PLANT Pairing:

Celtis laevigata, Sugar Hackberry & Cephalanthus occidentalis, Buttonbush

Sugar Hackberry is a tree that is easily found in winter because its bark forms deep furrows and corky ridges.  Often its drupes, which ripen in September, are still visible well into the winter, or can be seen scattered on the ground below.  The fruits of the tree have been important to humans as a food source for thousands of years as evidenced by their prevalence at Meadowcroft Rock Shelter, an archeological site that dates back to around 20,000 years ago and other archaeological sites. We know that in more recent times, the tree and its berries have been used for food, fuel, medicinal purposes, furniture, baskets, crates, and even in some athletic equipment. The fleshy parts of the fruit are a thin layer around the seed inside, but that fleshy part is wonderfully sweet. They can be eaten raw or made into jellies and preserves.  

The very best thing about Sugar Hackberry is how much it supports local wildlife. It is the only host plant for the Hackberry Emperor butterfly and also supports the Question Mark, Mourning Cloak and 44 more species of butterfly and moth. The fruits are relatively dry, but high in sugar so they keep for long periods and remain on branches long into the winter providing a food source for many birds and small mammals.  They a critical winter food source for Cedar Waxwings and Robins.  Not only do they provide food for many butterflies, moths, birds and animals they are also host to some interesting tiny insects, mites and fungi that may cause them to grow dense clusters of twigs known as witches brooms and/or nipple galls.  Both are generally harmless to the tree, but the “brooms” provide extra cover for squirrels and birds and the hatching galls provide a secondary  protein source for birds when other food sources are scarce.

Buttonbush can be found growing near hackberry in areas that tend to remain wet or have good access to water.  It requires moist to wet soil in full to partial sun and even does well in standing water.  If you have a wet spot where nothing else will grow, this bush is for you. It is a shrub that can grow up to 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide.  It has small, fragrant, white, tubular flowers occurring in round clusters that have protruding styles, giving them a pincushion-like appearance.  Its fruits are reddish-brown and persist into winter. 

Even though it is distantly related to coffee, no part of the bush is edible to humans but it has been used medicinally for fevers, diarrhea, toothache, muscle inflammation and as an astringent. It may not be good food for humans, but many songbirds, mammals and waterfowl eat the nutlets found inside its fruits. In fact it is a very important winter food source, especially for waterfowl. Buttonbush flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. It is the only host plant for the uncommon Mompha solomini and M cephalanthiella moths.  Scroll to the bottom of the links to see how beautiful these hard to see and very similar moths can be.  It is one of only 4 host plants for the Beautiful Wood Nymph moth, known for imitating bird droppings, but absolutely gorgeous when it spreads its wings.

If you want to support local wildlife and have beauty in your yard, Hackberry and Buttonbush are both excellent choices! 

— MaryBeth

Book:
Into the Dark: What darkness is and why it matters - Jacqueline Yallop

Can you remember the first time you encountered true darkness? The kind that remains as black and inky whether your eyes are open or closed? Where you can't see your hand in front of your face? Jacqueline Yallop can. It was in an unfamiliar bedroom while holidaying in Yorkshire as a child, and ever since then she has been fascinated by the dark, by our efforts to capture or avoid it, by the meanings we give to it and the way our brains process it. Taking a journey into the dark secrets of place, body and mind, she documents a series of night-time walks, exploring both the physical realities of darkness and the psychological dark that helps shape our sense of self. Exploring our enduring love-hate relationship with states of darkness, she considers how we attempt to understand and contain the dark.  As she comes to terms with her father's deteriorating Alzheimer's, she reflects on how our relationship to the dark can change with time and circumstance. Darkness captivates, baffles and appalls us. It's a shifty thing of many textures, many moods, a state of fascination and of horror, an absence and a presence, solace and threat, a beginning and an end. Into the Dark is the story of the many darks that fascinate and assail us. It faces the darkness full on in all its guises and mysteries, celebrating it as a thing of beauty while peering into the void.

— Goodreads

January To-Do list

In January, daytime temperatures in North Carolina can vary widely by region, from around 40°F in the Appalachians to around 60°F in the coastal areas. Time to use that calm winter quiet to organize and plan the upcoming year in your garden.

• Plan

• • Look through catalogs to plan what vegetables and flowers to grow. 

  • Plant asparagus crowns this month when soil is dry enough to work.

  • Order your small fruit plants like strawberry, blueberry and blackberry for a mid-March planting.

  • Study your home landscape to see what additions or improvements can be made this spring.

  • Visit your local Extension Center for landscape and garden information.

  • Prepare a spot in the vegetable garden for early spring vegetables like English peas, cabbage, carrots, onions, Irish potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips.

  • Study your seed catalogs and choose open pollinated seeds, flowers and vegetables.

  • Order fruit trees, if not done last fall.

• Plant: Start seeds indoors for cool season vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and lettuce. You can also plant asparagus crowns if the soil is dry enough.

• Prune: Prune grape vines. Prune broken and undesired limbs on your shade trees.

• • Remove scrub trees.

  • Hardwood cuttings of many landscape plants like forsythia (yellow bells), flowering quince, weigela, crape myrtle, juniper, spirea and hydrangea can be taken this month.

• Maintain:

• • Leave dead plant matter and fallen leaves for beneficial insects to winter over.

  • Weed garden beds as needed, and add organic soil amendments.

  • Do not forget to care for holiday house plants like poinsettia, amaryllis, Christmas cactus, gloxinia and cyclamen.

• Mulch: If you really don’t like to leave your leaves, rake them into a pile or piles where they are less noticeable and allow them to compost in place.  Composted leaves make an excellent soil amendment full of nutrients, organic matter and soil microbes. If you have enough leaves, you can also cover beds with leaf mulch from your own yard instead of paying to have mulch delivered.

• Tools: Clean, repair, and replace tools.

Promises

January whispers, slow your pace,
Plan and dream in winter’s grace.
Browse seed catalogs by the fire,
Circle blooms andcrops you admire.

Asparagus crowns wait for dry ground,
Fruit tree orders should be sent around.
Blueberries, strawberries—get them queued,
March will come, as seasons do.

Study the beds, the shade, the sun,
Sketch new plans before spring’s begun.
Prune grapevines now, trim broken limbs,
Cut back scrub where growth grows dim.

Start seeds indoors—broccoli, greens,
Cabbage and lettuce in tidy routines.
Leave fallen leaves where insects sleep,
Nature’s housekeeping is hers to keep.

Clean your tools, compost your leaves,
Tend houseplants that holiday cheer leaves behind.
With soil, with hope, with quiet care,
The New Year grows—right from there.

— Shannon

Happy Gardening!