Winter in the North is long and cold forcing the frost to penetrate deep, freezing the ground solid as a rock. The serviceberry, a small flower bearing tree, signals the ground has thawed, a sign post to people it was time to bury their loved ones that had died the previous winter. Funeral services commenced with springs advent and the tree was aptly named the … Continue reading The Serviceberry: A Sign Post of Spring
Early spring heralds the blooming of woodland flowers and the awakening of bees. Most native bees are solitary and overwinter either in cocoons or as dormant adults. Even some butterflies, such as the mourning cloak, overwinter as adults. The warm rays of the sun lull the bees from their slumber coaxing them to seek out sustenance from the emerging spring ephemerals that bloom on the … Continue reading The Blooming of the Bloodroot
Pollinators are celebrating at a revitalized garden at College Hill Park in Poughkeepsie, NY. The park is situated in the center of an urban landscape and on top the highest point in the city a most curious Parthenon like structure, known at the “Shelter”, stands with grand views of the Hudson Valley. Down the hill from this structure built in 1935 is the Clarence Lown … Continue reading Pollinators are Celebrating at College Hill Park
Do beavers play a role in providing habitat to native pollinators? Today, pollinators benefit from roadside flowers, old farm meadows, hedgerows, forest edges and gardens, however, these are all by-products of modern human civilization. What about prior to European colonization of North America when nearly 99% of New York and the Northeast was covered in forest. Where in this dense forest did the 477 native … Continue reading Old Beaver Meadows and Wilderness Pollinators
In January, we can only imagine springtime flowers as if they were a dream. Yet, beneath the snow, snowdrops, a small perennial flower are waiting to emerge from their bulb at the slightest hint of spring warmth. In late February and early March the snowdrops rise from the earth as the first flowers of the year! This small white flower is native to a large … Continue reading Small Mining Bee’s Active in Early Spring
