Well, that was awkward. I was so excited to think that we were fortunate enough to have an Eastern Hemlock on our property, but it turns out I was wrong. Did you know that there is a Department of Urban Forestry, run by Fairfax County? Well, our friendly forester came to Holy Comforter (free) to …
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Eastern Hemlock
We have a hemlock tree on our property! It is the Eastern Hemlock, or Tsuga canadensis. Earlier this week it was struggling to survive: You can just barely make out the evergreen leaves at the top left hand side. The rest of the tree is covered with invasive vines, mostly japanese honeysuckle creeper, and also …
Sensitive Ferns
We have some more hard working plants at Holy Comforter. There was a bare patch of ground between the upper and lower parking lots: And so we planted some ferns: You might just be able to make out a few sad-looking twigs. The plants are called Sensitive, because they go into dormancy with the first …
Woolly Bear Caterpillars
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I am intrigued by the common names of plants and animals. And what could be more appealing than a caterpillar called a Woolly Bear? It turns out that there are several varieties of these Woolly Bears. Here is a picture of a …
Pussytoes
If you look to your left as you drive along the top parking lot at the church, you will see the mulched beginnings of a Pilgrim Path. Low to the ground, right next to the curb, notice some new hardworking plants. And how, you ask, might plants be so busy? First, they delight us with …
Flowers for Fall
This year, when you buy chrysanthemums for fall decoration, why not add some Asters? This is what Plant NoVa Natives has to say about them: They are perennials, (meaning the come back every year), that grow to about 3 to 6 feet. For a more compact plant, cut back by half to 2/3 in early …
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Flickers are part of the woodpecker family, but they have a few unique traits. Northern flicker, Roslyn, New York Behavior: Like most woodpeckers, northern flickers drum on objects as a form of communication and territory defense. In such cases, the object is to make as loud a noise as possible, so woodpeckers sometimes drum on …
Liriope
An organization called PlantNoVaNative.org has this to say about invasive plants: Non-Native Invasive Plants in Northern Virginia and Regional Native Alternatives Invasive, non-native plants do not provide the same ecosystem services as natives and have a harmful effect on our environment, not only in the suburban community but also in our forests, parks, and other …
Deer eating your plants?
Yes, ours, too. We have a group of brown-eyed susans (Rudbeckia triloba) in the Meditation Garden. We were very disappointed recently when we saw this: So we started using this deer repellent: It comes in capsules, which you scatter around your plants, and then water. Clearly, it works! I understand that deer get used to …
Monarch Migration
Have you seen any monarch butterflies around recently? They’re all around our neighborhoods at this time of year. It’s hard to believe, but these butterflies are preparing themselves to fly to Mexico. Just take a look at those flimsy little wings! The butterflies find their way to a particular forest in Mexico. These individual butterflies …
Holy Comforter Creation Care 