I interrupt my holiday break from blogging to report: Is there a hidden benefit to gardening? Though, all I have found while gardening are broken glass, a smashed doll's head, and a spoon that went missing a few years before.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/world/europe/uk-treasure-lockdown-gardening.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20201210&instance_id=24891&nl=the-morning®i_id=66835102&segment_id=46542&te=1&user_id=bad83615d9303b259e7b85f01c6be918
For those of you who celebrate Christmas, may your day be meaningful and rewarding, even in this pandemic year. And Happy New Year to everyone, may 2021 be better than 2020!
See you in the new year!
Judy
Yesterday was the solstice. The winter solstice might be the longest night of the year, but the days will increase, slowly at first, and spring will come again!
Muscadine vines in September
During pruning
After pruning
When we first moved into our central Virginia home, I purchased two Ison muscadine grape vines from Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA, and planted them along my chain link fence. This was an impulsive purchase, as I had never eaten a muscadine grape before. But, many of my earlier plant purchases were impulsive, and, luckily, I like muscadines fresh, as well as their juice and jelly. Muscadines are native to the southeastern US, but Ison is a cultivar.
Muscadines are vigorous growers and like to sprawl. After a long weekend, my neighbor found the vine had sent out tendrils that curled around the roof rack on his car! They also spread into adjacent trees and onto the carport next door (thank you tolerant neighbors!). Because they are so vigorous, they need heavy pruning and can easily tolerate it. Well, we have not heavily pruned these vines for maybe 10 years (bad, bad gardener!). The yield declined last year, so I knew it was time to prune. And I knew that the vine was dormant.
First, I inspected the vine. It had a mass of branches that came out about 2 feet on each side of the fence, plus many of these vines nearer the fence were dead. Then I checked to make sure the live vines were dormant. Cutting a moderate-sized one showed green wood, but very little moisture, and no dripping, so the sap was not running. I traced the line of the major branches, leaving those completely alone. I basically cut back everything else, especially the dead wood. The photos above illustrate the process (I did the best I could taking photos in the bright sunshine). These vines should rebound with vigorous growth in spring!
If you have grape vines, look for specifics on pruning, but it is essential to do it during dormancy. If you don't grow grapes, muscadines provide a good yield, though my neighbor grows Concord grapes to good effect!
Gardeners sometimes have difficulty selecting native plants for their gardens and landscapes. Part of this is expectation. Landscapers, landscape designers, and garden centers have sold us on several aesthetic ideas and engage in practices that make native plant landscaping harder to pull off. First (see my recent blog entry "Which is better?") we are told that plants that sustain no damage from insects or other creatures are best. Yes, it is true that native insects, for example, have evolved to recognize and exploit native plants. They generally leave non-native plants alone. But I view this "as a feature, not a bug" (pun intended). Using native plants means that your yard and garden can support native critters. English ivy, grass, and crape myrtles cannot support them (we inherited a few crape myrtles with our house and I wince when I see them being newly planted-nothing seems to eat them!). We have also been sold the idea that flowering plants must flower for a long time, be relatively sturdy, and provide long-lasting color...and many native plants do not. And there is the idea of "four-season interest," that is, that worthy plants must have some feature that attracts the eye year round. Lastly, in terms of practices, we feel limited by what is in big box stores and nurseries-many gardeners and landscapers don't know of sources for native plants, so don't use them.
But the second part is knowing which plants to select, and where to get them. Well, the Virginia Native Plant Society can help you out. You can download free pdf's of several regional plant guides at:
https://vnps.org/virginia-native-plant-guides/
These guides provide information on native plants for your region, habitat, planting, and growing and give you source information to buy them! Your yard does not have to be 100% native, but even a few native plants can helps support native creatures.