The Gift Not Intended

 So a bit of a story. Probably about 10-12 years ago, I had collected some black walnuts in the fall. It wasn't tons...maybe a gallon or so of nuts from some wild trees. At the time I was doing an annual presentation to local fourth graders on wild foods and medicines as part of their "pioneer day" activities. I had quite the road show and was always looking for more things for the kids to see and touch - like these black walnuts.

I was always amazed at how disconnected so many kids were with the natural world around them and so I did my best to introduce them to as much as possible in my 45 minutes with each class which included at least 20 minutes of letting them explore everything I brought on their own. This included a foraging game I made up which was always one of the highlights. While many probably forgot what they saw the moment they walked out the door, it made all the work so worthwhile to see the "lights" turn on for some of the children as to what amazing things were right out their own backdoors.

So I stored the nuts but like many older homes (and mine is 160 years old), rodents are a continual issue and they got into the nuts. I pitched the nuts out to the compost bin. "Critters" enjoy my open compost bins and it seems one of them planted one of the walnuts near the foundation of my house -- there are no nearby black walnuts and this is the only time these nuts made it to the compost bin so it didn't take much thought to figure out its origin.

Some time along the way, my husband or I chopped the seedling down at least once as the trunk bears the evidence. But last year it finally dawned on me what the tree was. So I dug it up in this spring, potted it, and will add it to my ever expanding young food forest this fall.

So while I never shared the nuts in my wild plant extravaganza, I did get a tree I always wanted out of it.

Keep Calm and Think Spring

Recently I saw an image that said, "Keep Calm and Think Spring." After the long and cold winter it has been, I think we are all beginning to think spring. Actually, it is probably more than just thinking of spring. It is needing spring. As such, we begin to look for those harbingers of spring -- and we all have specific ones we look for.

When I think of early spring, I begin to think of certain flowers blooming and certain animals making their appearance. Last spring I wrote about Turkey Vultures making their spring return appearance. On another blog, I've also written about Pussy Willows Blooming, Seeing Spring Ephemerals, and other signs of spring.

But today, I'm thinking about the late spring sights. I guess I'm tired of winter's browns and grays and need that emerald green of verdant May. So what do I think of in bloom come mid to late May? Many things to be sure! But today the mid to late spring sight that is on my mind is the Lily-of-the-Valley. Give them a shady spot, and they will fill the area with their tulip-like leaves and racemes of tiny bell-like flowers. The best part of these flowers, is their scent. It is heavenly and rich and it always reminds me of being a kid for my mom had these in her gardens. I loved picking a few to make a tiny bouquet for her. She had a special little bud vase for such tiny bouquets. Despite their petite size, these bouquets would perfume a room.

A few lily-of-the-valley tips:

• They do spread via rhizome so take care of placement for they will crowd out other plants, weeds and other flowers alike. Can be a blessing and a curse so add wisely. 


• Unlike many shade loving plants, these plants can tolerate a dry shade. In shady areas near your house's foundation, downspouts, under bushes, etc. where little else can grow, these plants can survive and thrive.


• All parts of these plants including the red berry-like fruits are highly poisonous. The plant has at least 40 different cardiac glycosides. As you can guess, those compounds are not so good for the healthy heart.
  
  If you are worried about young children and poisonous plants, then skip this one. But as I've said before, you should be teaching your young children plant safety! I was picking bouquets of these when I was 4-5 years old for my mom. I didn't get poisoned for at that tender age I had already learned plant safety from my mom. In fact, she made sure to specifically tell us about lily-of-the-valley's poisonous nature. Don't dumb down things for your kids. Treat them like the intelligent, responsible people you want them to be. And always make a good hand-washing when coming in from outdoors a requirement like my mom did. 


• With their tiny bells they make a great fairy garden plant.


• The scent is intoxicating that no fake, store-bought lily-of-the-valley fragrance can compare to. If you have scent or moonlight garden, this is a must.


• I like the standard white variety best, but other cultivars are available including double and pink flowers plus variegated foliage.

The Teaching Plant

Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)

A reoccurring theme in the plant and garden forums I regularly frequent is parents that suddenly become concerned about the toxic plants in their yards and gardens. If you are one of them, I do applaud your concern, but I am sorry to say that there are many toxic plants that share the world with you. There may be ones in your yard, your gardens, the wild spaces around you, the parks you visit and more. And those plants were also in the lawns and gardens of your parents and you have grown to a healthy adulthood in spite of them! Just breathe. Relax. And read on.  

So what is a parent to do? When my own children were tiny toddlers, I did not turn them loose outside unsupervised. I stayed with them, played with them, and taught them. Not only did I protect them from the dangers beyond just poisonous plants that could present themselves to such tiny ones, I developed a much closer bond with my children. What parent wouldn't want that?

As they grew older, more teaching crept in. One of the very first outdoor lessons was plant safety. At the time, bittersweet nightshade grew everywhere at our place. Rather than go crazy trying to obliterate every trace of this toxic plant, as some parents in the forums I read would do, I took an alternate approach. I showed my children the plant with its brilliant red and rather appetizing looking berries. I explained that not all wild plants and berries were edible. In fact, some could make you sick and some could kill you. Their eyes grew big as that thought settled into their brains. The thought scared them - as well it should. I must say, I am not prone to exaggerating or "candy-coating" anything - my children learned that young. If I said it, I meant it and they believed it. They still do. 

So, what did I do next? I taught them how to identify this plant by its distinctive leaves, clusters of fruit, and purple blooms with yellow stamens. They could identify the plant at our home as well as at the parks and hiking trails we visited - places where I certainly could not obliterate every toxic plant that existed! I gave them power over this toxic plant. Further more, I also taught my children to never taste any unknown plant or fruits. They were to treat those plants and fruits as poisonous for they very well might be -- just like that nightshade they learned so well. They were only to eat wild plants and fruits if an adult they trusted (I can't stress how key this is) told them the plant or fruit was safe.

Bittersweet berries

In time and with age, they joined me in picking wild berries, wild herbs, and food from our gardens and u-pick farms. They learned how to identify those plants, when it was ripe, and what parts are usable. When I was absolutely sure they could ID those with no error, they began to pick their own without my direct supervision. My youngest loves picking wild blackcap raspberries, strawberries, and mulberries. Summer is his time for he is a huge berry lover. These skills will stay with them the rest of their lives and I am sure will pass to the next generation.

So my advice? Shield and protect closely when children are too young to accept safety lessons by staying with them outdoors. As they get older, teach them how to be safe rather than trying to "bubble wrap" their world. The lessons will serve them the rest of their life in your yard and way beyond it. That said, I strongly advise you do some research into the ornamental plants you want to add to your gardens. You may wish to avoid highly toxic plants like castor beans and monkshood until your children are much older.  Or avoid them completely if poisonous plants give you pause.

Enjoy your gardens, enjoy your children, and enjoy the living world we are part of!


Be sure to learn more about bittersweet nightshade at the Poison Garden website: http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/solanum_dulcamara.htm