Trumpet Vine

Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is an extremely hardy deciduous vine, which once established can become aggressive, some might say thuggish. Often planted for its beautiful flowers, trumpet vine can have its upsides. Birds, bees and butterflies all love it, especially hummingbirds. Gardeners seeking to lure hummingbirds will do quite well with trumpet vine. If  you have trouble with soil erosion on a hillside and can't get anything to take hold and grow, trumpet vine is a great option. It spreads easily by multiple methods including by seed propagation, and will send new shoots up from roots far from the main vine, sometimes as far as 100 feet away!

As you can imagine it's strength and agility can also be a negative. With the ability to produce multiple aerial roots, like Wisteria, it can climb just about anything. This climbing ability, its strength and aggressiveness can combine to pull the siding off of houses, split apart concrete slabs, tear down arbors and other powerful and undesired effects.

Before planting trumpet vine be aware that it needs A LOT of space or A LOT of competition, or preferably both to keep it controlled. Realistically, controlled is more of a wished for future that never comes. Here at Gohn Greene Farms we inherited our trumpet vines and while the blooms are pretty it's on the list, along with privet, of plants which can be pruned or removed indiscriminately without fear of ever entirely wiping it out. This particular vine has taken to the lattice which was intended by the property's previous owner to be a rose garden. I plan on cutting out as much as I can before it goes to seed, and will probably be doing so every year for the foreseeable future. 

Wild Choke Cherries

Prunus virginiana or Choke Cherry is commonly found in most of North America and the Oconee National Forest, to which Gohn Greene Farms abuts, is no exception. The Choke Cherry is a common understory tree, and is planted elsewhere often, having several commercial applications.

The Choke Cherry is not usually eaten raw, as it's high seed to pulp ratio makes it a pain to eat. But it's great for making preserves, jams and jellies, juices and of course, wine. The fruits are sweet and delicious, the bright "yang" of the tree, but there is a dark "yin" side to the Choke Cherry as well.

While the cherries themselves are edible, delicious and even good for you, much of the rest of the plant is toxic. Anthocyanins, compounds found in these plants which give the cherries their dark color signalling ripeness and sweetness are thought to harvest free radicals in the body preventing cell damage(cancer). On the other hand, these same compounds are used differently by the rest of the plant in its leaves, stems and seeds to produce cyanide and other toxins. You can't have shade without sunshine, there's always a yin to the yang.

It is unlikely that accidentally swallowing a pit will lead to ill effects, but it's not recommended. Likewise, don't chew on the stems or eat the leaves. Wilting leaves tend to be especially dangerous, releasing more toxins as they die. For this reason, Choke Cherry trees are often removed from livestock pens to avoid accidental poisoning. I'd like to have goats in and around these trees, and if the leaves can be kept above browse level I should be ok, but any downed limbs would need to be removed to avoid any potential problems.

As they're already all over Gohn Greene Farms I might as well give Choke Cherry preserves a try. Pitting the seeds will be a chore, but cancer prevention and peanut butter sandwiches sound like a great reward!

Banded Tussock Moth

I found the caterpillar of a banded tussock moth lounging on one of our apple trees this week. She shouldn't damage the tree in any dangerous way, so we'll let her hang out. Normally she would prefer to munch on the leaves of several other species of tree more commonly found on the farm, mostly the elms and oaks and to a lesser extent poplar. Most of the rapid Spring growth is over by the time this gal starts feeding on the leaves, so she shouldn't seriously injure the trees or reduce their growth.

The banded tussock moth is a member of the Erebidae family of moths, along with many other species of moth, having much in common with tiger moths. The caterpillars of these moths are especially noteworthy for their cool haircuts! Sometimes called woolly bears, these hairy little gals sure are good looking, but often not so fun to touch. While they look all soft and cuddly and have a cute nickname, touching them can often result in rashes and other minor skin irritations.

Some species are thought to develop alkaloid poisons from the plants they eat. Other species possibly irritate the skin by mechanical action. Meaning those cute little hairs break off in your skin kind of like a cactus. In either case I'm going to leave her right where she is, lounging on an apple leaf, batting her eyelashes.