Hot Times.

5-2-10 SHORT HILLS: The last two days have been summery, hazy, hot, humid and heavy. Everything in the plant kingdom seems to love it. I did the May fertilizing of flowers and shrubs and more pruning and trimming. I rescued two dawn redwood seedlings from the lawn area and potted them. If they survive, I’ll find them a spot.

I found a small tree near a side fence that I hadn’t noticed before. Its flowers are gone, but it has a green berry. Using the leaves and twigs and bark, I ID’d in on the Virginia Tech Dendrology web site as a hackberry, a distant cousin to elm trees.

A few more weeds that make up part of our lawn melange: violet, chickweed, jill-over-the-ground.

New blooms: wild cherry, leucothoe, wood hyacinth, jack-in-the-pulpit, solomon seal.


Double File Viburnum puts on a good show. The tiny inner flowers have the stamens and pistils, the large, white outer flowers are to attract the pollinator traffic. From a distance, it looks like a happy dogwood.

Carolina Allspice has an unusual bloom with a 'wood-carving' look. A crumpled leaf has tangy, spicy smell.