Welcome, Winter…
One of the things we talk about a lot at Whimscapes is the idea of gardening “with nature.” This means that as seasons and weather change, we adjust our practices accordingly.
Just a ‘lil ramble about winter wildlife habitats and my own fears and strategies surrounding freeze damage.
For the past several weeks, I have found myself obsessively thinking about winter weather. Here in Southeast Louisiana, we have a unique conception of this season. We live in a liminal space between tropical and temperate, where the threat of a hard freeze looms without any sense of certainty. These feelings of anxiety are compounded by our general sense of climate dread, as well as by buzzings throughout town about a “Cold Wet Winter” at the hand of El Niño.
One of the things we talk about a lot at Whimscapes is the idea of gardening “with nature.” This means that as seasons and weather change, we adjust our practices accordingly. During the drought this summer, there was a moment where we stopped pulling innocuous weeds because they were providing green mulch and helping maintain soil moisture.
We are now in a new phase of the seasonal wheel, and I’m finding myself worrying about my little backyard ecosystem– my neighborhood cats, my bugs, my birds, and of course, my plants. And so we say (in a meek, unconvincing voice)… “welcome, winter.”
Providing ongoing cold-season food sources for insects and birds is a huge part of gardening “with nature.” We encourage folks to cultivate hollies, pokeberries, and virginia creeper vines, which all provide a lil extra snack in the scarce season to our avian friends. If you don’t have these plants and want to help feed wildlife, work on accepting the aesthetics of spent flowers and seed pods. We are conditioned to be continually seeking colorful blooms in our gardens; by traditional standards, pinks, purples and yellows tend to eclipse the beauty of spindly brown seed heads. We encourage you to challenge this framework.
Eco-conscious gardeners can also provide habitats for insects during these brisk months, especially solitary native bees. Cutting back the stalks of large plants to a height of about two feet creates a little hollow nesting ground for bees. Plants like sunflowers, goldenrods, giant cosmos, and amaranths are great for this practice. If you’ve already cut back your summer blooms, you can create other nesting grounds for these bees. If you’re like us and tend to pile your yard waste in a loose “compost pile,” you’ve already started! That said, bees do prefer vertical nesting, so one great option is to take some of your discarded stalks and assemble them into a small teepee-like structure using string and bamboo.
You can also make or buy a bee hotel. These have become increasingly popular, and can be a great help to native bee populations. It is important in doing this to think carefully about the sizing and quality of the nesting material you use. There are a lot of options– cardboard tubes, hollow reeds, drilled out woodblocks. You can also make one using clay and mud! As a newbie to the world of bee houses, the best I can do is point y’all to existing resources. It’s a fun rabbit hole to go down, try it out.
Habitat and food for critters is totally important, but let’s not pretend that we don’t want our yards to stay pretty. We definitely do. In case of a hard freeze (32 F or below) we always recommend interspersing frost-tolerant plants in your garden. Some of our favorite fairly-cold-tolerant natives include Coral Honeysuckle, Louisiana Irises, and Carolina Jessamine. Many native perennials, like Coreopsis, Rudbeckias (of varying species), Blanket Flowers, and Guara will go dormant or die back to their roots but are very resilient and pop back up in no time.
Though they are not native, calendula, pansies, and alyssum are all frost-tolerant bedding plants and can help support bees and other pollinators throughout the winter. Also have to give a quick shout out to cold season vegetables; they are true heroes of the winter. Brassicas, like broccoli, arugula, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage will tolerate super low temperatures. Beyond being a means of nurturing your own body, the blooms on broccoli and arugula plants are also a favorite of bees and are honestly super adorable in gardens and arrangements.
If you have some tender tropicals or annuals in your yard, freeze protection is always an option. Remember that the heat of the Earth makes in-ground beds a little more resilient. Potted plants generally suffer the most from freezing temperatures, and if possible, they should be brought inside. This is especially relevant for potted trees like citrus and olives!
The morning sun pattern also plays a role in your freeze protection plan. Areas that don’t generally get sun until afternoon are the most susceptible to cold damage because they take longer to warm up with the day. Focus first on these areas.
