tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60736930530130840092024-03-14T00:47:08.032-04:00Reed Ecological Design blogThis is the blog for Reed Ecological Design! I plan to discuss organic gardening, native plants, projects, and just about any other ecologically sensitive landscaping topic that comes up. I definitely take requests. Thank you for visiting and for your thoughtful comments.Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-37458687416692708202020-12-24T17:36:00.000-05:002020-12-24T17:36:04.052-05:00Project Report: Oakapiney Beach Resort: Plant Assessment<p style="text-align: justify;">Tom McLinden requested that I do a plant assessment of the Oakapiney Beach Resort property. I interpreted that as visiting the site to observe and identify the plant species and to summarize observable factors influencing their existence.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yQcqHqnm-WNtTe86Z_ITm8tUIKkCfnEpANf7eGzm9TYr3ki4CNZCsOUVwZY68TVd0aQmXza3GHYwjWuHLuWE8bgXrgJSWGoRNfZhNOWYPkKCavuIZSoJ4YwyE6CXe7bswntoKJ30oYE/s2048/2020-06-26+18.20.38.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yQcqHqnm-WNtTe86Z_ITm8tUIKkCfnEpANf7eGzm9TYr3ki4CNZCsOUVwZY68TVd0aQmXza3GHYwjWuHLuWE8bgXrgJSWGoRNfZhNOWYPkKCavuIZSoJ4YwyE6CXe7bswntoKJ30oYE/w400-h300/2020-06-26+18.20.38.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">So, I visited Oakapiney Beach Resort and collected over six hundred plant identification photographs and notes on June 27th through 29th, 2020. I spent about fourteen hours foraying (super fun) around the approximately four acre site. The weather was amazing every day, sunny with a high of 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The plant assessment resulted in observing a total of 120 plant species. Of those, I identified 106 plant species to the species level, including 14 species of trees, 35 shrubs and vines, 45 wildflowers, 3 grasses, 3 rushes, 4 sedges, and 2 ferns. Of those, 84 species are native, whereas 22 species are introduced. I observed five species of grass (Poaceae family), two species of Sedge (Carex spp.) and one species of Horsetail or Scouring Rush (Equisetum spp.), all of which I was unable to identify to the species level.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">There were six additional plants that I was unable to identify, including the above photo's specimen. With that flower, some one should recognize this species!. If you do, please comment below!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Coefficient of Conservatism is a scale from 0 to 10 that indicates an estimated probability that a plant is likely to occur in a landscape relatively unaltered from a pre-settlement condition. Species designated with a Coefficient of Conservation of 10 usually only occur in high quality natural habitat remnants. These plants are likely the quickest to disappear as the landscape experiences anthropomorphic influence.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">So, it is always super special to see any species with a high Coefficient of Conservation. Of the native species, eight have a Coefficient of Conservatism of 8 or above. On the Oakapiney Beach Resort site, the species observed which have a Coefficient of Conservation of 10 are the perennial wildflower, <i>Anticlea elegans</i> (White Camas), and the shrubs, <i>Hypericum kalmianum</i> (Kalm’s St. John’s-wort), and <i>Salix cordata</i> (Sand-dune Willow, Furry Willow). The species which has a Coefficient of Conservation of 9 is the shrub, <i>Salix myricoides</i> (Blueleaf Willow). The species which have a Coefficient of Conservation of 8 are the perennial wildflower, <i>Aralia racemosa</i> (Spikenard), and the shrubs, <i>Arctostaphylos uva-ursi</i> (Bearberry, Kinnikinick), <i>Chimaphila umbellata</i> (Pipsissewa, Prince’s-pine), and <i>Rhododendron groenlandicum</i> (Labrador-tea).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I entered the plant assessment results into the Universal Floristic Quality Assessment calculator at UniversalFQA.org. The Total Floristic Quality Index (FQI) for the site was 35. The Native FQI was 39.4 and the Adjusted FQI was 38.3. Generally, it is my understanding that an FQI above 35 is considered to be of exceptional quality. If interested, <a href="http://reedecologicaldesign.com/20201128-RED-Oakapiney-Beach-Resort-FQA-calculator-results.pdf" target="_blank">here are the results</a> generated by the Universal Floristic Quality Assessment calculator.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDEA1wNCitDmAEh-uwMEhWoaCUG4ROx68yVcb_ugHpMMKNjg1DZWqGFu0RTZ4ZgF5qaQZn5pMRn0TMg29xxvqNtcEs-tVTOH2jrmG4sDrHPmYFClrF4LntqQwRlat2s9lIgUe1p5P3pU/s2048/2020-06-27+17.50.06.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDEA1wNCitDmAEh-uwMEhWoaCUG4ROx68yVcb_ugHpMMKNjg1DZWqGFu0RTZ4ZgF5qaQZn5pMRn0TMg29xxvqNtcEs-tVTOH2jrmG4sDrHPmYFClrF4LntqQwRlat2s9lIgUe1p5P3pU/w400-h300/2020-06-27+17.50.06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">These particular delicious fruits disappeared into my family's mouths. In addition to strawberries, there are serviceberries, blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries and raspberries, autumn-olive berries, river-bank grapes, high-bush cranberries, and choke cherries, all available at different times over the growing season at Oakapiney Beach Resort.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcJaj4TYhKOudTu5OSl49kGIwr4dAaS0TOAy_jVr80RQXaKE08mvQkyqdPgs_rvYKeejdqJ-ACLM2UONAcbejNVaB2ARWMjnsn9gWNqpuT_rLVBnjHtDR13QbhzBuDLFqUJedoeC5xfw/s2048/2020-06-29+12.45.43.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcJaj4TYhKOudTu5OSl49kGIwr4dAaS0TOAy_jVr80RQXaKE08mvQkyqdPgs_rvYKeejdqJ-ACLM2UONAcbejNVaB2ARWMjnsn9gWNqpuT_rLVBnjHtDR13QbhzBuDLFqUJedoeC5xfw/w400-h300/2020-06-29+12.45.43.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">An ant enjoying the flower head of <i>Cornus rugosa</i> (Round-leaved Dogwood).</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">The flowers of <i>Kalmia angustifolia</i> (Sheep-laurel, Lambkill).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This plant assessment was my first. Performing this plant assessment was a huge learning experience. I increased my skills both with plant identification and the process, such that, if I were to tackle a similar effort, I could do so with increased efficiency. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXGwDw3tI8joW6-x8PfnPXYRr5hBixCD1sZ86sP7n0gsiTnLKCYZ9lr-1gOgUikX0LEgU2OGxuITLuBa0qmSaVVQjuT5PQFW3H0f8DpHeGa3IrlB-HJezRsfMtS46Dx1fYbMqEqAP9Ao/s2048/2020-06-26+18.23.39.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXGwDw3tI8joW6-x8PfnPXYRr5hBixCD1sZ86sP7n0gsiTnLKCYZ9lr-1gOgUikX0LEgU2OGxuITLuBa0qmSaVVQjuT5PQFW3H0f8DpHeGa3IrlB-HJezRsfMtS46Dx1fYbMqEqAP9Ao/w400-h300/2020-06-26+18.23.39.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Thank you to Tom McLinden for providing the opportunity to perform this work. My family enjoyed an excellent stay in Cabin #4 for the duration of the site visit.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='400' height='300' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz0Ih726PSaOF7MoV1_o6vJGTOL5AGl1WOMvvpdlahlMaTI45BpcqrRv4I5orxA2vMrJGzWRrH6FtQPEDBvdg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Lake Erie at sunset is nice.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://reedecologicaldesign.com/20201209-Oakapiney-Beach-Resort-plant-assessment-FINALIZED.pdf" target="_blank">Here is the full plant assessment report</a>, which includes the list of the identified species and additional observations. </p>Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-36620186484748309172018-07-24T00:03:00.000-04:002018-07-24T00:03:27.631-04:00Project Report: Soil Bore Underneath a Ponded Rain Garden<div style="text-align: justify;">
Reed Ecological Design dug out a rain garden late Fall 2017 at a client's home in the Upper Waterhill neighborhood of Ann Arbor. The water sources for the rain garden are two downspouts from the roof and a sump pump. We dug and buried piping to carry the rain water from the downspouts to the rain garden. Instead of the pipe running directly from each downspout to the rain garden, I judged it more efficient (less digging) to run the piping from the first downspout to the second and then to the rain garden. Here is the area before project commencement:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi34TKWcQnrlRaueK2XRVRI-S74pyaq98yYw1NZt-n3g-IojCP2ek3K0T2lOA50fijRpV1rwuWCJrICgeugXg7Yx2rXq1gdUEY-yEUPKlintGko1R4Yr_VFb4upuwCMpxzjmMfRS9JbqyY/s1600/2017-10-21+13.59.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi34TKWcQnrlRaueK2XRVRI-S74pyaq98yYw1NZt-n3g-IojCP2ek3K0T2lOA50fijRpV1rwuWCJrICgeugXg7Yx2rXq1gdUEY-yEUPKlintGko1R4Yr_VFb4upuwCMpxzjmMfRS9JbqyY/s400/2017-10-21+13.59.40.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Connecting the downspouts with one pipe had the unintended effect of deepening the discharge as water needs to run downhill. A deeper discharge required a deeper rain garden. Here is a photo of the piping along the home before it was buried:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-n0iFYDUIrbsNKpyY9j-wjsQDafrq_bkKlk-eh2WzZAqAnVKRlnbZFzwSIKz-FlJcs0JCBZy1yXt-z3Wl_UntMuRPs21C6ofDy9iG88GPwbnI2SiXHwAecNwmCWuPEZJf0Dk-N9cOBo/s1600/2017-10-21+16.02.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-n0iFYDUIrbsNKpyY9j-wjsQDafrq_bkKlk-eh2WzZAqAnVKRlnbZFzwSIKz-FlJcs0JCBZy1yXt-z3Wl_UntMuRPs21C6ofDy9iG88GPwbnI2SiXHwAecNwmCWuPEZJf0Dk-N9cOBo/s400/2017-10-21+16.02.15.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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The following photo shows where the piping is now buried along the house, both downspouts (to be connected), and the beginning of digging the rain garden on the right.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWn9DunE0TJX2IGm7xSdfUMK1WeqCZvF9LEU5-vrwHcRGkORTUTbi5gxUgbVmORrULDHh4JPlAm5-7AhDOycbYDGipKt0dT_vXJhdpDjz0AvzSu0BuPbbIpiD0utTlWw4M515wdPwPws/s1600/2017-11-04+12.02.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWn9DunE0TJX2IGm7xSdfUMK1WeqCZvF9LEU5-vrwHcRGkORTUTbi5gxUgbVmORrULDHh4JPlAm5-7AhDOycbYDGipKt0dT_vXJhdpDjz0AvzSu0BuPbbIpiD0utTlWw4M515wdPwPws/s400/2017-11-04+12.02.15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The rain garden was constructed in two tiers, an upper and a lower. Water seemed to arrive and stay standing in the lower tier...shortly after digging was completed. The new rain garden was actually a new pond! For anyone excited about a pond, please note that standing water is also known as a mosquito factory and is generally
not desired when constructing a rain garden. The two water sources are kind of visible on the left of the rain garden in the following photo. The furthest left pipe end is the piping from the downspouts.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzVmaEyA_ICqlo15cH9NR1ibwUhvp-h2yQUhomYRdFOcjU-Pp9NetWg_6aN8ATPl7RNGg3SJXaCAGfrzzi6wHaFGkqiEordzMrCKXBTOdAiUJ8plHG9V1gNzxEimZRMfKb97j8yaUeJQ/s1600/2017-11-04+14.46.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzVmaEyA_ICqlo15cH9NR1ibwUhvp-h2yQUhomYRdFOcjU-Pp9NetWg_6aN8ATPl7RNGg3SJXaCAGfrzzi6wHaFGkqiEordzMrCKXBTOdAiUJ8plHG9V1gNzxEimZRMfKb97j8yaUeJQ/s400/2017-11-04+14.46.17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was surprised to see the water table at that elevation, so I started wondering if the water was just sitting on a localized plateau layer of clay. I decided to investigate via soil boring the soil underneath the rain garden...to see if soil characteristics change and at what depth.<br />
