Halfrey Cottage Critter and Garden Journal

We’re rapidly moving toward fall here at Halfrey Cottage. Leaves are coming down from the trees like rain, and it seems we need to sweep the gravel just about every day to keep it tidy. Well, we don’t actually sweep it every day, thus it generally is not all that tidy.

Our hearts-a-bustin’, or euonymous, are showing their fall color. Right now they’re all covered with these red seed pods with the dangling red seeds. The dogwood would also be covered in red berries if the squirrels had not eaten every single berry two or three weeks ago, while they were still green. (more…)

Some people call it a weed. In fact, some would say that the name of the plant is pokeweed, not pokeberry. I’m on a one-man mission to change that because if a plant is called a weed, everyone assumes that it’s no good. That’s not true at all of pokeberry.

You’ve seen it growing in vacant lots, next to houses, poking out of sidewalks, or just about anywhere. It’s a fast growing, succulent (wet-stemmed) perennial that might get to be ten feet high under the right conditions. (more…)