Our three-part protection plan is as follows: Water. Insulate. Cover.
Water- Even if it feels a little silly, soaking the ground ahead of a freeze will actually help protect your plants. Water holds heat for longer than soil does, so wet soil is the first step for freeze protection.
Insulate- Mulching around the base of your sensitive plants acts as a layer of insulation. This technique is especially useful for larger plants. You can also use strings of incandescent Christmas lights at this stage to provide extra warmth. Make sure your lights are incandescent rather than LED, because LED lights don’t generate heat. In all honesty, this is a kind of wild move that I personally don’t tend to practice. There’s something a little against-nature about using petrol-generated electricity to fight weather patterns, but if you’re a die-hard fan of papayas and monsteras, it is an option.
Cover- Use sheets, blankets and tarps to cover your babies, and you can use bamboo or other stakes to create a tent-like structure so nothing gets smushed. Remember though, the coverings help by trapping the heat from the ground, so make sure your protective covering is flush with the Earth. Stakes, rocks, and bricks are all great options to keep sheets and tarps down. If we have below-freezing temperatures for multiple nights in a row, remove your coverings during the warmer parts of the day to allow your plants to get some sun, then return their cozy coats when the cold of night begins setting back in.
And that’s a wrap on our welcome to winter! At this point it’s big time speculation of what could happen, but for those of us with rattling anxiety brains, it can feel good to mull through the options in advance. As you play outside in these cooler months, try to remember the idea of gardening with nature and strive to find a balance between accepting the seasons as they come and working to maintain your yard as you like it.
Growth vs Decay
A beautiful thing about gardening is the way it connects us to cycles of change, life, and death. Gardens are dynamic places, constantly altered in ways we can and cannot see. As a gardener, it is important to remember this at all times.
One of our first projects as a company was in a yard with a massive stump of a Water Oak tree. The homeowner had mourned the loss of this tree, seeing his shade-loving plants pale in their newly bright home. The size of the stump made it difficult to remove. It was now a fixture in the garden, a large and barren reminder of a different time, a different microclimate.
When I first saw the stump, I was invigorated by the possibilities. The idea of planting new life in and around it was titillating. The bridge between decomposition and growth is a beautiful cornerstone of the horticultural world. My shamelessly angsty inner poet was alighted.
Stump gardens have since become rather popular on social media (or at least in my algorithms), and I thought folks might be interested to read about the process we’ve gone through over the last 10 months in this garden. It was not a perfect process; mistakes were made along the way. It is our hope that reading about our imperfect journey may help others find a less wobbly path to a successful stump garden.
Our first planting day: little pockets of soil to help new babies set roots as the stump continued to feed them through the process of decay.
Our first move was to plant in pockets of soil around the roots and in crevasses of the stump. It was late Fall of 2022, and we wanted to select cool-weather trailing plants that we thought would grow well in the small amount of soil available to them. In this first round, we went with Nasturtiums, Alyssum, and Lysimachia. A note that none of these plants are native to the region, but nasturtiums are a favorite of bees, and have edible leaves and flowers that we absolutely adore. We also sprinkled seeds of a favorite native, Black-Eyed Susans. Our hope was that as the stump continued to turn to soil, the area would soon support more plant life.
When we came back for maintenance, our first clear hurdle was with the Lysimachia. Even in the winter, this neon green climber just did not want to grow in such a sunny yard. On our part, this was a bit of rookie mistake and served as a lesson on adapting aesthetic visions for the ecological reality of each site. The nasturtiums and alyssum, however, flourished beautifully, and the Black-Eyed Susan seeds germinated in several locations. Even just last week, as we went back for a follow up, we saw several alyssum plants that over-summered despite high temperatures and ongoing drought this summer, as well as tiny nasturtium seedlings popping up for a second year!
The eventual goal was to fill the hollow center of the stump with logs and compost and top it off with soil, creating a permaculture-inspired garden that would allow for tall statement plants to grow out of the large dead stump. About six months later, after composting extensively inside the stump, it seemed like it was time to fill ‘er up. Thinking in terms of permaculture principles, we brought some larger logs to lay in a criss-cross pattern as a base. We thought these wood pieces would provide slow decay and work well to keep the soil level up. We then added other layers that would transform to soil more quickly than the logs, like dead leaves.
Our client was hoping to attract Hummingbirds— we planted the stump with Dicliptera, Porterweed, Senna Alata, and a native Duranta which are all great nectar plants.
During this visit, we also swapped out our Nasturtiums for summer-loving annuals. We went with Purslane and Zinnias for the hot, dry weather we were having. These ended up being perfect choices for the record-breaking summer, even though they weren’t natives. Even the pre-existing Aztec Grass melted away in the heat this summer, but these babies survived!
Lots of summer blooms from our purslane and zinnias, even as the Aztec Grass suffered from the heat. Soil pockets around stump became deeper and richer, just as we had hoped!
The rate of decomposition was much more rapid than we first expected. The soil was sinking fast. It was neat to see life/decay forces playing their game in the stump. As the stump itself continued to rot from the inside out, our logs slid down into the abyss below, and the soil layer sank with it. A determined Senna Alata that we had planted as a tiny start was thriving. It was able to grow fast enough up towards the sun, reaching from up two or three feet in a crazy curve to continue growing, but the other plants weren’t able to persevere. We lost our Porterweed, a Dicliptera, and a native Duranta.
It was a stroke of genius from K that saved the day– we were going to bring power tools into the mix! They designed a shelving system using 2” by 1” scraps and a sheet of plywood. We used the scraps to make little teeth around the inside of the stump, placing them in areas that still had the strength to hold a screw. We then cut the plywood into an oval using a Sawzall, so it would sit neatly atop the teeth. We used a piece of plywood with a cut out, which acts as a handle.
The result? A shelf to hold potted plants in the center of the stump. This way, our newly planted babes won’t have to outpace the decay process; they are now supported. We had also enjoyed the convenience of on–site composting immensely, and the new set-up allows us to lift out the plants, remove the shelf, and continue using the center of the stump as a composting receptacle.
Truth be told, the jury is still out on how this new rendering of the Water Oak stump will develop. But the process has been challenging and enriching. Look for updates to this post if you’re curious to keep following the cycles of growth and decay with us.
Rainwater Collection: Past and Present
An exploration of the projected salt water intrusion, with a look at the history of rainwater collection in NOLA.
If a record–breaking summer in terms of extreme temperatures and low rainfall wasn’t challenging enough, the looming salt wedge creeping its way up the Mississippi River feels like a wake-up call. Even as city officials urge us to stay calm and go about our business, some of us in the ecological world are feeling frenzical. It’s time to transform that frenzy into action through creativity, research, and commitment to our values as plant-people.
Of course, we are humans before we are gardeners, and we deeply value human health and safety. This is not an effort to belittle public health risks associated with the wedge. It is merely a plant and environment- focused perspective. First, let’s hit some of the facts. What exactly are we facing as gardeners and growers? According to the National Weather Service, October and November are the two driest months of the year in the New Orleans area. That means that it’s a time we rely heavily on the municipal water system to tend to plants, in contrast with other times of year where rainfall can be sufficient. Salinity in the water supply means that this resource will be altered. Like many compounds, salt (Sodium Chloride) will ionize when dissolved in water. When sodium levels are high, the sodium will replace plant-food ions, like Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium, thus interfering with nutrient absorption. Different plants will be affected to differing degrees. A few of the heavy-hitters found in New Orleans’ landscapes are classified as salt-sensitive. Keep a close eye on your Azaleas, Camellias, Roses, Gardenias, Crotons, and Boxwoods once salt water enters the municipal supply.
The beautiful but salt-sensitive Rhododendron indicum is native to Japan.
