Macro Landscapes
/On my recent walks around the yard, I’ve been noticing the tiny landscapes on the ground….the greens of very early spring. The moss under our deck stays green all winter and now there are tiny plants (clovers and mock strawberry) coming up through it. They’ll stay low growing so we’ll never mow the area.
A patch of moss can also be found near our chaos garden. It appears to be more yellowish (maybe got too dry) with red seta…the sporophyte that was at the top of the seta is already gone (i.e. the spores long dispersed). The grass is beginning to grow around the moss and it will eventually be in the path of the lawn mower.
There are some weeds beginning to grow too…..coming up in the grass, tulips poplar seeds, and rolls of sycamore bark. The mowing will keep it short. I tend to leave weeds like this…hoping they have deeper roots than the turf grass…better at holding the soil on the slope.
The soil a few feet away from the chaos garden must be rich in humus since there seems to be a puff ball or two every year. This one is from last fall. I remember finding it when I was mowing the leaves! It has collapsed but somehow managed to stay relatively intact through the winter. Underground the mycelium is growing and decomposing the humus further with the help of microbes….the makings of healthy soil.
The daffodils are up in the oak leaves, old day lily leaves, and tulip poplar seeds in our front flower beds. Maybe I’ll cut a few of the flowers this season to bring their springtime indoors.
There are the usual ‘weeds’ in the same beds. I recognize the mock strawberry. There is a chance that some of the others could be black-eyed susans which I want for the bees and butterflies during the summer.
There are a few crocuses coming up. There are fewer every year. One came up last year out in the yard…the bulb probably moved there by a squirrel.
I looked closely at the joint between the driveway and our front walkway – lots of tulip poplar seeds there. They had made enough ‘soil’ for a small clover and some mock strawberry to grow. And there was a worm using the crack as a highway between the lawn and the flower bed; it was heading toward the flower bed….a much richer place for the worm!
Finally, I checked the bush at the corner of the garage. I’ve been nurturing a young holly to take over for the old bush. I discovered a plant growing in the stump of the old bush…a sure sign that it is rotting. I’ll be cutting it closer to the ground and let the holly take over completely.
Overall – these macro landscapes look more springlike than our trees at this point. I’ll wait a few more weeks to photograph the large scale spring landscape.
