When we were looking at this house and walking through the 4.4 acres “eclectic” conditions (wetland, dry infertile areas, clay soil, sandy soil, full sun in some areas, surrounded by woodland, bunch of boulders pushed around by glacial force and the whims of the builders) we walked along a stream that meanders through the lower part of the front yard exchanging the words “So cool” a dozen times. A stream in the yard, is in fact, so cool. We get herons and fisher cats and a robust frog population. We saw a bald eagle last week! And many other visitors that wander by under cover of darkness for a drink or a snack. (Having a water source is a great advantage if you want to encourage development of wildlife habitat. And it’s pretty. And often sounds rather magical.)
The stream is mostly small and well-behaved:
Now and then we find ourselves in this situation:
So far no weather events have exceeded the ability of the culvert to keep the stream moving under our driveway, continuine on through our neighbor’s yards and emptying into Broad Creek.
Millie takes at least one dip almost day during the hot summer months. Black dogs with long, double-coated fur have a hard time in the summer:
This summer we finally added a decent bridge to span the area, and were able to do some exploring of the lower front yard, poach a couple of ferns for other areas of the yard, and discover broad swaths of these folks:
Polygala paucifolia, otherwise known as gaywings or fringed polygala.
These are native to the forested westlands areas of the northeast. My research turned up ‘of limited wildlife value’ which seems a bit unkind. Another search turned up utility to small pollinators as an early food source in those areas (the image was taken May 15th.) It may be that wetland pollinator needs and relationships are studied less than full-sun pollinator needs.
In any case, they don’t have to be useful to be lovely.
Plants that occur nearby and like similar conditions: royal, cinnamon, and ostrich ferns; white chelone (Turtlehead); false hellebore, Trilliums, Marsh marigolds in the swampier areas (the gaywings are in areas that lean toward ‘mush’ rather than true swamp.
This place has it all!
In any case: gaywings. They exist!