something happening that threatens their existence? That's usually when a plant will start throwing record numbers of seeds or pinecones all over to perpetuate itself before it dies.
Any time I face something in the realm of gardening that makes me feel like I'm trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon, eventually I STOP and LOOK at it. I can't tell you how often there has been a simple solution that I couldn't see because I was fighting so hard. Good luck and keep us posted!
Lady Barbara
Weeds and Wild Things
-- posted by LadyB
» Inez - OK, Barbara, now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty, the old
OK, Barbara, now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty, the old ocean/teaspoon problem. My ocean isn't trees, but waves of buttercups washing over my raised beds while my back's turned. The roots are deep, strong and many, and they form a solid carpet; kind of like short kudzu. Help! Inez-- posted by Inez
» Marge_Talt - Lee Ann, I'm game. Anybody who wants seeds for the common Mu
Lee Ann,I'm game. Anybody who wants seeds for the common Mullein just has to wake me up sometime in July so I can gather them.
Lady Barbara, gratified to learn my mind is not totally gone...re: the torches, but had no idea they were also used as substitute Dr. Scholl's!
Dodder is one wild child I don't have (knock on wood). Various gurus on Gardens-L have opined that you either have to 1) not let it go to seed, 2) use a pre-emergent herbicide -- which may or may not do the trick, or 3) watch for the host plants (apparently the mint family is particularly attractive to it) and plant the area with them to encourage the doddar seeds in the ground to sprout, then, dig up the whole mess while the dodder is tiny and trash it (not in the compost heap). Seems to be one of the wild things that is really hard to discourage, especially if it is allowed to set seed.
Best of luck with it!
Marge
Gardening in Shade
-- posted by Marge_Talt
» MelindaR - Thanks so much for this column, Lady Barbara! Great stuff... I'
Thanks so much for this column, Lady Barbara! Great stuff... I've often wondered what in my yard is good for this or that. Heck, I've often wondered what that stuff in my yard IS! *chuckle* Can you recommend a good, hopefully inexpensive book that identifies wild plants and tells what each can be used for? I'd love to wildcraft -- responsibly, of course -- but haven't the foggiest of where to begin.Melinda Reese, Texas Gardening
-- posted by MelindaR
» LadyB - First, for Kevin, click on "More Articles' and hop over to my ar
First, for Kevin, click on "More Articles' and hop over to my article on Poison Ivy. There are some links that show good photos of the 'poison' cousins.And for Melinda, I'm always recommending Susun Weed's books because they are SO well done. Her second one, called HEALING WISE is a grand place to start as it covers one 'weed' per chapter and tells you absolutely EVERYTHING. She gives recipes, she gives nutrient and active ingredient breakdowns, it's a great place to begin.
My biggest caution is to watch for the books that just state that 'this' HAS BEEN USED FOR 'that'. Eeek. How was it used, how was it taken, what part of the plant was used and hey, did it work! Good Field Guides (like Peterson's) are excellent for proper identification (though a live herbalist is even better!), but even the one on medicinal plants is very light on specific info on how to use them.
One of my other favorites is JUST WEEDS by Pamela Jones. It is delightful reading from cover to cover.
I believe everyone knows the whereabouts of a Dandelion, so check out the Discussion on How to Eat One!
Thanks for stopping by, and in the months to come I hope to open lots of eyes as to the value of our maligned 'weeds'!
Lady Barbara, Weeds and Wild Things
-- posted by LadyB
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