Landscaping for Woodcocks

American Woodcock

Every spring we anxiously wait for the American Woodcock PEENT calls. When we hear it we know that they’re starting their spectacular spring dancing- and we know spring is finally really here.

We hardly ever see them, but we hear them at dusk when we’re finishing our chores or taking Bear for a walk. 

They are perfectly camouflaged against the leaf litter. They are a brown-mottled in color and have unique long bills they use to poke along the soil for earthworms. 

American Woodcock

Every springtime at dawn or dusk we listen for and watch the males do their incredible aerial dances!! We listen for the loud and insistent PEENT calls and watch the males circle high up into the sky and then fall dramatically down like a fallen leaf. 

How can you attract these amazing birds to your property? 

American woodcocks thrive where young forests meet open ground. By planting native shrubs, maintaining moist soil areas, and allowing sections of your property to grow naturally, you can create feeding and nesting habitat for this beautiful migratory bird.

Redoisier Dogwood

-Plant native shrubs and dense understory shrubs like Buttonbush, Gray Dogwood, Red Osier Dogwood, and Pussy Willow

-Leave leaf litter for insects and worms

-Maintain brushy edges and transition zones

-Avoid large lawns and excessive mowing

-Keep some areas wild and undisturbed- and avoid perfectly tidy landscaping

Buttonbush

-Remove Invasive shrubs (burning bush, barberry, honeysuckle)

-Some open ground is necessary so they can perform their dances

-Plant native sedges, ferns, mosses and skunk cabbage in wet areas

Work with nature and start by making small changes!

Pussywillow

Hummingbird Moths

Every summer, they show up on our bee balm and phlox. They hover and they zip around from flower to flower. It’s like magic!!! They always keep us company as we harvest our medicinal flowers and herbs.

They look like a hummingbirds and act like hummingbirds— but they’re moths: hummingbird clearwing moths. The first time I saw one, I was confused. What is that? I watched for a long time and was mesmerized by their speed and beauty. I fell in love with these tiny creatures.

They’re native pollinators here in the Ithaca area. And they’re drawn to flowers like bee balm, phlox, swamp milkweed, and cardinal flower.

When we plant for biodiversity, we don’t just benefit honeybees. We are feeding the quiet, unexpected pollinators too: native bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and even beneficial flies.

A regenerative garden supports so much more life than we realize.

Cada verano, aparecen en nuestro bálsamo de abeja y flox.  Flotan y vuelan de flor en flor. ¡¡¡Es como magia!!! 

 Parecen colibríes y actúan como colibríes, pero son polillas colibríes de alas claras.

 Son polinizadores nativos aquí en el área de Ithaca.  Y se sienten atraídos por flores como el bálsamo de abeja, el flox, el algodoncillo de los pantanos y el cardenal.

Cuando plantamos para la biodiversidad, no solo beneficiamos a las abejas.  También estamos alimentando a polinizadores silenciosos e inesperados: abejas nativas, mariposas, polillas, colibríes e incluso moscas beneficiosas.

 Un jardín regenerativo sustenta más vida de la que creemos.

Helping Pollinators by Seeding Natives in February!

We all hear about how important it is to support pollinators in upstate NY, especially by planting native favorites that they rely on throughout the growing season. Plants like Milkweed (common, swamp, butterfly), Echinacea, Joe Pye Weed, Asters, Yarrow, Liatris, Rudbeckia, Sneezeweed, Cardinal Flower, Monarda, Goldenrod, and other native plants play a vital role in providing nectar and habitat. Well, it’s not too late to plant them from seed! It’s easy and anyone can do it.

Each year at Picaflor Farm, we seed all our planting area borders with many of these lovely flowers and let them grow wild and free. Our wetter areas have been seeded with swamp milkweed, cardinal flower, joe pye weed, and sneezeweed, while our drier edges are filled with common and butterfly milkweed, echinacea, monarda and yarrow. We either harvest our own seeds or use Sheffield Seeds in Groton. They have a great diversity of seeds, are available in bulk or in packets, and they deliver quickly. We also have lots of elder planted on our edges, but that’s for another blog!

All of these seeds benefit from cold stratification. What is cold stratification? Well, many seeds have developed safety mechanisms to survive the changing seasons in our region. So, they have evolved to ONLY germinate AFTER a period of cold and moisture. For instance, many milkweed species need at least 30 days of cold stratification to germinate.

So here we are in February wondering what we can do to help pollinators and enjoy our gardens. It has been so miserably cold that many of us have not even been able to think about our gardens, but February is a great month to start thinking about pollinators. Late winter is perfect for seeding some natives because it naturally provides cold stratification, right in time for spring blooming.

It sounds complicated. For years I avoided seeds that need to be cold stratified because I believed you really have to know what you are doing with these seeds. But nothing could be further from the truth.

How do you do it? Well, you can use your fridge … or even better, you can use our upstate winter. Ideally, it’s best to directly seed these native flowers in the fall! Prepare your bed (or an area that you are not using for anything else), get rid of the weeds and seed! Nature will do the rest.

But, if you didn’t get to it in the Fall, February is the next best thing!

Here are three ways to do it:

1.   Put on your winter jacket and head out into the garden to sow your seeds. Choose an area and prepare a corner by clearing away the leaf litter. Spread your seeds over the soil surface (mixing them with sand can help if they are tiny) and press them into the soil. Be sure to read the seed packet, as some seeds need light to germinate while others do not. If your seeds require light, simply replace a light layer of leaf litter (as long as it isn’t too thick) and leave the seeds uncovered. If they need to be covered, gently add a layer of potting soil or compost before replacing the leaf litter. Mark the area clearly so you can monitor it as spring arrives. And if the snow hasn’t melted, don’t worry! You can sow the seeds right on top of the snow and let nature take it from there.

2.    Prepare a Tupperware container, cut milk jug, or tray by poking holes at the bottom, and adding potting soil and sand. Spread the seed and read the packet to see how much light is needed to germinate. If light is needed, place the seeds on top, press down, and place outside in a protected area, but where snow and rain and cold can still do their thing. Monitor throughout the spring. As the plants germinate, wait until they are a few inches high before transplanting into their final spots.

3.    Throw your seeds in a baggie with a moist paper towel or sand and place in the fridge clearly labeled. Forget about them until the ground begins to thaw outside. Prepare your bed by removing all weeds and adding a bit of compost. Spread your cold stratified seeds and cover with soil only if needed.

A general rule of thumb is to cover the seeds to the depth of the thickness of the seed.

Cold stratification sounds complicated, but it isn’t! It isn’t an obstacle – it is a way to tune into our gardens and the changing seasons so we can work with nature instead of against it. It is introducing a little organized wildness into our gardens so we can attract and support more pollinators.