During this season of giving I can’t help but think of those that need the best gift we can give them – our support. I’m talking about the things that we co-habit the Earth with: the plants, the insects, the birds, the mammals. We can do things - even small things - to give them a bit of support:
Food – remember the food chain and start with the building blocks: PLANTS. Native plants feed native insects which then feed other native insects and birds. Plants also feed mammals – deer browse on foliage while seeds and nuts feed chipmunks, squirrels and birds. Smaller mammals and birds become food for larger predators. Non-native plants feed very few native insects and therefore do very little to support the populations of all that rely on them. Leaf litter feeds the insects that birds like the brown thrasher hunt.
Water – create a fresh water source in your yard. It can be as small as a single birdbath or a shallow container on the ground. Change it out every few days to keep it fresh and healthy.
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Brown Thrasher splashing in my birdbath
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Shelter – providing shelter is so much more than having birdhouses. Birds need year-round protection and evergreen shrubs and trees can provide that. Loose brush piles provide shelter for small mammals as well as daytime cover for birds as they hunt for food. Tall trees provide places for squirrels to nest and dead trees (known as “snags”) provide both food and shelter for certain birds like woodpeckers.
A place to raise their young – birds like robins, mockingbirds and cardinals and many others nest in shrubs that have dense growth in the summer time. Again with the brush piles .... Flat rocks provide the habitat that creatures like salamanders need. Dense leaf litter is the home to many insects and their young.
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Woodpecker on a snag in my yard
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Habitat – now think BIGGER than your backyard. Every small piece of space that we can preserve for them in a natural state is a gift that keeps on giving. Here are ideas that get bigger and bigger:
- Convince your friends and neighbors to leave natural places; if each one of us left part of our backyard as natural (still removing any invasives!), imagine the corridor that we could link between us. Birds and mammals need contiguous spaces not isolated pockets. Spread the word.
- Support efforts in your local communities to create city parks and county parks. Volunteer at these parks to teach other people about using native plants and about the importance of removing invasive plants. Your gifts of time and effort are worth more than you know.
- Support your
state parks by visiting them, volunteering through their “Friends of” organization, and supporting legislative efforts to fund them and create new ones. Helping to remove invasives is so helpful - cutbacks in funding have left this job mostly undone, allowing invasive plants to disturb even more natural habitat.
When you're thinking about your new year's resolution, think about how you can help those that live around us.
Plants that can live (and thrive) in adverse conditions like parking lots and roadway medians are special indeed. Those that do so are prized by landscape designers and their use often is repeated. These same trees might show up on lists of urban (also known as “street”) trees. While maples are often used in these conditions, here are several native oak trees that I have seen recently that fit this bill.
Pin oak (Quercus palustris) has been a parking lot staple for many years around North Atlanta. The trees planted some 30 years ago are now trees of considerable size – in places where they were allowed to remain. Unfortunately in some urban areas, trees are considered expendable when it comes time to expand further. Don’t let the common name fool you – the pin oak does not have slender “pin” shaped leaves. The leaves are broad and usually have 5-7 lobes. Q. palustris tends to retain it’s dried leaves over the winter, allowing for some measure of privacy when planted in a residential area. That characteristic plus slightly drooping lower limbs are key identifiers for me. The acorns are rather small and striped. Like many urban tolerant trees, this species is naturally at home in poorly drained soils with high clay content. I have never noticed this species having any remarkable fall color.
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Quercus palustris
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Pin oak acorns and leaves
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Willow oak (Quercus phellos) is another parking lot staple and continues to be used even in new developments. Perhaps the narrow, linear leaves are more friendly to clean up crews in the fall than other oaks. This is the tree that people think of when you mention “pin oak”. The rapid growth rate and pleasing shape of the mature tree are probably two of the reasons it is still used in design. Again the acorns are rather small (perhaps a plus for high traffic areas) and faintly striped. Again this tree is naturally found in poorly drained areas, making it ideal for use in urban areas. The fall color is yellow and rather unremarkable.
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Quercus phellos, Willow oak leaves and acorns
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Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii) is a moderately fast growing tree with handsome lobed leaves. It became popular as an alternative for the overused Pin oak some years ago. The leaves of the two species are very similar in appearance but Shumard oak has better fall color and the dead leaves do not persist. The acorns are much larger and resemble those of Northern red oak (Quercus rubra). I found this example planted as a median tree along an office park throughway, but the trees were not doing very well. My research shows that while this species can do well, it does prefer more moisture than others.
