Mid-February a traveling flock of Bluebirds visits the Rhus typhina grove edging the wetland behind my house. (Aside: is a massed drift of a native shrub called a ‘grove’? To this morning’s tired brain -Winter Olympics held me beyond my bedtime last night- the term ‘grove’ works better than ‘massed planting’. The Rhus looks like a grove of small multibranced trees with large red fruit) Usually I have Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) mixed with the conifer branches in the deck containers. It’s a lovely combination that I enjoy from November thru the first warm day in March when the soil thaws enough to releasethe branches to my not-so-gentle tug. I didn’t manage to get the berried branches this year. Too bad because it appears its the frost softened fruit that attracts them to my deck and close viewing. Seeing the flock in the grove I was hoping the feeders would attract them but without the berries to devour–no go. Note-to-self: Winterberry branches on the shopping list for next November. Better yet, plant the ilex (male and female plants) so I can harvest branches in a few years. There are many varieties to choose from that include the 8-10′ species to the more compact. ‘Red Sprite’, one I use often, grows to about 5′ in its first 10-15 years but matures to about 12 feet. Good massed and placed so that its summer green leaves provide contrast whatever is planted in front. Kirengishoma might be great with it’s delicate late summer yellow flowers and uniquely shaped lighter green foliage. Anyway, I miss the bluebirds personal visit to my deck. Its the only time of year they appear coming from somewhere going to somewhere else. Harbinger of spring and wonder. Ah, I’m glad I saw them in the grove and know they survived and continue to mark spring for me.
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