As gardeners who love to promote home food production, we’d be remiss not to bring up edibles. There are a lot of salt sensitive fruit trees and vegetables, but there is also plenty of resiliency to be found. LSU Ag Center has done a great job circulating this information, including in this article published on NOLA.com. For those of you who aren’t subscribers, they state that “the most salt sensitive vegetables include beans, onions, cucumbers, radishes, and celery.” So as you plan and plant your Fall gardens, keep this in mind and choose differently! Citrus trees are another key local crop that are sensitive to salt, and navigating this is a little complex. Salt concentrations will build up in soil over time as salty water is added to the biome and the water evaporates. This is especially true for plants in containers. Watering at night when evaporation rates are slower helps mitigate this effect, as does keeping moisture levels high and “flushing” the area with a non-salinated water supply.
It’s kind of hard to stomach that part of the answer we’re hearing is “water more” when the appearance of the wedge is directly tied to widespread drought throughout the Mississippi River watershed. While we value our citrus trees and our luxurious rose bushes, it certainly provides cause for reflection.
But all is not lost! There are plenty of coastal climate plants that have evolved some level of tolerance to salt water. Many of our favorite natives fall into this group: Persimmon Virginiana, Muhly Grass, Coreopsis, Blanket Flowers, Wax Myrtles, and more! We have long-loved the drought tolerance of these resilient growers, and this moment serves as reassurance that planting native is the way of the future. Species that have evolved in this climate are more equipped to handle these wild weather times. As we strive to increase the number of native plants in our own installations and work on establishing our own nursery of native species, we recognize the limited commercial availability of some of these plants. Check out the Native Plant Initiative for more information on the subject and a list of retailers in the area, so you can start adding these species to your gardens as well.
Another key adaptive strategy is to increase efforts of water storage. We are still in a subtropical climate, and we are still apt to get a significant amount of rainfall in any given year. Rainwater collection in the form of barrels is a great way to take advantage of plentiful times and redistribute the bounty throughout the drier moments of the year. In the midst of having this conversation with one of our clients, he brought up the cisterns that were commonplace in the New Orleans area in the past.
Vintage ad for cistern install/repair. Source: https://prcno.org/rise-fall-new-orleans-cistern/
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, New Orleanians actually relied on rainwater collection for their drinking water! The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans published a fantastic article about the history of these cisterns in 2018, describing how they were banned in 1916 as information about mosquito-breeding and Yellow Fever began to surface. Today, Yellow Fever is not the public health threat it once was. We can also use closed-barrel system designs with fine-screen mesh to prevent mosquitoes from entering rainwater catchment systems. Beyond that, we have a plethora of mosquito-control techniques (both natural and chemical) at our disposal. To learn more about installing a sophisticated rainwater collection system, check out the California-based company Blue Barrel Systems. We are happy to offer our services (or just our tools and knowhow) on any rainwater collection project, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.
A Whimscapes-installed Blue Barrel System
There is something profound in the way this moment connects our past, present and future. It’s a nod to the nonlinear nature of progress and the importance of flexibility in times of difficulty. Letting go of things we think we need is always hard, and opting for a self-sustaining watering method can be more complicated than what we’re used to. But we’re here for the challenge– peruse the linked pages, ask the big questions, and come along.
Seasonal Plant Feature: Wine Cups
Wine Cups
Wine Cups, or Callirhoe involucrata is a hot pink delight. It reaches tall heights and blooms all summer long, making it a great statement piece in any native-focused garden.
Yard
Wine cups, also nicknamed Poppy Mallows, are native through much of the United States. They can be found in meadows and prairies stretching from North Dakota down into Louisiana. They are members of the Mallow Family, which includes some of our other favorite natives, like Pineland Hibiscus.
Since they are widespread throughout the Great Plains, Wine Cups are great for drier, unirrigated patches of your garden. They have a thick taproot like a carrot that reaches deep into the soil to draw water that not all plants can access. Wine Cups are also perennials, so they will come back to show off their beauty year after year. Though they prefer full sun for maximum blooms, they will also tolerate partial shade– a truly undemanding plant!
The growth habit of Wine Cups is very interesting, and lends itself to even more uses in the landscape. Stalks can reach a height of 2 feet, but they often fall over when unstaked. That said, fallen stalks can grow and reach horizontally, creating a mat-like groundcover with bright pink flowers. They will also trail beautifully out of hanging baskets or over ledges.
