The Celery Farm & Beyond

Butterfly Garden Revamped

   Work began on the Butterfly Garden redesign yesterday.
   Because a lot of the garden was not getting enough sun, the path has been relocated to along the railing on the right.
  The area where the path once was will be planted with flowering perennials.
 The new planting will be done in late summer.
  In the meantime, butterflies  are still finding plenty of attractions.

Cardinal Flower!

   Fred Weber spied this beautiful native plant on the way to the Warden's Watch.
   It's a Cardinal Flower, great for hummingbirds -- like the one that frequents my window feeder all day.
  More on Cardinal Flowers here.

Save the date: Plant walk

   Sunday, August  30: Join Edith Wallace and Don Torino for a plant identification walk around the Celery Farm.

  Meet at 9 a.m. at the Green Way entrance.

MONDAY MORNING MYSTERY 070609

    I guess this is kind of easy, but I like the photo.
    More Monday Morning Mysteries here.

July 11: Help save an upper Hackensack River marsh

  

Lori Charkey of Bergen Save the Watershed Network (SWAN) writes:
Attention River Enthusiasts…

     In fall 2005, a group of scientists, historians, and environmental activists  paddled the length of the Hackensack River from its source in New City, NY south to where it empties into Newark Bay.  Mark Becker, Ray Cywinski (UWNJ) and I were lucky to be amongst this group of adventurers.

     Along the way, many of us were spellbound by the magic of this waterway, especially when we traversed a large marsh off of Lake Tappan known locally as the ’40 Foot Hole.”  Not familiar with this nickname, we dubbed it “The Spatterdock Marsh” after one of the prevailing types of floating, native vegetation.

   Unfortunately, this tranquil spot has become home to a common invasive aquatic species – the water chestnut, Trapa natans (unrelated to the edible Chinese kind).  Of little value to wildlife, this invader forms dense, floating mats that choke off light and oxygen, and crowd out native plants.

      On July 11, if you would like to help us to avoid an infestation of water chestnut in our watershed while getting out on a beautiful stretch of the Hackensack, please contact Bergen SWAN or United Water New Jersey at your soonest convenience! 

     Participation is limited to the first 25 people who register.  Download Water Chestnut Removal for further details!

Thank you,Lori Charkey

Garlic Mustard Brigade on Sunday

  

    All those interested in helping to put a dent in the enormous garlic mustard problem at the Celery Farm should meet at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Green Way entrance to the Celery Farm.
   We'll pull and bag as much as we can, then declare victory for the year. we are nearing the point where pulling it will spread the seeds.

   What's so bad about such a pretty flowering plant? The bottom line is that it is an invasive species that, if left alone, soon dominates the forest understory and sides of paths. It replaces native, beneficial plants that provide habitat for butterflies and other nifty critters.

  This stuff is so nasty that even deer won't eat it. Thus, as the garlic mustard proliferates, native plants are fewer and more likely to be eaten by the deer, compounding the problem.

  Garlic mustard also changes the chemistry of the soil by releasing phytotoxic chemicals, making it harder for many native plants to thrive.

  You can read more here or here or here.

   E-mail me if you need more info on Sunday's work detail.

 

Program on the Celery Farm -- this Friday

      

The estimable Edith Wallace is doing a program on the Celery Farm this Friday afternoon:     

      "From Farm to Nature Preserve"
      The story of the woody plants of the Celery Farm that supply food and shelter for the creatures that live there.  

Friday April 3 at 1 p.m.

Midland Park Library

250 Godwin Ave.

Midland Park

 

Another sign of spring recently seen

     Skunk Cabbage!

CELERY FARM: Fern Survey

   Edith Wallace, Nancy Bristow and Deedee Burnside did a fern survey at the Celery Farm last week.

They found the following seven species:

Athyrium filix-femina       lady fern
Onoclea sensibilis        sensitive fern
Osmunda cinnamomea    cinnamon fern
Osmunda regalis        royal fern
Pteridium aquilinum        bracken
Thelypteris noveboracensis    New York fern
Thelypteris palustris        marsh fern

   Note: The wildflower Web site I linked to here has no images for the marsh fern... Maybe someone could send one along or point out the plant to me to photograph?

Thanks, Edith, Deedee and Nancy!

CELERY FARM: Rose mallow

    My wife planted this rose mallow along the stream by our backyard two years ago.
    I said it would get washed away because of our chronic flooding problems.
    I guess I showed her!

   (Note: I has previously misidentified this as a swamp mallow. I sure learn something every ding-dong day!)