SPRING TIME-LAPSE VIDEO 2014: 61 DAYS IN 3 MINUTES; BLUEBELLS TO BLOOM AND THEN TO JUNE

THE IPOD TOUCH WAS SET UP TO VIEW THE BLUEBELL PATCH IN THE SIDE GARDEN ADJACENT TO MORRIS PARK. THE BLUEBELLS GREW AND BLOOMED, WENT TO SEED AND DESCENDED BACK INTO THE EARTH AS THE  COLUMBINES AND GERANIUMS ROSE TO PROMINENCE. WATCH THIS ALL PLAY ITSELF OUT IN HIGH SPEED MOTION WHERE  TWO MONTH’S TIME HAS BEEN COMPRESSED INTO 3 MINUTES!

As the video reaches its last minute, pay attention to the lower right hand area, where you will see the Jack-In-The -Pulpit rise out of the Earth from its bulb in a rapid fashion and spread its leaves and bloom in a quickened pace compared to the other plants. Interesting how bulbs grow in relation to non-bulbous plants. The Ostrich ferns are also interesting to watch unfurl and rise up. Yes, one of them was removed and transplanted. At the very end of the video a Clematis vine is swinging itself into the picture, looking for something to grab onto.

The original intention of the video was to document the rise and blooming of the Bluebells (Mertensia virginica). After they lost their flowers, the scene was unfolding in such an interesting manner that we decided to let the camera keep rolling. Other plants that are featured in the video that you can keep an eye out for are Wild Ginger, (Asarum canadense) Lonicera sempervirens, The Coral honeysuckle and Mayapple, (Podophyllum peltatum).

For those interested in the process, we used the O-Snap App and had the Ipod take a picture every twenty minutes for the first 40 days and then every two hours after that. The night pictures were deleted because they distracted from the story of the plant’s progression and continuity of the video.

 

Garlic Mustard 2014, Morris Park, Philadelphia

Are you tired of seeing Garlic Mustard? If so please visit our stewardship area of scope in Morris Park, Philadelphia, where you will see no Garlic Mustard. If we are around we will gladly give you a tour. If not, just walk along the trail starting at the end of Morris Park Road  and you will not see any Garlic Mustard. Enjoy your walk and appreciate the wonderful variety of native, localized species of trees, herbaceous plants and shrubs in this once degraded patch of urban Forest! It’s been since 2006 that we started working on the infestations of Garlic Mustard in Morris Park. We have kept up with the efforts, yearly pulling in the same sites that we started at and expanding our area of scope to the point where we are satisfied with our  progress, ever mindful of our limitations.

Next: the alternate opening to this 2014 Garlic Mustard update:

Garlic Mustard: You cannot just pull one. Once you start it, you cannot stop year after year, area by area, and if you do not pull it out one year you will be canceling out the many hours of  your work during the previous years.  This is the reality of the seed bank depletion method of invasive control.  Harsh as this may sound, this is a biological reality in the world of managing and controlling plants.

This is Alliaria petiolata, the Garlic Mustard.

Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com
Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com

So it’s been a long nine years removing Garlic Mustard from this site. What is our motivation? Why do we do it? What has changed and evolved on the site and will we keep doing it? How many hours have we spent?

Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com
Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com

Our motivation is experimental and hopeful at the same time. We started out believing that removing Garlic Mustard was  the thing to do. We continue to do it as we see the fantastic results. It really makes a difference.

Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com
Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com

The Oaks (note the one above) and other trees are seeding themselves in and have enough of an advantage to continue to grow.  More and more herbaceous native plants are growing in once invaded areas. There is less and less Garlic Mustard to pull every year, freeing ourselves up to do other things like visit other places or work on the garden. This year we pulled and trashed 31 bags, Last year we did 78 bags. This year about 30 hours of time spent.

We hope to inspire anyone out there with Garlic Mustard to keep up the work, and be realistic in your area of scope so you can continue to go back year after year and follow through on depleting the seed bank. If anything you will learn your area and the habits of this plant quite well and have fun doing it!

Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com
Garlic mustard in Morris park, Philadelphia www.thesanguineroot.com