Our Poppy Mallows can be grown from seed, but they require some extra care! Seeds should be soaked in water overnight and stored in a refrigerator for 30 days in wet sand before planting. This simulates the cold overwintering that seeds experience in the wild. Wine Cups can also be grown from cuttings, but wait until February, when blooming has finished but new Spring buds have not yet set.
Body
Although eating Wine Cups is uncommon, their roots and leaves are in fact edible! Their tuberous taproots are sweet like yams and can be eaten cooked or raw. Tubers are largest in the winter after the plant has finished its yearly bloom. Since taproots are sensitive, be sure you think carefully before digging one up!
Just like their mallow relatives Okra, Wine Cups are mucilaginous and become somewhat slimy when cooked. This trait makes them a good add-in for a nice thick stew.
Beyond being edible, Poppy Mallow has medicinal uses! Its roots can be made into a concentrated tea to treat pain, particularly of the stomach and head. The roots can also be dried and ground for smoking. It has been observed that inhaling the smoke or bathing affected areas in a smoke bath can also reduce general pain.
Spirit
The Spirit of the Wine Cup struck me hard this Spring. She is almost neon in hue, the kind of color that makes us question how it could possibly be natural. She is powerful, bright, and in your face– a boldness to aspire to.
Just yesterday as I sat in my yard, two hummingbirds fluttered their way up to my Wine Cups. They danced around the bright flowers, dutifully drinking the nectar within. It was this moment that made me choose Wine Cups as the Whimscapes plant feature this season. I honestly didn’t know too much about them, but intuition guided me to take on the project.
The first thing that struck me about the plant was its botanical name. The latin name for its genus, Callirhoe, is the title of an ancient Greek novel. It tells the story of a supernaturally beautiful woman by that name who has two suitors feuding for her love. Kind of a fun way to start thinking about a plant! She started to seem like the belle of the ball, and maybe even a little standoffish and arrogant.
As I began researching and learning more about this species, the ecological role it plays began to add depth to my vapid Greek character profile. Aside from being beautiful, Wine Cups are nurturers of wildlife.
Their nectar is popular with hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Their leaves are a favorite snack of rabbits. They are a larval host plant for the Gray Hairstreak and Checkered Skipper Butterflies. The amount of life that gravitates towards these plants is absolutely beautiful.
Thank you, Wine Cups, for being beautiful, confident, and nurturing. May we learn from you and emulate your traits!
Featured Plant: Yaupon Holly
Yaupon Holly, or Ilex vomitoria is a somewhat common landscaping plant in the Southeastern United States. Its dense, weepy branching brings a unique structural element to any garden, and it produces bright colorful berries through the winter.
Yard
Yaupon Hollies are considered native from Southern Texas on the Eastern side of Oklahoma all the way to the Atlantic Coast of Florida, with a Northerly sweep in range along the coast in South Carolina. They are a low maintenance evergreen tree, with many cultivars that provide a different aesthetic spin to your landscape. They range in height, but most Yaupons will not exceed 25 feet, making it a great tree for a smaller space. It can also tolerate sun or partial shade, so it can fit nicely as a thicket shrub beneath a larger canopy tree. Many people prune and hedge them, but their natural branching pattern is absolutely divine.
Yaupons can be female or male, with only female plants producing flowers and berries. Check with your nursery about plant sex, or start your tree from cuttings using a female parent! Berries are usually red, with some varieties offering a cheerful golden berry as an alternative. These little fruits provide much needed food to wildlife through the winter; both birds and mammals eat them readily. It is also a food plant for Harry’s elfin butterfly larvae, thus contributing to all sorts of habitat creation.
Yaupons are known for being disease-resistant and drought tolerant. They are best planted in early spring, which allows the roots plenty of time to establish before the heat of summer sets in. Dig a hole wider than the rootball of your sapling, but not too much deeper. Replace the soil and water her in thoroughly. Yaupons are easy, no stress!