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According to the USDA Web Soil map, the area of the rain garden originally consisted of soil named Wawasee Loam with a typical soil
profile:</div>
<ul class="noimage" style="text-align: justify;">
<li>
<span class="italic">Ap - 0 to 8 inches: </span>
loam; </li>
<li>
<span class="italic">Bt1 - 8 to 24 inches: </span>
loam; </li>
<li>
<span class="italic">Bt2 - 24 to 33 inches: </span>
clay loam; </li>
<li>
<span class="italic">C - 33 to 79 inches: </span>
loam. </li>
</ul>
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I likely removed the Ap and part of the Bt1 layers when I dug out the rain garden assuming the soil profile was intact. That should be an okay assumption. The bottom of the rain garden possibly started with a clay loam layer!<br />
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So, during the Spring of 2018, I rented a "soil borer" from A-1 Rental, as shown below. The tool turned out to be not so much a soil borer, but more of a post hole digger with an approximately five inch cone. The tool did allow me to bore to a depth of around three or four feet, which was desirable. However, an actual soil borer with a relatively small two inch cone would certainly have been easier to manage!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasIJraMzWZrXSqDFsaXFCNUKi_-qwP8c318HJaHAqVO5N5LNfTWL-k382kjOy3SlmHdl_8xcE76paFspeBKid70-XZ4jh7jx2t8MClzUK5OOQ0mOpsllY0ztbAMHAk0D3eJehLX_TrYY/s1600/2018-06-02+16.41.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasIJraMzWZrXSqDFsaXFCNUKi_-qwP8c318HJaHAqVO5N5LNfTWL-k382kjOy3SlmHdl_8xcE76paFspeBKid70-XZ4jh7jx2t8MClzUK5OOQ0mOpsllY0ztbAMHAk0D3eJehLX_TrYY/s400/2018-06-02+16.41.17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Photo, below, of the hole (by my foot)...also showing the top of the soil borer tool. I was able to bore almost 3 feet below the bottom of the rain garden.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1EMWteJT5ZCXJnLJFKWqVk2bgduyO8iTmDKRZTqDUenX3NnPkAFZA2D3xUGtqxWgrSVipPX50b6O09IRi6GVktIbxPmMhRT8MoWUW3y5YJZaTv6R4K3Li2QkwLdu6BqBe4oF9YnWBJk/s1600/2018-06-02+16.38.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1EMWteJT5ZCXJnLJFKWqVk2bgduyO8iTmDKRZTqDUenX3NnPkAFZA2D3xUGtqxWgrSVipPX50b6O09IRi6GVktIbxPmMhRT8MoWUW3y5YJZaTv6R4K3Li2QkwLdu6BqBe4oF9YnWBJk/s400/2018-06-02+16.38.41.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The following photo shows the soil removed from the hole. The darker material on the left came from the top of the hole. Continuing counter clockwise around the blue tarp shows the removed material the deeper I bore.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrc6dyyKRHaB-OFDc6GJkqUcI0vWfRHfzGR8nwzhd_bw3N_qOUO9j0827HP5Pt-wI2aWaI_Joak6bcG6wJvUDIBiXWylua2YjaOKNnW3woPbukbP-SzxaEgvx3SugK36rb_dMLcYkhjjA/s1600/2018-06-02+16.53.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrc6dyyKRHaB-OFDc6GJkqUcI0vWfRHfzGR8nwzhd_bw3N_qOUO9j0827HP5Pt-wI2aWaI_Joak6bcG6wJvUDIBiXWylua2YjaOKNnW3woPbukbP-SzxaEgvx3SugK36rb_dMLcYkhjjA/s400/2018-06-02+16.53.44.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
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A soil scientist could probably provide a more in depth analysis. I am mostly guessing the following as I am not a soil scientist. The first two piles on the tarp, the darker content which possibly indicates a higher organic content, might correspond with the Bt1 layer. Remember that I already removed the upper approximately eighteen inches of the soil profile when I dug out the rain garden. The medium brown, relatively, of the third through five-ish piles might correspond with the Bt2 layer. The last three-ish piles...the C layer.<br />
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I was hoping to observe an obvious decrease in the clay content of the soil and/or an obvious increase in the sand content. Either would probably correspond with increased soil permeability. Other then the slight color change, the soil all seemed loamy. So, an "easy" fix of boring several holes down below the rain garden probably would not substantially increase infiltration.</div>
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Thus, the best option to prevent standing water appears to be back filling the lower tier to an elevation at or slightly above the standing water surface. Burying the water table should hopefully prevent long-standing water. Even with back filling, there should be adequate slope for water to run downhill to the lower tier. <br />
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That decision has yet to be carried out, but should be accomplished in the near future. Then again, my clients might decide they like the pond in their backyard! Who knows! NOTE: As I performed the soil bore, I observed numerous mosquito larvae swimming joyfully in the standing water.<br />
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UPDATE (July 23, 2018): The pond is currently dried up probably due to the drought conditions we have been experiencing for most of this summer. So, the pond should be considered a seasonal pond. No mosquitoes currently anyways!</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-15779998910704467512018-04-20T14:38:00.002-04:002018-04-20T14:38:50.263-04:00Status of Reed Ecological Design for 2018<div style="text-align: justify;">
Welcome to Spring, the 2018 edition! The average last date of frost annually in Ann Arbor, Michigan is April 28th! I am no meteorologist, but this year, the last date of frost might occur later, as this Spring has seemed relatively cool. Despite the weather, folks sometimes around now go seeking a gardener and think about upcoming projects in their yard. So, by chance those folks visit my blog before contacting me, I wanted to update you all about my status.</div>
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I am NOT taking new clients currently as I am mostly a stay-at-home dad who gardens on the weeknights and weekends! I expect to have possibly too much work from my existing clients...especially considering my family has another
baby arriving in ~July. </div>
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A couple caveats to the above:</div>
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<li>If your project involves converting an area (especially a lawn area) to a native plant prairie, that is something in which I am particularly interested. And I would be super glad to come meet you. Please let me know.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>My stay-at-home position will only be necessary for perhaps a few more years. Eventually, I plan to return to being a full-time gardener/small business owner, and have a crew working with me. So, please consider me in the future. I plan to certainly update my status here on my blog. Please email me if you would like an email notification when this comes to pass.</li>
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Photo taken April 20th, 2018 in my backyard. This specimen of Jacob's Ladder (<i>Polemnium reptans</i>, in the Polemoniaceae family) is possibly the best looking thing in my yard today. I planted this plug from Wildtype Native Plant Nursery last year.</div>
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Lastly, thank you for seeking me out and reading my blog. If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to contact me. </div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-60820365040201161792016-12-30T14:59:00.000-05:002016-12-30T14:59:07.157-05:00Trip and Botany Report: Boundary Waters September 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
Long overdue but writing this sure is providing nice reminiscing. Maria and I traveled to Boundary Waters in early September 2014 for a five day voyage-style canoe trip into the wilderness. I wanted to share our itinerary and highlights including some of the amazing plants, and fungi, and landscape.<br />
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This was one of those trips where we researched and planned and started packing more than a month in advance. It was so exciting to finally go!<br />
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<b>Monday, September 8th, First Day</b><br />
We rented a canoe, paddles, and life jackets from Rockford Lodge and Outfitters on Poplar Lake and began our adventure late morning. Our trip started and ended <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/48%C2%B003%2714.6%22N+90%C2%B031%2713.2%22W/@48.0540429,-90.5208942,141m/data=%213m2%211e3%214b1%214m5%213m4%211s0x0:0x0%218m2%213d48.054042%214d-90.520347" target="_blank">here</a>. Poplar Lake is a large lake, relatively, and conditions were sunny and quite windy. We paddled south across the lake past a few islands towards our first portage.<br />
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We almost tipped where the wind concentrated coming around an island. The wind hit us full blast, pushed us sideways, and fortunately into calmer water shielded behind another island. Maria and I were just learning to paddle and communicate about steering! Tipping there would certainly have put a damper on the adventure to come. We possibly would have been too cold and defeated to continue our journey deep into the wilderness. We talked through our steering issue and paddled through successfully on the second attempt.<br />
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Due to the entry permit restrictions (and, well, me being late reserving a permit), we had to enter Boundary Waters via the 0.9 mile portage to Meeds Lake. We determined on our first portage that two trips would be necessary to carry all our stuff. <br />
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From Meeds Lake, we portaged via a stream to Caribou Lake and then to Horseshoe Lake. Guess what Horseshoe Lake is shaped like! The daylight was getting short; so we started to look for a place to camp. As reputed, all of the campsites on Horseshoe Lake that we passed were occupied.<br />
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Looking almost directly into the sunset, we were lucky to spot three moose swimming across Horseshoe Lake. There was one very large head, followed by two much smaller heads.<br />
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At the last campsite on Horseshoe Lake, we met a man who had come to Boundary Waters to escape his busy life. He was nice enough to share his campsite for the evening...and even gifted some tasty trail food.<br />
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We saw a number of camping parties on Horseshoe Lake. As we headed deeper into the wilderness, we saw very very few people for the remainder of our trip.<br />
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<b>Tuesday</b><br />
...started out as an overcast and calm day. There was a slight tail wind all day, which made paddling west quite easy. Tuesday was our first full day in the wilderness and we traveled from the southwestern tip of Horseshoe Lake, through Gaskin Lake, through Henson Lake, to Omega Lake.<br />
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We took our lunch break after portaging to the bank of Henson Lake at its eastern end. It was a very calm day, but as we set there, several large ripples passed by coming from something! We peeked down the shoreline and were able to observe this mama moose and her calf.<br />
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Quite thrilling to sit there in their presence.<br />
