Postcards from Alabama

I’m back from my annual visit home to Alabama. The weather was… interesting. While I was there, we had two nights of thunderstorms (including a tornado warning on my last night), several blustery days with temperatures in the low 80s, and a cold front that brought bone-chilling winds. I was anxious to get on the plane, just to get warm. A record low was forecast for Monday night (after I left), which was unfortunate since things were just starting to leaf out and bloom.

All of these photos were taken in the woods behind my childhood home. The land slopes downhill to a creek that runs along the edge of the property. My brother likes to go there every day, and we did—except for a few days when it was too muddy. We spent many hours in those woods and at the creek, and it hasn’t changed much.

I wasn't into in plants then, but now it is interesting to see what actually grows there. It is not a very diverse landscape and is mostly filled with cedars, pines and oaks. 

One very common plant here is the Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia). I don’t remember noticing it as a child, but it grows happily in these woods and reseeds freely, though not too aggressively. It was in bloom, and I remembered that Margie Anderton, a local wildflower expert, always said to put out hummingbird feeders as soon as it blooms—that’s when the birds arrive in our area.

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

Other natural residents -

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

Mississippi River Wakerobin (Trillium foetidissimum)

And some of my introductions that have survived -

I planted various things here when I thought we were going to live here. Almost all have perished with the exceptions of a few. The most successful is this Mahonia -

I planted many daffodils but only a few were blooming. I don't recall planting Snowdrops, but apparently I did and there were at least two healthy clumps that were blooming beautifully. This made my heart sing -

Back in my Washington garden, I returned to find things popping all over.  I can't wait to get out and explore.

 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy