Nature Through the Seasons Near the Towson Y

 Quiet months, at least on the surface.  After a year we can look again at winter identifications with more confidence.  Every month is mindful but attention, awareness, looking, seeing is especially rewarding in February.  Here are a dozen twigs showing some of the winter detail.  I will leave the IDs to the end if some want to test their knowledge. These are less specific for a couple of reasons.  To keep things simple. We still do not know the landscaping identifications.  So it is elm rather than a type of elm or a possible hybrid. Or the sycamore may be a London plane tree hybrid. Teaser for March.  Expect more action.  Watch the seviceberry.  It was said to predictive shad migration (shadbush), and ground melting enough to have funeral services.  From the top:  Locust Fringe Tree Cherry Hornbeam Elm Norway Maple Oak Redbud Serviceberry Tulip Maple Key to the twigs Sycamore Ash

 This is not complete but emphasis on plants because of size or color might cause a "mommy what's that plant" question.  This first list is by common names while knowing latin names are useful.  There are some  brief notes about the plants under the seasonal activity and location.  This is a commitment before I find the landscape plan, just to see if they correspond.  I will try to resist editing. American hop horn or muscle wood  arborvitae ash trees bindweed boneset box elder cardinal flower cherry trees chicory clematis (japan) chokeberry crown vetch cryptomeria elms English ivy eastern red cedar firs fringe tree goldenrod hickory tree holly indian blanket jewelweed japanese honeysuckle lichens linden trees locust trees (honey locust) mallow (hibiscus) maples morning glory mulberry trees red oaks white oaks poison ivy porcelain berry Princess tree vs catalpa ragweed raspberry redbuds rudbeckia (brown or black-eyed Susan) sassafras trees serviceberry...

 Again this month there is little color around the campus.  The holly berries are still present, both gold and red.  We were assured that these are the friendly American hollies.  Remember there are the scattered  male hollies without berries but essential to the display. There was a question about evergreen and conifers.  Making the point that not all conifers are evergreen, we have larch, bald cypress, and dawn redwoods in the area that shed their needles. And not all evergreens are conifers as we see near the Y with the English ivy and the Hollies.  But the specific question was " is grass evergreen?"  Online I do not see any of the grasses among species listed as evergreen at least in this area.  Let's watch the grass over the winter. One grass expert in the family raises and sells hay.  Keeps up to date at an Ohio State extension course every summer.  The course is known as "Hay U".  He says that despite the green appearan...

 Though there is a lot of activity within the trees this month, preparing for the winter, outside  there is the color change and the leaf fall.  What to be mindful of?  Some trees, tulips and elms have already lost most of their leaves in the first week of November.  Here are some variations on color, some suggesting the identification of  the tree.  Color is  "overdetermined", humidity, temperature, light, many factors. maples, bright yellow to red Large maple, possible silver maple, below is red oak, dull red but holding most of its leaves So driving in western Maryland (Rocky Gap)  you might expect the dull red trees on the far hill to be oaks.  The remaining yellow-green to be maples.  At the Y we are dealing with a small sample however. There have been recent online comments about Ginkgo trees shedding their leaves all at once causing a golden carpet beneath. Below is from Roland Park but there may be Ginkgo trees closer. Hills...

 One change is some aggressive pruning in the west flower bed.  You can see the scrubs that were in the background this summer.  They are a lower growing type of dogwood.  They seem to be identified by color with the white type forming colonies from rhizomes which would describe the summer appearance. Most of the stems here are grey or white but there are a few red and yellow.  These are sometimes chosen for their winter color. The photo shows the leaf veins curving parallel to the leaf edge.  The twigs are opposite as in the MAD Horse mnemonic.  There was a little discussion, these are probably the "grey" or white variety of dogwood.  The red and yellow are more dramatic, bright red long twigs in the winter, not just the stems. ( The suggested identification for the three small trees just west of the south entrance is Prunus serrulata possibly the Kwanzan cultivar.   It would be ornamental, not bearing fruit.  Mentioned here because als...

There are a few changes here in early September.  There were a scattering of funnel spiders on the yews near the front entrance.  You can see the horizontal web easily when highlighted with dew.  The spiders are usually shy but this one posed briefly for a picture. On the south side English ivy is going to seed.   And also on the south fence is the Japanese autumn clematis, or more poetic "virgins's bower".  Comments heard about this are: non-native, invasive in some areas, displacing the native clematis.   In the over-grown flower bed west of the parking lot is a cardinal flower.  How did he get here?  A random act of kindness by human or animal? The ragweed which was one small plant early August is now producing a fine crop. There are still a few bindweed flowers, this one to the west side. The porcelain berry is maturing, growing everywhere.  If the question is " Daddy what's that vine?" it is probably porcelain berry. Along the fence on n...