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The fruit of <i>Triadenum fraseri</i>, Fraser's Marsh St. Johnswort, in the Hypericaceae family and an unidentified insect. Observed on the shore along of Henson Lake.<br />
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<b>Wednesday</b><br />
From Omega Lake, we portaged to Kiskadinna Lake and Muskeg Lake, along a creek, to Long Island Lake.<br />
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One of my favorite plants, <i>Anaphalis margaritacea</i>, Pearly Everlasting, in the Asteraceae family. This was along the creek.<br />
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We passed through several areas with recent wild fire activity, the above being one of them. This was on the portage between Muskeg and Long Island Lakes. Absolutely stunning landscape to see. The land just stripped of old woody plants due to a catastrophic level wild fire burn, but totally thriving with native plants.<br />
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A beautiful plant; possibly in the <i>Mentha </i>genus in the Lamiaceae family. Possibly <i>Mentha canadensis</i>, but I am not confident about that id. Along the creek between Muskeg and Long Island Lakes.<br />
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The wind picked up over the course of the day, which mostly was not a problem until we hit Long Island Lake. As we floated out of the cove in the southwest corner of the lake, our momentum carried us a bit too quickly into an expanse of the lake and wind, where we did NOT feel safe in our canoe. There were white caps! We tried to keep to an edge, but mostly bared down and paddled hard against the wind across the expanse to a campsite on an island. Fortunately, the white caps stayed out of our canoe! Being that it was windy and chilly, and this was the farthest point of our trip into the wilderness from civilization, this felt particularly risky (and unsafe).<br />
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<b>Thursday</b><br />
From Long Island Lake to Cave Lake (did not see any cave, but I am sure it is named for a reason), to Ross Lake, to Sebeka Lake to Banadad Lake to Rush Lake where we camped in a cove along the south bank. Conditions were cool and sprinkling on and off for most of the day.<br />
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Passing a beaver damn on Ross Lake.<br />
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<i>Polypodium virginianum</i>, probably, also called Common Polypody, in the Polypodiaceae family. Observed on the portage between Ross Lake and Sebeka Lake, if memory serves me correctly. I have plugged the website before, but <a href="http://www.ontarioferns.com/" target="_blank">Ontario Ferns</a>, is an excellent resource for ferns identification. Their silhouettes webpage is most helpful.<br />
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Sebeka Lake, if memory serves me correctly.<br />
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Unidentified fungi, between Sebeka Lake and Banadad Lake. We saw a few of these specimens. The older specimens seemed to be turning into a translucent gu.<br />
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Unidentified fungi, between Sebeka Lake and Banadad Lake.<br />
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There was an active beaver lodge near our campsite during the evening. It was pretty neat to watch them working.<br />
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From our campsite on Rush Lake, our evening entertainment.<br />
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The night was by far and away our coldest night. We warmed up as much as possible by our campfire before retiring. We wore everything we brought and just barely stayed adequately warm overnight.<br />
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During the middle of the night, we heard the beavers kerplopping with their tails. We wonder what set them off. Probably a fox or coyote, but maybe a mountain lion or black bear. Who knows! We were just
trying to stay warm. <br />
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<b>Friday, September 12th, Last Day</b><br />
There was a bit of frost in the morning. We paddled from Rush Lake, through Little Rush Lake, through Skipper Lake, and finally back through Poplar Lake to Rockwood Lodge.<br />
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Maria video recorded me picking up the canoe and starting the portage from Little Rush Lake to Skipper Lake:<br />
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We took a number of videos of carrying the canoe and some floating through a lake, but those files are mostly above the size limit for sharing on this venue. We also passed through another wildfire area and got to see the remaining results of the burn close up. These landscapes were so full of life.<br />
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An ancient White Pine (as far as I could tell)...<br />
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After five days in, we seem to at least be in good spirits! We were definitely looking forward to being done with our journey.<br />
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Seeing docks and houses on Poplar Lake as we returned back to civilization was surreal and somehow shocking to my senses.<br />
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<b>Final Thoughts </b><br />
In total, we canoed 25.0 miles and portaged 5.8 miles, more or less. The portaged distances, we traversed three times, due to needing two trips to carry all our stuff. Ugh! Single portaging is definitely worth figuring out.<br />
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Our pace of paddling was easy. Aside from a couple windy lake crossings and the longer portages, the paddling and the distances never seemed too long or arduous. We took plenty of time to take photos of which we took more than a thousand, some fishing, and lots of wildlife observing. Keep in mind, that for most of the trip we had a tail wind, which certainly made paddling easier.<br />
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If we were to attempt a similar trip, we would want at least a couple more folks to come along. This trip was super amazing and the landscape was just beautiful. But, we found being in the middle of the wilderness, being so far from people, being so exposed, a fair bit stressful.<br />
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Nonetheless, was an amazing trip and I wish often that I could go back.</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-41502640423932951242015-11-19T09:21:00.001-05:002015-11-19T09:21:50.211-05:00Report: Raised Bed Garden Lumber Experiment<div style="text-align: justify;">
My raised bed garden lumber experiment has been baking in the elements for sixteen months. How about some results! The gist of the experiment is that I built and installed two nearly identical raised garden beds. I coated the lumber of one the raised garden beds with linseed oil. I did not put a coating on the second.<br />
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To completely refresh your memory, <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2014/11/project-report-phase-i-of-my-raised_13.html" target="_blank">here</a> is the original post fully describing the installation and experiment! <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/09/project-report-phases-ii-and-iii-of-my.html" target="_blank">Here</a> is a second post detailing installations of phases II and III of the raised garden beds. </div>
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Above is a side by side photograph of the two raised garden beds right after installation in July 2014. The lumber on the left has been coated with linseed oil. The lumber on the right is bare wood. </div>
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The goals of the experiment were, one, to see if applying linseed oil would increase the durability of the lumber, and two, whether applying linseed oil would affect the aesthetics. In regards to the durability goal, I hope there are a large number of years left before those results become observable. </div>
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In regards to the aesthetics....</div>
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The above photo was taken October 24, 2014 after three months in the ground...along with the rest of the raised garden beds installed. </div>
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On November 23, 2014, four months in the ground...</div>
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After the winter on March 15, 2015...</div>
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The above photo was taken May 18, 2015. </div>
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You may notice there are no comparison photos over the 2015 growing season. That is because the plants grew so large, they blocked the view in all the photos I took.</div>
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And finally a side by side shot November 6, 2015, sixteen months in the ground...</div>
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The above close up photo is of the untreated lumber, which seems to have faded completely shiny gray.</div>
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A close up photo of the linseed oil treated lumber, which also only seems to have also faded, but to a different darky streaky gray. The original lumber color still remains visible in streaks.</div>
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In conclusion, over the course of sixteen months, the linseed oil treated lumber seems to have looked nicer, but, now, the difference in their aesthetics is pretty subtle. I prefer the way the linseed oil treated lumber looks. I think it looks slightly better. Although I am not sure if aesthetics should be a motivation to use linseed oil, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some might actually prefer the shiny gray look. </div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-35185896256167571822015-09-16T00:02:00.002-04:002015-09-16T00:02:32.715-04:00Project Report: Prairie Beach Private Park: August 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
I visited my old friend, the prairie beach park, in mid August 2015, about fifteen months after installation. For reference, <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/02/project-report-prairie-beach-park.html" target="_blank">here is the post</a> detailing the site and initial installation work, and <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/09/project-report-prairie-beach-park-fall.html" target="_blank">the post</a> about the site visit in Fall 2014. To summarize my observations from the visit, the establishment of this
novel ecosystem is a mixed bag of good and bad things happening.</div>
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If you compare the above photo with <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xaNyqOxOGqzsmpSq9YQ3yyxjDHWj_Xun6V2GvO_DFkkI1UpPIFyHD-hSAoDSux_rzKP2hoGm_00dVnlOmgnNDJpQAdlcFALVBSmwemTZBjEQ_EhRWBXAFy-Wq3CJRRjp66oyPQIWUtQ/s1600/2014-05-21+20.51.25.jpg" target="_blank">this photo from May 2014</a> and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LpWk2mWOlpOUyrxDQ6JmAqj-_HSqZp8clrgwxNuH1KdrzmjsUHRITkMALbJ7yEAXgtsH_JwlUZVKZ-GHmTcVTdwkP2gRoqkX8K5dEG21o8UcU6Z4B7EiiWMnvEMq7xV4Lsot7mP7y20/s1600/2014-09-14+19.44.16.jpg" target="_blank">this from Fall 2014</a>, you can easily observe the progression of prairie growth. There remains much room for improvement. Although many areas of the prairie are still thin, achieving denser growth is only be a matter of time!<br />
