Freedom Park Garden Update Spring 2008

June 17, 2008

Mockingbirds overthrown-bluebirds rule! Yes, the mockingbirds have been pushed off of their perch on the bluebird box and the bluebirds have established a nest! And the bluebirds were feeding young this week. The robins also have crowded the mockers off the birdbath. The garden is no longer mockingbird hill-tra la. (Don't mean to insult the mockers-was just afraid that they'd keep all the other birds away from "their" territory).

Now in bloom: Wine cups, Purple Coneflowers, St. John's Wort, Rising Sun Tickweed, Butterfly Weed and Larkspur.

Butterfly garden planting: We planted a special butterfly garden in the third driveway of the garden area on May 10. After we prepared the soil we sowed seeds of butterfly attracting flowers (many of which have since sprouted). Later Phil Edwards, Master Gardener, planted many native butterfly attracting plants: fennel, butterfly weed, bee balm and parsley, among them. Thanks to volunteers Gail Todd, Pandra Williams and Stella Chamberlain for their help.

Bird News: A Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) visited the garden earlier this month. This little bird is a full time resident in this area and is often seen eating seeds under feeders. Its easily identified by its rusty cap and ground foraging habit. Its "chip", from which it gets its name, can also help with identification. Chipping sparrows build their cup shaped nests in trees or vines up to 11 feet off the ground. They can have two broods a year averaging 4 eggs per brood. This bird might be nicknamed the camel bird as it can live on dry seeds without drinking water for up to three weeks. (The Birder's Handbook, Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Simon and Schuster, 1988). Also seen near the garden recently: Red-headed Woodpecker, American Robin, Chimney Swift, White-breasted Nuthatch, European Starling and that ole Northern Mockingbird. Also the pool is open! The bird bath had some visitors shortly after I put fresh water in the other day-a Tufted Titmouse and two Mourning Doves.

Butterfly news: Butterflies are around in force this month. The Cabbage White (Artogeia rapae) and Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) are frequenting garden areas even as I write. Cabbage Whites are hereby outed as being non-native, having been introduced in Canada in 1860. They've since spread out all over North America. They're those white butterflies (about 1 1/2 inches in size) with one or two white spots on their wings and slightly charcoal wing tips. The Gulf Fritillary, about 2 1/2 inches in size, is a bright orange butterfly with black spots (see picture above) ranging throughout the southern United States. Its favorite nectar plants are phlox and lantana. (National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies, Alfred A. Knopf, 1998) Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) vines are one of as its larval host plants. We've just planted this vine in the garden.

Highlighted Plant: St. John’s Wort (Hypericum frondosum). St. John's wort, a deciduous shrub, is native to the southeastern United States, usually occurring on rocky hills, in limestone glades and barrens. It is drought tolerant. The gray hairstreak butterfly lays its eggs on St. John's wort. Caterpillars eat the foliage. Adult butterflies sip flower nectar. The plant was named for St. John the Baptist because it blooms around the day of his feast. It does best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade and prefers some shade in the hottest climates. It grows to 2-4 ft tall with about the same width. It likes well drained soil. It sports bright yellow flowers late spring to early fall. It can be propagated by cuttings or sowing seeds outside in the fall. We have two St. John's Worts in the garden (but no good pictures of them-sorry). St. John's Wort has been used as a treatment for depression and is also said to help in decreasing alcohol intake.

Workday 6-6-08: Volunteers Bob Sattelmeyer, Cecilia Marrero, Pandra Williams, Dorothy Dabbs and Phil Edwards and I watered and weeded the garden and cleaned the adjoining sidewalk. Also twenty new plant markers were added. Pandra had invited Connie Gray, Ecological Resource Specialist with DeKalb County, to see the garden. Connie gave us some great input.

Thanks, too, to: Janea Boyles for again helping with gray water (Janea, by the way, runs The Mercantile in Candler Park, which uses "sustainable local ingredients" prepared in an "environmentally conscious" way. (See http://www.themercantileatl.com/ for complete information). Also thanks to: Jennifer West who donated some bricks which we used to heighten the wall of the butterfly area and to Robert McLeod who's been watering the garden when he can with his own gray water.

Help, help! We can always use some help with watering and weeding. If you'd like to be signed up for a workday or would be willing to water occasionally, please email me. If you happen to be passing the garden feel free to deadhead the flowers or pull up some crab grass or other weeds. Or if you have an extra gallon of gray water our plants can always use a cool drink (couldn't we all?).

Good links: http://www.ecoaddendum.org/ This is a link to Ecoaddendum, a project to bring native plants back to the Metro Atlanta area, spearheaded by Pandra Williams.

http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/ Thanks to Tom Painter for info about this link-to a guide to native plants of Georgia-most useful. Once you get to the site, type in "B987" ( the publication number) in the appropriate area.

Thanks for your time and good gardening, good birding and good butterflying to all.......Carol