Body
It may be surprising to see “vomitoria” as the species name for such a well-loved plant. The story behind this name has real intrigue. Yaupons are actually one of two native plant species in the United States that contain caffeine. Native Americans in the Southeastern United States brewed Yaupon Tea for centuries, a practice that remained popular in the region well into the 19th century. “Black drink” was often consumed in excess and brewed with other plant materials, and it caused early botanists to vomit. This experience contributed to the plant’s Latin name, but it is important to note that the Yaupon itself was not the culprit. Yaupons are actually closely related to Ilex paraguariensis, the plant used to make Yerba Mate, and the tea is a totally viable option for an energy boost!
On top of acting as a caffeine source, Yaupon Tea is high in antioxidants. Recent research at University of Florida cites that it has the caffeine content of green tea and the antioxidant content of blueberries! For more details on all of the wonderful properties of Yaupon, check out the Yaupon Tea House.
Based in Savannah, Georgia, this apothecary has really brought the benefits of Yaupon to the forefront. They have tons of great educational resources, as well as some unique holly products. Check out their website here!
Spirit
The spirit of Yaupon runs deep. During the winter months, we slip into a quiet lull. We sit inside. We curl under blankets. Leaves fall from trees, and here in New Orleans, cinnamon Cypress needles coat the streets like a snow blanket.
Yaupon trees are a beacon during this time. Their bright red berries feed birds and other wildlife, and their tiny green leaves hold steadfast onto branches. There is something so important about winter berries, even if they don’t feed humans in the corporeal sense.
You might dart into a thicket with clippers, bundling branches together to hang in your window or tucking them into a pine wreath for a splash of color. Their red against green foliage is powerful– a sharp visual contrast, a deeply conditioned representation of holidays and mirth.
A bit of a pagan myself, I am always reminded at this time of year of the story of the Holly King and the Oak King. I first heard the story as a child, and for some reason it really stuck with me. It tells of the two kings dueling on the Solstice, and eventually, the Oak King would triumph and bring back sun to the cold, dark winter. When I think of this story now, the Holly King feels misunderstood. He is a bearer of gifts in the wintertime, not a domineering prince of darkness. He knows when to step back. He knows that in spring he will pale in comparison to the Dogwoods and the Irises. Let’s give him his moment of brightness now.
Featured Plant: Jewels of Opar
Jewels of Opar, or Talinum paniculatum, is a longstanding favorite. Its playful blooms and seedpods add a splash of magic to any garden. Try munching on its leaves for a juicy, nutrient-dense garden snack.
Yard
Jewels of Opar is a succulent perennial native in much of the Southern United States. It is a hardy, determined little plant that does well in full-sun, but can also tolerate some shade. There are several cultivars of the plant, including some with variegated leaves. It looks great in clusters as an alternative to non-native evergreens, retaining a joyful green coloration year round.
Beginning in June, it shoots out dainty stalks of sweet little flowers. These eye-catching pink color bursts continue to produce well into the Fall, even with minimal maintenance. As each flower fades into fruit form, it leaves behind a tiny jewel-toned orb. These fanciful seedpods keep the plant visually interesting even after flowering.
Body
Jewels of Opar is also totally edible! It’s a favorite gardening snack of ours, with its crunchy and earthy leaves. August in New Orleans is a tricky time for growing greens. As the movement to source food locally grows stronger and stronger, the difficulty of getting that leafy Vitamin K deep in the delta is real.
There are plenty of widely celebrated heat-tolerant greens, but most of them originated in South America or Southeast Asia, like Sweet Potato leaves and Malabar Spinach. Jewels of Opar takes it one step further.
A member of the Purslane family, these juicy leaves are packed with good stuff.
Spirit
It is utterly neglectful to overlook the spirit of a plant. What joy can it bring us? How does it sing? Jewels of Opar works as a cut flower in fresh arrangements, and it shines even more when dried and paired with grasses and branches. There is something pure magic about the bursts of perfectly round seeds on Jewels’ stalks, and we love the eternality of a plant whose beauty continues beyond its green life.