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First, the good, because I like to include pretty photos! </div>
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The <i>Quercus macrocarpa</i> specimen seems to be losing a few branches. But, considering it is still alive after all this time, I am sure the root system has continued to expand, and its continuous process of growth and death and regrowth appears to be off to a good start. <br />
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<i>Coreopsis tinctoria</i>, Plains Coreopsis...sprouted from the annual seed mix.<br />
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A beautiful grasshopper specimen, hanging out on the flowers of a <i>Eutrochium maculatum</i>, (formerly <i>Eupatorium maculatum</i>), Joe Pye Weed... grown from a plug from Wildtype Nursery.<br />
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Two unidentified beetles doing their thing on <i>Coreopsis lanceolata</i>, Lance-leafed Coreopsis...sprouted from Native Connections Dry-Shortgrass prairie seed mix.<br />
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<i>Bouteloua curtipendula</i>, or Side-oats Grama, sprouted from Native Connections Dry-Shortgrass prairie seed mix. <br />
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This is a <i>Liatris spp.</i> (not <i>L. cylindricea</i>). I also observed some specimens of probably <i>Symphyotricum novae-angliae</i> (formerly <i>Aster novae-angliae)</i>. These two species were not included in either seed mix. So, both species were either here naturally or sneaky inclusions in the seed mixes, which, given how the seed mixes are collected and prepared, would not be surprising. Both are native species, so both are most welcome! <br />
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<i>Monarda punctata</i>, more commonly called Horsemint, with its surprising flowers...sprouted from Native Connections Dry-Shortgrass prairie seed mix. <br />
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<i>Helianthus occidentalis</i>, more commonly called Western Sunflower...sprouted from Native Connections Dry-Shortgrass prairie seed mix.<br />
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The plugs from <i>Asclepias syriaca</i> and <i>Rudbeckia hirta</i> survived at such a high percentage, that you can basically see the line of where the plugs were planted.<br />
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Several native
plants had significant populations. Observing plants, which grew from seeds and plugs (which cost a
good deal of money), now producing seeds (free!!!) and naturally
spreading themselves over the prairie is highly satisfying! I observed possibly significant populations of <i>Asclepias syriaca</i>, <i>Cassia fasciculata</i>, <i>Coreopsis lanceolata</i>, <i>Coreopsis tinctoria</i>, <i>Elymus canadensis</i>, <i>Euthania graminifolia</i>, <i>Fragaria virginiana</i>, <i>Monarda punctata</i>, <i>Penstomon hirsutus</i>, and <i>Physostegia virginiana</i>. Only time will tell if these populations are viable and remain adequately competitive, but these seem to be off to a promising start.</div>
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Other species that I observed, which probably sprouted from the Native Connections Dry-Shortgrass prairie seed mix were <i>Anemone cylindrica</i>, <i>Asclepias tuberosa, </i><i><i>Bouteloua curtipendula</i>, Bromus kalmii</i>, <i>Echinacia purpurea</i>, <i>Helianthus occidentalis</i>, <i>Lobelia cardinalis</i>, <i>Panicum virgatum</i>, <i>Rudbeckia hirta</i>, <i>Sporobolus heterolepis</i> ... I only observed one or a few specimens of these species.<br />
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Second, the bad. I did not observe numerous species included in the Dry-Shortgrass Prairie Seed Mix. Various explanations are probable. One, I just missed seeing the species or did not identify it. Two, their occurrence is noticeable in a different season then when I visited. Or three, the germination conditions were not appropriate for the particular species. Hopefully, these seeds remain part of the seed bank and, as conditions change, their successful germination becomes more likely.<br />
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Most surprisingly missing was, <i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i>, which was a large constituent of the mix.<br />
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Third, the super ugly! Some non-native invasive species were taking advantage of the disturbed soil and, unfortunately, moving in. I observed probably significant populations of <i>Securigera varia</i> or Crown-Vetch (probable ID, photo below), <i>Eleagnus umbellata </i>(mentioned in previous post), Queen Anne's Lace, and, possibly<i>, Phragmites australis</i> (probable ID, photo above).</div>
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I plan to provide recommendations to my client to manage these non-native species and to continue pushing the prairie in an ecologically beneficial direction. Possible recommendations might include:<br />
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<li>Mowing the prairie early Spring 2016 (especially the areas with Crown-Vetch and Autumn-Olive). There is not adequate fuel for performing a thorough prescribed burn yet. </li>
<li>Removal or cutting and painting the Autumn-Olive.</li>
<li>Cutting/treating the Phragmites.</li>
<li>There are some other native species, which might like to compete in this
space. So, I might recommend planting those plugs or spreading those seeds. </li>
<li>Once the fuel-load is adequately dense, performing a prescribed burn. After breaks are mowed, the actual burning would likely take just a few minutes. If a burn is not possible, mowing annually or bi-annually.</li>
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Additional discussion needs to occur for deciding the best, most appropriate, course of action.</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-50453507334823202912015-09-15T11:42:00.002-04:002015-09-16T00:08:43.551-04:00Project Report: Prairie Beach Park: Fall 2014<div style="text-align: justify;">
On a long trip from Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (I plan to write a botanical trip report someday) returning home to Ann Arbor, I stopped by the prairie beach park near Fenton, Michigan, in early September 2014. I wanted to see how the prairie was growing after spreading seed and planting late Spring 2014. <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/02/project-report-prairie-beach-park.html" target="_blank">Here is the post</a> detailing the site and my installation work.</div>
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Questions I pondered before arriving: did the shrubs and plugs from Wildtype take? Did the Bur Oak sapling, which received an unknown regimen of additional watering, survive its transplant? What species germinated from the seed mixes? How vigorously did the prairie grow?</div>
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Well, initial observation was that the prairie growth was quite thin. Not surprising given that seeds were only spread less than four months prior. The ground was cracked due to the shrinking drying clay soil. I observed many plants sprouting up from inside the cracks where some lucky seeds must have got caught in a good spot to germinate.</div>
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Upon closer inspection though, good things were happening. From the annual mix, I saw Bachelor's Button (photograph above), Partridge Pea, Spurred Snapdragon, and Plains Coreopsis. From the short-grass mix, I spotted <i>Panicum virgatum</i>, <i>Symphyotric</i><i>um laeve</i> (formerly <i>Aster laevis</i>), <i>Cassia fasciculata</i> (this was in both the annual and Dry-Shortgrass-Mix), and, well, many unidentified plants consisting of basal leaves.</div>
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These basal leaves belong to a species, which will be identified soon. </div>
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Also, not yet identified. Most native flowers require more than one full season of growth before
producing flowers. So, observing plants consisting of just basal leaves indicated a germinated seed, or in other words, a step in a good direction. From the plugs, I also saw specimens of <i>Asclepias syriaca</i><i>, Physostegia virginiana</i>, <i>Rudbeckia hirta</i>, and <i>Eupatorium maculatum</i>.</div>
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Although insects were already making use of the <i>Euthania graminifolia</i>, which was another planted plug, the desired plants seemed few and far between. The <i>Quercus macrocarpa</i> and <i>Cercis canadensis</i> fortunately seemed to be sticking, as was the <i>Ribes americanum</i> shrub. Very happy about that Burr Oak, which has a reputation for doing well in clay soil situations.</div>
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This area of the prairie was thick with Plains Coreopsis, so definitely some good things were happening. As indicated in the previous <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/02/project-report-prairie-beach-park.html" target="_blank">post</a> about this project, the most important component of establishing a prairie was patience, patience, and more patience. The seeds have been sown and quite possibly will germinate some day. I waited a year after visiting to write this post. So, since I have now seen the prairie in late Summer 2015, I can safely say I feel a lot better about this project, . <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/09/project-report-prairie-beach-private.html" target="_blank">Here is the post</a> about that visit.</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-45253984842814990802015-09-15T10:29:00.001-04:002015-09-15T10:29:53.559-04:00Project Report: Phases II and III of My Raised Bed Garden<div style="text-align: justify;">
The current heated temperatures belie this growing season is cruising towards a frosty date! So, here is, better late then never, an update about my raised bed garden! A report on phase I is discussed in a previous <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2014/11/project-report-phase-i-of-my-raised_13.html" target="_blank">post</a>. Phase I was completed in July 2014. I completed both phases II and III in late Fall 2014. This update consists of numerous photos!</div>
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As this project was completed by one person, me, providing almost all the labor, performing the work in phases seemed most appropriate.</div>
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Above is a simple sketch showing the layout plan before I began construction. This sketch does NOT relate that my yard is sloped! Except for a few box size adjustments, the installed boxes follow the sketch.</div>
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Important to note, the phase I garden beds produced some excellent food during their shortened 2014 growing season. Above, me harvesting a nice zucchini in late 2014.</div>
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A photo of the final zucchinis of our 2014 garden. Some large zucchinis for bread and other miscellaneous recipes AND two single bite zucchinis...which disappeared in short order.</div>
