Nature Note:Daisy Fleabane

Beside a driveway,a tall white daisy plant is growing this summer.It is daisy fleabane,a native wildflower once believed to have anti-flea properties.The small flowers on this tall plant close at night.When they open in the morning,small native insects visit them.We used to call them sweat bees-tiny pollinating bees or flies of various types.Growing along roads and in fields and lots of the Northeast and North Central regions,and down through the Southern Appalachians,daisy fleabane blooms from May to October.It lends a striking elegance to the scene,such that you don't want to mow it.It's best to leave this native plant alone if you can possibly spare it a bit of space.It contributes to the landscape as an ecological member,as well as having aesthetic value.The little native pollinators rely on its nectar.

First Frost

The first frost occurred on October 17.It was a light frost,not a killer.Now the temperatures are on the upswing,giving us Indian summer.The honeybees will continue to visit the old field aster on the property,and wasps will use the Canada goldenrod.Letting these wildflowers grow,supporting the pollinators,is one of the most important actions a land manager can take.Without the pollinators,we are nothing.The full range of plant life,the basis of the food chain,cannot subsist without them.Wildlife and human alike are short-changed then.