We took a walk in the woods yesterday to flag more buckthorn and honeysuckle to be cleared. It only takes a few minutes in the woods and I can start spotting the invasive brush in amongst the dogwoods and hazelnuts. The wildflowers in this area have responded well to the brush clearing that we've done previously so it's rewarding to spend some time up here. The next great sign of recovery will be to see the oaks starting to regenerate. We're getting some seedling oaks just outside the established woods, but so far none inside. We need some young'uns to start growing so there are replacements on hand for the older trees such as this one.
I love the resilience of the oaks. Several of the oaks up here have multiple trunks, indicating that they may have been cut down at some point and then resprouted. The tree in the next photo has three trunks. And if you look closely, you'll see a little orange fleck near the base of the tree. Another buckthorn slated for removal!
So I'll keep on flagging the invasives and keep checking the forest floor for more encouraging news in spring.
That sounds like a productive day's work and good way to dose up on vitamin, D, too! Do you paint the stumps of the plants you remove with brush and stump killer, too? We do that when we go after bittersweet and several other suckering "pest" trees that crop up periodically.
ReplyDeleteSince you are so near my own gardening area here along Lake Michigan, I always enjoy your photos, etc. I can relate lots! The snows today and just the other day add that special dimension to the gardening we share in common. If you look at the photos posted in; gardensatwaterseast.blogspot.com/ under google search you too should enjoy. Jack
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