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This photo shows the garden beds of phase I in late Fall and the three boxes of phase II completed and installed. Also, I am applying the linseed oil preservative to one of the two boxes in phase III. <br />
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As designed in the sketch above, all the garden boxes have been completed and installed in late 2014.</div>
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A photo taken in January 2015. Brrr! Actually that would feel quite nice right now.</div>
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As at start of Spring 2015...</div>
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Our first radishes!</div>
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And a tasty strawberry. We were able to transplant some strawberry plants into a box in late 2014. They only produced a few during the 2015 spring, but we are really looking forward the 2016 spring harvest, as they have spread quite a bit!</div>
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Before the 2015 garden jungle...</div>
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Our garden exploded!</div>
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We had a visitor! We lost a fair number of cherry tomatoes to its voracious appetite, but this Hornworm eventually disappeared. (Or he was so well camouflaged that we could not find him.)</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-28316523055761614382015-04-30T20:59:00.001-04:002015-05-01T15:52:58.269-04:00Project Report: Pinckney Town Hall Rain Garden Installation<div dir="ltr">
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The 2015 growing season is, well, pretty much here! But before that explosion!, I am blogging about an awesome project that I helped with in 2014. I provided a design for the rain garden in front of the Pinckney Town Hall. The Pinckney Garden Club provided the hands on labor to install it, and will help maintain it on an ongoing basis. </div>
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This project came up through my connection with Susan Bryan, the Rain Garden Coordinator in the Washtenaw County Resources office. She knew that Ann Jarema, the president of the Pinckney Garden Club, was thinking about the project. The location, in front of the Town Hall is obviously quite public, so we quickly recognized it as a demonstration garden and foresaw some possibilities for positive social influence. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp6E7jV-I6GJlBgXeugOe_xw7xJKtj98hidROeTAz3_O4Iu2EGWUDIBgwsPVD0PwZVDLQfnjd8I6tGi_oZFa7Tts5UyaV6MnEzRrab07-XktmXDjmOCEHOAMHqvgUIOuqjxh9gXfkVdI/s1600/2014-04-11+16.47.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp6E7jV-I6GJlBgXeugOe_xw7xJKtj98hidROeTAz3_O4Iu2EGWUDIBgwsPVD0PwZVDLQfnjd8I6tGi_oZFa7Tts5UyaV6MnEzRrab07-XktmXDjmOCEHOAMHqvgUIOuqjxh9gXfkVdI/s1600/2014-04-11+16.47.54.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Susan, Ann, and I met on a bright sunny mid April Friday afternoon for a site visit and discussed various layout options and, in the end, made some decisions. Above is a picture of the site that day. I went home and drew up a draft. I provided a chance for feedback input, but Ann and Susan were mostly happy with the draft documentation. Here is the finalized "infrastructure" plan view.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2l_4x5KVpiCH_qbqFvbR7mmvjy8dUtxqLgpwQ5_Rt-cYT3ek-cTiKwBtsNOWdSz4AIDpZtcBmfYyjwXricEk4hySlElDkN3UPh65xOvicGG8tZ4nnkzkV9LnBJ6PsiYnCrCwqgcxMIQ/s1600/Infrastructure-Plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH2l_4x5KVpiCH_qbqFvbR7mmvjy8dUtxqLgpwQ5_Rt-cYT3ek-cTiKwBtsNOWdSz4AIDpZtcBmfYyjwXricEk4hySlElDkN3UPh65xOvicGG8tZ4nnkzkV9LnBJ6PsiYnCrCwqgcxMIQ/s1600/Infrastructure-Plan.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also provided a planting plan. As plants were coming from miscellaneous donated sources, and which particular plants and their quantities would be available on the volunteer day was unknown, I should have titled this a suggested planting plan. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWqgHrA1RZUb5PgBpOD2_jYUzQmRVl7MSLIOoUbFONC3wUs6-LI7h6gWRN-yzozsscrRkFG3aQQNypaBhhOeom8d128rB0Hb8kEzYyH08voyajry72lQ0OIIr0HVGIm7K9x8HikJzKPQ/s1600/Planting-Plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWqgHrA1RZUb5PgBpOD2_jYUzQmRVl7MSLIOoUbFONC3wUs6-LI7h6gWRN-yzozsscrRkFG3aQQNypaBhhOeom8d128rB0Hb8kEzYyH08voyajry72lQ0OIIr0HVGIm7K9x8HikJzKPQ/s1600/Planting-Plan.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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For those interested, the whole design documents are <a href="http://reedecologicaldesign.com/20140611-Pinckney-Town-Hall-rain-garden-project.pdf" target="_blank">linked here</a>.</div>
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We set an installation day of June 21st. Village folks removed sod from the garden area beforehand, which saved the volunteers quite a bit of labor. June 21st turned out to be a wonderfully sunny day! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DSYv-lW5Z_UtuamVerfL7KDeKXJzWfB6Py0WFTdFoUt9QNRFsFLOu8LDpn67H6uWH6iBXpaeXanDUlVegQvSvhurFrMsBbX36p3q4-GyDbdk74tlgX7XTH-kmHcdaV-WkWbXsj53nwg/s1600/2014-06-21+10.28.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DSYv-lW5Z_UtuamVerfL7KDeKXJzWfB6Py0WFTdFoUt9QNRFsFLOu8LDpn67H6uWH6iBXpaeXanDUlVegQvSvhurFrMsBbX36p3q4-GyDbdk74tlgX7XTH-kmHcdaV-WkWbXsj53nwg/s1600/2014-06-21+10.28.07.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Photographic opportunities were plentiful, unfortunately, per usual, I was occupied. I did snap a few process photos though, which are almost all included below. Here, we are carefully removing sod unto a tarp to install the underground pipe carrying overflow from the rain barrel to the top of the rain garden.</div>
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Donated plants came from 3 Dog Nursery and from multiple gardeners of the Pinckney Garden Club. Here is a photo where most of the main rain garden plants are in the ground.</div>
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In the following photo, you can see the rain garden is installed with a sign, the piping, the overflow pavers, the rain barrel base, and the rain barrel in place, and retaining wall is partially finished. Shortly after the installation day, the building's gutter was altered to divert flow to the rain barrel and overflowing to rain garden. The Pinckney Garden Club finished installing the retaining walls and gardens along the building.</div>
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It was a great day. The local newspaper even did a nice <a href="http://reedecologicaldesign.com/Pinckney-rain-garden-article.pdf" target="_blank">write up</a>. Ann Jarema, the Pinckney Garden Club, and some Village folks continued working on the gardens to finish up the retaining walls and beds along the building, and complete hooking up the gutters. I plan to snap a "year later" photo soonish.</div>
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This was the first rain garden I helped install after taking the, highly recommended, Washtenaw County Master Rain Garden program taught by Susan Bryan, and Shannan Gibb-Randall of Insite Design. More information about that program and the rain garden effort in Washtenaw County can be found <a href="http://masterraingardener.org/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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This project experience fulfilled a requirement for me to be certified as a Master Rain Gardener. I am looking forward to building at least two (but hopefully more) rain gardens this coming season! Thank you for reading!</div>
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Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-64418142632874728892015-02-11T21:26:00.000-05:002015-09-16T00:07:33.788-04:00Project Report: Prairie Beach Park: Installation<div style="text-align: justify;">
A most interesting project started this past Spring 2014 on a half acre property on a lake near Fenton, Michigan. The soil there, which largely consists of clay, unsurprisingly did not perk well.
Thus, with no where to dispose of sewage, the property is considered
unbuildable. My client and his family, whom live across the road from the lake, purchased the property for their own personal prairie beach park.</div>
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Prior to my involvement, a local landscaper had already installed hardscaping elements at the property, including a sand beach area, placing large boulders at the waters edge and around the beach area, and a couple concrete staircases leading down to the beach and dock. The local landscaper also graded almost the entire property. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR377GiTo27RvxugypWIsCIcku_gLEwcQ1CaoS2R7NJn_WBJJ3jviMvpyUSvZX0MLIp3RkZ31sK4kL7bfiEAzX8XPvTUtwmixzFJ0R0eJfPdjgMkhWILOfMDeSgAFs3WB1u6FCTe8_JI/s1600/2014-04-09+13.08.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR377GiTo27RvxugypWIsCIcku_gLEwcQ1CaoS2R7NJn_WBJJ3jviMvpyUSvZX0MLIp3RkZ31sK4kL7bfiEAzX8XPvTUtwmixzFJ0R0eJfPdjgMkhWILOfMDeSgAFs3WB1u6FCTe8_JI/s1600/2014-04-09+13.08.01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, the local landscaper did a few things differently than I would have. First, although the large boulders may stabilize the shoreline, the land-water interface is typically where the most biodiversity occurs. Preserving that land-water transition would have provided more ecosystem functionality. </div>
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Second, by "grading", the landscaper apparently simply removed all the top soil from the property. What remained appeared to be probably parent material with few roots.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xaNyqOxOGqzsmpSq9YQ3yyxjDHWj_Xun6V2GvO_DFkkI1UpPIFyHD-hSAoDSux_rzKP2hoGm_00dVnlOmgnNDJpQAdlcFALVBSmwemTZBjEQ_EhRWBXAFy-Wq3CJRRjp66oyPQIWUtQ/s1600/2014-05-21+20.51.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xaNyqOxOGqzsmpSq9YQ3yyxjDHWj_Xun6V2GvO_DFkkI1UpPIFyHD-hSAoDSux_rzKP2hoGm_00dVnlOmgnNDJpQAdlcFALVBSmwemTZBjEQ_EhRWBXAFy-Wq3CJRRjp66oyPQIWUtQ/s1600/2014-05-21+20.51.25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Third, the area close to the beach has a significant slope. The local landscaper's grading work opened this surface up to erosion and did nothing to mitigate it. Stabilizing the slope was a priority. </div>