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Quercus shumardii, Shumard oak leaves and acorns
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Nuttall oak (formerly Quercus nuttallii or Quercus shumardii var. texana, now Quercus texana) is perhaps the latest favorite in parking lot oaks. This species is the best looking of the group: the leaves are handsome and lobed and have superb fall color. Couple those looks with a fast growth rate and you have a winner as far as the landscape design folks are concerned. The acorn is similar in looks to Shumard oak, except smaller in size and with a “goblet” shaped cap. I found this example in a supermarket parking lot where the acorns on the ground were numerous.
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Quercus texana, leaves and acorns
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Nuttall oak in parking lot
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Now is a good time in Georgia to plant dormant trees like oaks. So if you’re looking for a good street tree, the four native choices listed above are ones to consider.
Now is a good time to be thinking about changes to your shrubs for next year. This is the perfect time of year to plant new shrubs and trees in Georgia. The cool weather and ample winter moisture helps them get settled - much better than planting in the spring.
When thinking about new shrubs, you might consider some which are beautiful in both the spring and the fall, getting double duty out of them in the garden. Of course I'd like you to consider increasing the amount of native plants in your landscape, so I'd like to offer some ideas for native shrubs that you can use.
Dwarf witch alder is an awkward name for a shrub that has it's own beautiful name: Fothergilla. There are two species of Fothergilla: Fothergilla major (which is larger) and Fothergilla gardenii. The leaves resemble the leaves of Witch hazel, hence the common name. Early spring blooms resemble mini bottle-brushes and provide a very different look than your usual landscape plants. The foliage is very handsome all summer long and then turns a variety of yellow/orange/pink for the fall. In the nursery you can expect to find named cultivars like Fothergilla major 'Mt. Airy' and Fothergilla gardenii 'Blue Mist' (which has nice blue-green leaves). F. major 'Blue Shadow' is another cultivar with blue-green leaves.
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Fothergilla major, spring
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Fothergilla major, fall
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Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is naturally a moisture-loving shrub found on the edges of lakes or streams, but it also does well in average garden conditions. In ideal conditions the shrub slowly suckers to form a colony - a nice feature if you plan for it. Itea blooms later in spring than Fothergilla so they would make a nice combination for a succession of blooms. Long creamy white panicles of flowers look good against the medium green leaves. A library in Alpharetta, GA has a huge grouping of them in almost full sun and the bloom show is outrageous. In fall the foliage turns burgundy. Cultivars like 'Merlot' and 'Henry's Garnet' have exceptionally consistent color. Dwarf forms like 'Little Henry' fit into smaller spaces.
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Itea virginica, spring
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Itea virginica, fall (not a cultivar)
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A later spring blooming shrub (May for me) is also an evergreen one - Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia. Perfect for a spot of year-round greenery, Mountain laurel cultivars are available in a multitude of sizes. I have 'Elf', the smallest of the bunch at 2x2 feet. You can also find cultivars that are 3x3 ('Minuet' and 'Olympic Fire'), 4x4 ('Sarah' and 'Nipmuck') and bigger. Do your research! The species grows naturally on streamsides and grows up to 12 feet. When considering a spot for it, plan for good moisture and afternoon shade.
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Kalmia latifolia, not a cultivar
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Kalmia latifolia 'Elf'
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Non-native viburnums (often called snowball bushes) get a lot of attention, but our native ones are very attractive as well and have better fall color. Mapleleaf viburnum, Viburnum acerifolium, is one that I love to recommend because it does well in dry shade. It is the 2011 Plant of the Year for the Georgia Native Plant Society. Possumhaw viburnum, Viburnum nudum, is found naturally in wet-to-moist areas and has berries that turn from green to pink to blue. In fact the berries are so showy when they are pink that people think the clusters are blooms! Cultivars like 'Winterthur' and 'Earthshades' are usually available in nurseries. Viburnums set more fruit if there are at least two different ones that bloom at the same time to support cross-pollination.
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Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides, berries
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Viburnum acerifolium, fall color
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Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a summer blooming shrub with large panicles of cream-colored flowers that age to a dusky pink. The effect adds an appearance of longer lasting blooms. The fall color on the large, oakleaf-shaped leaves is very handsome. Many cultivars are available, including double-flowered ones like 'Snowflake' and dwarf ones like 'Pee Wee'. It grows better in drier conditions than the non-native mophead hydrangeas.
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Hydrangea quercifolia, summer
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Hydrangea quercifolia, fall
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I hope that you will find some ideas here to spark your interest in our beautiful and versatile native shrubs. Remember to consider "right plant, right place" when choosing and to research your choices before you buy.