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To provide an overview of the property and work to be performed, I drew a landscape plan after performing my initial site visit and consultation. The client provided some feedback affecting a couple changes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmvo4BDkNBMCMjiV-OZB3v7q-VEK01PLJ4pLIb5FJvO4cQwb5gZP9G8vQBZftfJhCt3sZ0S_6GvI2A2kSgoxirLSmDIF9gKzSdT86HTeNvpW6IcebZIUM7IGfaigrAyjbPedZRbbBvk0/s1600/20150210+Weber+beach+property+for+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmvo4BDkNBMCMjiV-OZB3v7q-VEK01PLJ4pLIb5FJvO4cQwb5gZP9G8vQBZftfJhCt3sZ0S_6GvI2A2kSgoxirLSmDIF9gKzSdT86HTeNvpW6IcebZIUM7IGfaigrAyjbPedZRbbBvk0/s1600/20150210+Weber+beach+property+for+blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To begin the long process of installing a prairie, I purchased two seed mixes from <a href="http://nativeconnections.net/" target="_blank">Native Connections</a>. The first seed mix, titled "<a href="http://nativeconnections.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Dry-Shortgrass-Mix.pdf" target="_blank">Dry-Shortgrass-Prairie-Mix</a>".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvGLAKnwZ81boaljIRWeMxps64LWgWtcfxtSUwLCku-o2ZsX7cirMH_mwmZrgt_HeQEpjxt2m1NfkFoeH6y8EK7i5DbmM2mmk_VFrrC7I6B94kzVV10PkLvNRPsUD75B-8_GEB7g26nA/s1600/2014-05-21+19.53.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvGLAKnwZ81boaljIRWeMxps64LWgWtcfxtSUwLCku-o2ZsX7cirMH_mwmZrgt_HeQEpjxt2m1NfkFoeH6y8EK7i5DbmM2mmk_VFrrC7I6B94kzVV10PkLvNRPsUD75B-8_GEB7g26nA/s1600/2014-05-21+19.53.18.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The second seed mix consisted of annual seeds. Native forbs typically take two or three years growth before they start to bloom. So, adding annuals provides some "show" before the real show of native flowers kicks in. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv1YuAk3pZ3eYwKxutF_AQ9O2zVIryLsFVUMNMVsTjHSYxPcSTrJzhChONruS6sBTz4R7NqyJBLiyOgKLqVmNoCA-O3FnuqdnZ5iTcaE10tl5vKnnlof-eQDC8f4ZlunMQP4u9Y3MoAE/s1600/2014-05-21+20.40.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv1YuAk3pZ3eYwKxutF_AQ9O2zVIryLsFVUMNMVsTjHSYxPcSTrJzhChONruS6sBTz4R7NqyJBLiyOgKLqVmNoCA-O3FnuqdnZ5iTcaE10tl5vKnnlof-eQDC8f4ZlunMQP4u9Y3MoAE/s1600/2014-05-21+20.40.33.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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I mixed the first seed mix with Milorganite to facilitate spreading with a spreader. The Milorganite should also slightly replace the missing organic material in the soil. To ensure adequate thorough coverage, I also spread the native seed mixture using both the spreader and throwing by hand.</div>
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For the annual seed mix, I spread by hand near by the path, beach, and patio area for the purposes of providing a close upfront display. I also sparingly spread the annual seed mix in the background.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLBwmcpBJTJVZKdkUnT3Cb-8RrZaPe9ptpIEefHfjqD75hJOu8S_HemPXJBbTZO0zbO3U8VJsXlwkbcr3p9y7d-McyLoEQ9wY4bX3rtxrhUt0JmxVuhXBHMENXR35dbeS1gUckgZpbMo/s1600/2014-05-21+20.51.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLBwmcpBJTJVZKdkUnT3Cb-8RrZaPe9ptpIEefHfjqD75hJOu8S_HemPXJBbTZO0zbO3U8VJsXlwkbcr3p9y7d-McyLoEQ9wY4bX3rtxrhUt0JmxVuhXBHMENXR35dbeS1gUckgZpbMo/s1600/2014-05-21+20.51.09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In addition to the seed mixes, I planted plugs of forbs and shrubs, and transplanted two B&B'ed Redbuds and a Burr Oak. I selected the following native species based on site factors and availability from <a href="http://wildtypeplants.com/" target="_blank">Wildtype</a>.</div>
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<li><i>Amorpha canescens</i>, Leadplant (gallon container, 3 count)</li>
<li><i>Diervilla lonicera</i>, Bush Honeysuckle (gallon container, 3 count)</li>
<li><i>Potentilla fruiticosa</i>, Shrubby Cinquefoil (gallon container, 3 count)</li>
<li><i>Rudbeckia hirta</i>, Black-eyed Susans (plugs, 38 count)</li>
<li><i>Asclepia syriaca</i>, Common Milkweed (plugs, 38 count)</li>
<li><i>Penstomen hirsutus</i>, Penstomen (plugs, 38 count)</li>
<li><i>Euthania graminifolia</i>, Grass-Leaved Goldenrod, (plugs 38 count)</li>
<li><i>Mimulus ringens</i>, Monkey-Flower, (plugs, 38 count)</li>
<li><i>Physostegia virginiana</i>, Obedient Plant, (plugs, 38 count)</li>
<li><i>Eupatorium maculatum</i>, Joe Pye Weed, (plugs, 38 count) </li>
<li><i>Ribes americanum</i>, Wild Black Currant<i> (gallon container, 3 count)</i></li>
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These forbs and shrubs were mostly focused on the sloped area near the beach to mitigate the erosion occurring there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaq5KLg5ple0BNOn6PfY3biLErPz9L0DVsh4tIGHi4Yhjm-ygJmaN_0ZpPlFmyT_mt3NnAHAszRIxNCQxszvCj3MAi1Q5EV_K53hCz-JEmFkPtmWpvu2gY05_VxodH35a7e2wUTQJmG8k/s1600/2014-05-29+19.16.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaq5KLg5ple0BNOn6PfY3biLErPz9L0DVsh4tIGHi4Yhjm-ygJmaN_0ZpPlFmyT_mt3NnAHAszRIxNCQxszvCj3MAi1Q5EV_K53hCz-JEmFkPtmWpvu2gY05_VxodH35a7e2wUTQJmG8k/s1600/2014-05-29+19.16.32.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To someday hopefully provide a prominent feature of the property, I planted a Burr Oak, <i>Quercus macrocarpa</i>. I selected this species both because of its adaptability to poor clay soils but also because it seemed to fit into this planted oak savannah. Digging the hole large enough to accommodate this planting in the clay soil was the opposite of easy!</div>
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In regards to future concerns, several Autumn Olive (<i>Eleagnus umbellata</i>) shrubs are growing on the property. I recently watched a seminar by Douglass Tallamy, whom calls this species Ugly-Agnes. In order to prevent these shrubs from overtaking over the prairie (and they will!), I recommend performing some invasive shrub removal during a coming late fall/winter.<br />
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Once fully grown, the prairie beach park will help protect the water quality of the lake. Especially so when compared to many other lakeside properties which have lawn right down to the shore line. Surface runoff from the prairie should be well filtered and refresh the lake, whereas runoff from lawns often carries fertilizer and pesticides. </div>
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Possibly the most important quality to exhibit when starting a prairie
from scratch (and mostly seed) is patience. Jerry Stewart of Native
Connections emphasized that the seeds are there, but just may take
awhile to germinate and flourish. <br />
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Definitely stay tuned for the past due update. All links to update posts will be added here, once said posts are written! EDIT: <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/09/project-report-prairie-beach-park-fall.html" target="_blank">Here is the post</a> describing the park in Fall 2014. <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/09/project-report-prairie-beach-private.html" target="_blank">Here is the post</a> describing the park in August 2015.</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-36137617105618474922014-11-13T10:20:00.000-05:002015-09-15T10:44:03.181-04:00Project Report: Phase I of My Raised Garden Beds and Lumber Preservation Experiment<div style="text-align: justify;">
Being a new yard owner, I am undertaking the long, yet rewarding journey converting the existing contemporary landscape of lawn and non-native ornamental plants into a place more ecologically useful. One of my first tasks was to increase the yard's production of human food (most decidedly not critter food, although some critters have already capitalized on the opportunity). Of all the open lawn real estate in my yard, the west side yard, below, seemed most ideal for a garden with exposure to the afternoon, evening sun.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijncq-5Z3f5URENHhn-eEcnj15lxs6toSdP5NyJIa8pgot1neZik6LVJh-jA1Xig0EkLLNsYvfiAbD16PgFuxNnTjyeRl3U_UApVb80fjm66EkcL2QFa3seMsk26fekmdJwOO1wZCio-Y/s1600/2014-06-28+11.57.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijncq-5Z3f5URENHhn-eEcnj15lxs6toSdP5NyJIa8pgot1neZik6LVJh-jA1Xig0EkLLNsYvfiAbD16PgFuxNnTjyeRl3U_UApVb80fjm66EkcL2QFa3seMsk26fekmdJwOO1wZCio-Y/s400/2014-06-28+11.57.46.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As this area has a fair slope, I decided raised garden beds would help mitigate runoff erosion. The west side yard doubles as a front yard facing the street thanks to a curve. So, aesthetics are, of course, key.</div>
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A variety of material options and construction methods are available for constructing a raised garden. Rocks or bricks/blocks hold an advantage over lumber by simply not decaying. I, personally, am more comfortable constructing with lumber.</div>
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Another material category, treated lumber, is used often in raised gardens. The lumber industry claims that the chemical preservatives used to treat the lumber will only negligibly leak into surrounding soil and that treated lumber is safe for use in raised gardens. I chose not to trust those claims. I want the vegetables coming out of my garden to be healthy!</div>
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My initial instinct was to use untreated cedar lumber, with its inherent abilities to withstand biological decay and the corresponding longevity. However, cedar costs about three times as much as untreated pine lumber. Thus, if I wanted, I could rebuild the raised garden bed three times with pine at the same lumber costs as once with cedar.</div>
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So, I started looking into organic wood preservatives that might lengthen the life of untreated lumber. Local hardware stores carried a few options, but those products seemed to only came in small pricey quantities. I came across a few mentions online of using linseed oil as a wood preservative. Linseed oil actually comes from flax seeds, which I occasionally eat!</div>
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Distinguishing between raw linseed oil and boiled linseed oil, which is on the shelf at most local hardware stores, is critical. "Boiled" actually indicates additives, including petroleum spirits and metallic dryers, which are not organic. I was unable to find raw linseed oil locally, so I purchased from an online source.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7m87dX09VCL_o_8QT8stsV8h7_N38vLFRJ2UGeDUikvqUrxdPPFdfvF94OFr5SGLc1uob69X_MjSDl1NjGgYn0R8Y48vEFQghmzooEt47cXdBR3PWdUlfwDvPtww55PDv0Fgi0_quDU/s1600/2014-07-19+20.31.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu7m87dX09VCL_o_8QT8stsV8h7_N38vLFRJ2UGeDUikvqUrxdPPFdfvF94OFr5SGLc1uob69X_MjSDl1NjGgYn0R8Y48vEFQghmzooEt47cXdBR3PWdUlfwDvPtww55PDv0Fgi0_quDU/s400/2014-07-19+20.31.42.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also came across recipes that apparently improve drying and penetration into the lumber. However, these recipes included ingredients that I do not care to eat! So, I decided to use plain old raw linseed oil as my preservative.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9m2jDJwc9kj4TaStPDiQ48h7zxAx_w5i3oBu-GTEED96EkTCLtekvAzSSsF9-AYHpk-DV5WcCiQJnq5JDUos3nC8MvV3mPIH-ASbN8Dy5pcrEuuivm777RAJjRf0Bjw9G0J6WE2jNJk/s1600/2014-07-19+20.32.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9m2jDJwc9kj4TaStPDiQ48h7zxAx_w5i3oBu-GTEED96EkTCLtekvAzSSsF9-AYHpk-DV5WcCiQJnq5JDUos3nC8MvV3mPIH-ASbN8Dy5pcrEuuivm777RAJjRf0Bjw9G0J6WE2jNJk/s400/2014-07-19+20.32.00.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Perhaps most importantly to note, oxidation of linseed oil is an exothermic chemical reaction. Rags soaked in linseed oil can spontaneously combust. To avoid this fire hazard, rags and gloves should be stored in closed container and left away from other flammable material.</div>
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I purchased 2" by 6" White Pine lumber for the face boards and 3" by 3" Cedar for corner framing; for fastening; a box of stainless steel screws. I purchased the lumber and screws from my local Home Depot. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KPocNFkq_3AGmyTOwjwIxyeosAFxJYGAzEAJkjJSMFh8cv48txTsAvHRXVCeSFmjHlMTWlwNpvbiOZ3kY3TmDEiufuTx0o3-wbUkBz6H1Fzpi7CwtoN2_h12O38YKivLWpXaWy3g6wM/s1600/2014-07-19+21.07.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KPocNFkq_3AGmyTOwjwIxyeosAFxJYGAzEAJkjJSMFh8cv48txTsAvHRXVCeSFmjHlMTWlwNpvbiOZ3kY3TmDEiufuTx0o3-wbUkBz6H1Fzpi7CwtoN2_h12O38YKivLWpXaWy3g6wM/s400/2014-07-19+21.07.40.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For Phase I of my raised garden bed project, I constructed two 4' by 8' lumber boxes. The closer box has one coat of oil. After allowing a few days for drying, I applied a second coat. I did not apply any linseed oil to the other box. And thus, this is my own personal lumber preservation experiment to see whether the raw linseed oil actually makes a difference in aesthetics and durability. In regards to aesthetics, the above picture shows that applying the oil darkened (or yellowed) the wood and seemed to bring out the grain of the wood.</div>
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The slope of the side yard is downhill both from left to right and from the shrubs to the sidewalk. I removed the sod and dug trenches such that the box would sit mostly level in the ground. I used a 4' level tool to double check their level, because looking at the ground and other points of reference was little help. The boards pull a double duty of retaining the garden soil and, being partially buried, act as border edging, blocking lawn grass roots from growing into the garden (potentially reducing weeding maintenance).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhOL3I08DzbWDMI2nWRCm6FzuuL0zHLuISlsL9W_Q9zz7VjTk5DYE6FPdGbWBK74Lkt9dGq1utGFnNbF1SQCF2oJqd__dOFh7YHUDuGEssW67tUJjJLPD8MTrlJOCr9HfWHG1WwJJ4O0/s1600/2014-07-26+18.06.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhOL3I08DzbWDMI2nWRCm6FzuuL0zHLuISlsL9W_Q9zz7VjTk5DYE6FPdGbWBK74Lkt9dGq1utGFnNbF1SQCF2oJqd__dOFh7YHUDuGEssW67tUJjJLPD8MTrlJOCr9HfWHG1WwJJ4O0/s400/2014-07-26+18.06.16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And finally, I filled the boxes with a cubic yard of compost from the City of Ann Arbor Drop Off Station. Phase I installation, photographed above and below, was completed in late July 2014. The left far box is treated; the right close box, untreated.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNrz5N-DLUAqlKzHpo8GIcfzehyfP-LL-i97iQOzJdVTVRJCiZnzfYQk6zlzEJjik3mGboVu-p2GNqNADmyjPdISyfQla7jCK87ivwlOuqzQP-BCyCPeqQowoFnsZc3H8l7oLZ2b6h1s/s1600/2014-07-26+18.06.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNrz5N-DLUAqlKzHpo8GIcfzehyfP-LL-i97iQOzJdVTVRJCiZnzfYQk6zlzEJjik3mGboVu-p2GNqNADmyjPdISyfQla7jCK87ivwlOuqzQP-BCyCPeqQowoFnsZc3H8l7oLZ2b6h1s/s400/2014-07-26+18.06.53.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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EDIT: Phases II and III of the raised garden bed project are detailed <a href="http://blog.reedecologicaldesign.com/2015/09/project-report-phases-ii-and-iii-of-my.html" target="_blank">here</a>. A follow up post for the lumber preservation experiment remains in the works.</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-37882425642580884022014-08-02T23:07:00.001-04:002014-08-02T23:07:59.545-04:00May 2014 Trip to the Nan Weston Nature Preserve at Sharon Hollow<div style="text-align: justify;">
So many wildflowers...so little battery life on my camera and phone (also a camera). Maria and I exhausted the batteries on both cameras taking over two hundred photos during a brief hike through the Nan Weston Nature Preserve at Sharon Hollow on a mid May Sunday afternoon. The Nature Conservancy established and helps to protect the <a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/michigan/placesweprotect/nan-weston-nature-preserve-at-sharon-hollow-1.xml" target="_blank">Preserve</a>, and what a place it is! A short hike through the preserve is like taking a walk back to what the Michigan landscape used to be. Following are a handful of my favorite photos and species of the day.</div>
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This photo is of potential. Showing one of numerous Wild Gooseberry shrubs in the woods of Nan Weston Preserve. I would certainly like to visit when the uncountable gooseberries ripen and carefully steal a few sweet tastes from the prickly treasures. According to Gleason's Plants of Michigan, there are eight species in the <i>Ribes</i> genus in Michigan. Keying this particular shrub, my best guess is this is <i>Ribes cynosbati</i> in the Grossulariaceae family due mostly to the location in deciduous woods.</div>
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My favorite groundcover, <i>Asarum canadense</i>, in the Aristolochiaceae family, was found over much of the Preserve. This photo shows all of both leaves and the flower below. If you do not specifically look for the flowers in May, they are easily missed.</div>
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I included this photo to give you a sense of the uncountable wildflowers covering the forest floor. Keep in mind that this photo is only in one direction. A panoramic view of all the wildflowers might be too much for your computer!</div>
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This photo shows two buddies for the season. On the left, <i>Trillium grandiflorum</i>, in the Lilliaceae family. On the right is <i>Hydrastis canadensis</i> in the Ranunculaceae family. The Common Trillium carpeted the landscape, while the Goldenseal is more subtle beauty (and also rarer).</div>
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Another combination photo showing <i>Maianthemum racemosum</i> or False Solomon's Seal in the Asparagaceae family (on the left), <i>Phlox divaricata </i>or<i> </i>Wild Blue Phlox in the Polemoniaceae family (middle low), and Common Trillium (top right). Let's just say there were many opportunities for combination photos. </div>
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A photo, of hope and newness, the small, young leaf of <i>Podophyllum peltatum</i> in the Berbidericeae family. Of the many photos we took of this relatively common species, this is the one I decided to share.</div>
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Though violets are considered to be a weed by some, the blue, the white and this Yellow Violet, <i>Viola pubescens</i> in the Violaceae family, seemed to fit right into the amazing landscape.</div>
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The beautiful flower of <i>Panax quinquefolius</i> of the Araliaceae family, also otherwise known as Ginseng. This panicle flower should turn into a panicle of red drupes some day. </div>
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Here was the super small, subtle flowers of Bishop's Cap, <i>Mitella diphylla</i> in the Saxifragaceae family. </div>
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I wanted to include a couple photos of newly emerging leaves of <i>Fagus grandifolius</i> in the Fagaceae family. There is something about the flow of lines as these leaves emerge that makes more perfect sense then just about any human design ever. This perfect design was commonplace, on the end of every branch of every American Beech in the woods. So, if you are looking for design inspiration...</div>
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Lastly, know that these brief words and pictures fall very short of fully describing the beauty and peacefulness of the Preserve. I discluded several startling photos simply because I lacked confident identifications! Please visit the place yourself and feel free to share the experience with me.</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-71944227545167809452014-06-03T00:12:00.000-04:002014-06-03T00:12:34.422-04:00Purple Dame’s Rocket versus Wild PhloxSoooo, a common sight around Ann Arbor in May, June and July is the unfortunately beautiful Purple Dame’s Rocket (<i>Hesperis matronalis</i>, in the <i>Brassicaceae</i>, Mustard, family). <i> Hesperis matronalis </i>originates from Eurasia, and, as is common with many aesthetically appealing plants, was brought here and cultivated in gardens. <br />
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<span style="color: red;"> <span style="color: black;">Photo taken May 20, 2014 in Cedar Bend Natural Area in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I believe I have seen the flowers of <i>Hesperis matronalis</i> range from white to light purple and sometime mottled white and light purple.</span></span><br />
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Unfortunately, the plant is super aggressive and invasive. <i>Hesperis matronalis</i> lacks natural predators and diseases in North America and produces upwards of 20,000 seeds per plant. It is illegal to sell in multiple states, but despite that, it is still occasionally found in flower seed mixes. <br />
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And, paradoxically, despite being a well-known invasive, googling this plant results in both invasive species fact sheets, and cultivation tips and sources to purchase websites. If you prefer to support your local ecology, you should weed this plant out of your garden and yard (presuming you are in North America). Not only does this plant have few ecological links here, but its abundance displaces native species. <br />
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I have corrected at least a few people around Ann Arbor, who mistook this plant to be a native Phlox, which have a similar display of flowers. There is a simple way to correctly identify <i>Hesperis matronalis</i> and, well, any Phlox. Flowers of <i>Hesperis matronalis</i> have four petals, while Phlox’s flowers have five. <br />
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Photo taken May 11, 2014 at the incredible Nan Weston Nature Preserve.Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-7299898262894610002014-04-28T16:56:00.000-04:002014-04-29T17:11:21.223-04:00Adventures in Prescribed BurningYesterday, I spent the late morning, afternoon, and evening with Dave Borneman of <a href="http://restoringnaturewithfire.com/" target="_blank">Restoring Nature with Fire </a>performing a prescribed burn. Our burn unit was 71 acres in the headwaters of the Shiawassee River near Davisburg, Michigan.<br />
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Here is some background on prescribed burning. Prior to European settlement, the southwest Michigan landscape burned possibly as frequently as every three to five years due to fires started by lightning strikes and anthropological sources. Native Americans started landscape fires for a variety of reasons.<br />
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Generally-speaking, many of our native plants have evolved to handle fire and fire is actually beneficial for their growth cycle. Many non-native plants are not adapted to fire. So, prescribed burning promotes our natives and sets back non-natives.<br />
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There are different types of natural fires. The huge all consuming fires with 100 feet tall flames are called crown fires or catastrophic fires. The prescribed burns that are performed in Michigan are more typically crawling or surface fires, where the vegetation and/or leaf litter burns at the ground level. Careful understanding of the amount of fuel present and the behavior of fire given the temperature, wind, and relative humidity conditions helps burn bosses (technical term for person with lots of burning experience) keep the fire under control.<br />
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That said, sometimes unexpected things do occasionally catch fire, when you are burning acres upon acres. Yesterday, a half decayed, half still living White Birch tree caught on fire. I noticed the tree from about 250 feet away and, after walking over, took this video.<br />
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Birch Bark is oily (and, incidentally, an effective material to start a campfire), so having burned around numerous Birch trees, I am surprised that this does not happen more often.<br />
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The burn crew typically is in constant communication with radios. At the tail end of the video, some one radios instructions for Scott, a co-worker.<br />
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Other things I saw out in the woods were gigantic ant hills, easily measuring 10 feet plus diameter at the base and numerous crayfish burrows along the river and swampy areas. Word is that Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes overwinter in the crayfish burrows. The burn yesterday was patchy but good. <br />
<br />Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-24874342346308496852014-04-18T12:21:00.004-04:002014-04-18T19:39:55.176-04:00Waking up Wildlife in the GardenOne of my client's home and gardens is fortunate enough to be located in the middle of 12 acres of beatiful oak-hickory forest. The forest floor, yesterday, was covered in the mottled leave of Yellow Trout Lily (<i>Erythronium american </i>in the <i>Liliaceae</i> family) and Cutleaf Toothwort (<i>Cardamine concatenata</i> in the <i>Brassicaceae</i> family) sticking up through the oak leaf litter. Of the hundreds of single leafs poking up, we only saw one early flower. In the coming few days, there will likely be thousands of blooms.<br />
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So, one of our tasks was to rebuilt an eroded retaining wall. As it was so early in the season, we discovered the winter resting pace for some forest floor critters. The first, gave my co-worker quite a shock when she picked up the rock.<br />
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A beautiful Eastern Milk Snake (<i>Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum</i>) rested here underneath this rock probably the entire winter, until we woke it up. Eastern Milk Snakes normally behave nervous and are quick to flee. But as the temperature was maybe 40 degrees, it was "slow".<br />
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Underneath another rock, we discovered some Eastern Red-backed Salaman<span style="font-family: inherit;">ders (<i>Plethodon cinereus</i>)<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Neither the snake nor the salamanders were as pleased to have been discovered, as we surely were pleased to discover them</span>. Seeing such wildlife in a garden was a wonderful experience.Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-70739135033463500112014-03-12T18:21:00.000-04:002014-03-12T18:21:02.730-04:00Sign of Spring<div dir="ltr">
Yesterday during the brief warm spell I took a walk through <a href="http://www.a2gov.org/government/communityservices/Parks-Recreation/parks-places/Pages/CedarBend.aspx" target="_blank">Cedar Bend Nature Area</a>, and also adjacent land owned by the University of Michigan. Cedar Bend Nature Area is the oldest park in Ann Arbor. Snow had retreated faster on the south facing hillside overlooking the Huron River and I saw this sign of Spring.</div>
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In the dark lower wetter spots, Skunk Cabbage (<i>Symplocarpus foetidus</i> in the Araceae family) was peeking out. </div>
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Also, I came across this leaf, Round-Lobed Hepatica (<i>Hepatica americana</i> in the <i>Ranunculaceae</i> family), which survived intact from last year. I wonder if it is still collecting solar energy for its roots.</div>
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Cedar Bend Nature Area today. Old man winter is having a last laugh, but that sign of Spring, now buried under the snow, was unmistakeable. </div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-77718287782269827842014-03-04T11:34:00.001-05:002014-03-04T11:40:08.938-05:00Wildflower of Michigan 2014 conferenceI attended the <a href="http://www.wildflowersmich.org/" target="_blank">Wildflower Association of Michigan</a>, also known as WAM, conference yesterday and had a wonderful time. Seemed to be a whirlwind of networking opportunities from the moment I stepped in the door. I re-connected with several colleagues and met many potential new clients, whom already had a strong interest in being ecologically sensitive in their projects. <br />
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I would encourage any one with merely a slight interest (or less) in wildflowers to strongly consider getting involved with WAM and attending the conference next year. Doing so will open your eyes to a plethora of wildflower possibilities and of people working to not only beautify our surroundings but do so in a manner that is healthy and natural.<br />
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OOOkay...I will include a picture in this post just because.<br />
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Photograph of Round-lobed Hepatica (<i>Hepatica Americana </i>in the <i>Ranunculaceae </i>family) in September 2012 in the Porcupine Mountains. I am hoping to see the flowers again very very soon.Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-7113436639123070072014-02-27T16:05:00.000-05:002014-02-27T16:05:14.536-05:00Need a Rain Garden?I am taking the Washtenaw County Master Rain Gardener class, to continue my education. I will eventually be certified as a Master Rain Gardener, which requires I install a rain garden. As I am currently a condo dweller, this magical rain garden will be installed in some one else's yard. Possibly yours?<br />
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This guy also wants you to let me plant your new magical rain garden.<br />
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This caterpillar turns into a Black Swallowtail Butterfly (<i>Papilio polyxenes</i>). Photo was taken in August 2012 in the Headlands. Please get in touch with me if you are interested in a rain garden!Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-3084324505289982802014-02-10T15:09:00.000-05:002014-03-18T12:31:58.318-04:00September 2013 Trip to Haven Hill<div style="text-align: justify;">
With the extreme temps and piles of the snow, reminiscing about a sunny adventure seems like a nice thing to do. Last September, Maria and I visited <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-31154_31260-54012--,00.html" target="_blank">Haven Hill Natural Area</a>, also known as Highland Recreation Area. The natural area has been relatively untouched for the past 75 years and is known to have a number of different ecosystems with some interesting fauna and flora. </div>
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We went for a sixish mile hike and saw many, many amazing plants. Luckily for this blog, we periodically stopped to photograph a few. </div>
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Please keep in mind in this post (and all future posts) that I am at best an amateur botanist. By botanist, I mean that I like identifying plant species that I see. If you notice a plant is incorrectly identified, please please definitely let me know. Although I am mostly confident my identifications are correct, I would be happy to be corrected as that would continue my learning process.</div>
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We happened about this Great Blue Lobelia (<i>Lobelia siphilitica</i> in the <i>Campanulaceae </i>family).</div>
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I initially thought this was a <i>Heliopsis </i>or a <i>Helianthus</i>. But after looking at identification pictures at <a href="http://www.michiganflora.net/" target="_blank">Michigan Flora</a> for awhile, I simply did not find a conclusive id. What do you think this is? [EDIT: <i>Bidens aristosa</i> in the <i>Asteraceae</i> family, big thank you to Nick Lauridsen for the positive ID].</div>
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I was happy to see this Turtlehead (<i>Chelone glabra</i>). </div>
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Down in the lowlands, we saw a bit of Poison Sumac (<i>Toxicodendron vernix</i> in the <i>Anacardiaceae
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I think this is Marsh Fern (<i>Thelypteris palustris</i> in the <i>Thelypteridaceae </i>family). The website, <a href="http://www.ontarioferns.com/" target="_blank">Ontario Ferns</a>, is an excellent resource for ferns identification.</div>
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Spicebush (<i>Lindera benzoin</i> in the <i>Lauraceae </i>family) is definitely up there on my favorite plants. Shown here with its berries. Scratching any part of a plant will release a fresh lemony scent.</div>
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Looking forward to hikes and warmer adventures this coming summer for sure.</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-29914850269795696392013-12-01T14:27:00.000-05:002014-02-20T10:17:06.853-05:00Now on Google Helpout<div style="text-align: justify;">
A few months ago, Google invited me to participate in Helpout. Helpout is a new Google product, which allows users to find and video chat with experts on a particular topic for a fee.</div>
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<a href="https://helpouts.google.com/108070734301813056227/ls/a85f1c10834850cb" target="_blank">Here’s my profile!</a> </div>
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If you are in need of ecological gardening advice, feel free to set up a session. </div>
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Second post ever done!</div>
Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6073693053013084009.post-82717369062314130892013-11-15T14:24:00.000-05:002014-02-20T10:17:27.169-05:00Wha-BAMMM!<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is BIG! </div>
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First post of the Reed Ecological Design Blog! </div>
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Why should you care? </div>
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We will cover ecologically friendly gardening topics ranging from native plants to healthy projects and ideas to the butterflies and bees. Photos of my gardens (which actually usually belong to my clients) will definitely be on display. </div>
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Please note…I am not your typical run-of-the-mill gardener. I understand there is much much more at stake in your yard than simply being prettier than your neighbor’s yard. Your yard and how you garden directly affects the healthiness of our surrounding environment. </div>
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This blog will eventually discuss ALL those topics and also how to make your yard prettier than your neighbor’s, unless your neighbor is also on here.</div>
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Added for your viewing pleasure, <i>Erythronium americanum</i>, Trout Lilly, in
the <i>Liliaceae </i>family. Picture taken Spring of 2013 in Ann Arbor by the
Huron River.Pat Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09947063094749166084noreply@blogger.com0