Mountain Times - Vol. 50, Number 2, Jan. 13-19, 2021

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32 • COLUMNS The Mountain Times • Jan. 13-19, 2021 By Nadie VanZandt Winterberry: a native of lasting beauty By Nadie VanZandt, Extension Master Gardener intern, University of Vermont Dominated by shades of gray, the landscape appears of a female plant. It is important to select male and female bleak in winter. Look closer and you may glimpse muted plants of the same flowering period for proper pollination mauves in the distant mountains or the warm glow that by bees and butterflies. envelopes the land at the golden hour. Planting enough shrubs to share with wildlife could If that doesn’t satisfy your yearning for color, consider planting winterberry shrubs. Their allure is in birds use this shrub for their nests and eat the berries. Al- enhance the berry show in fall and winter. Many species of the brilliant red berries that add a welcome splash of though not a favorite of deer and moose, these mammals color to the winter landscape. occasionally browse on winterberry stems and leaves. A native woody shrub of North America, the winterberry The best time to plant winterberries is in the spring. (Ilex verticillata) is one of 30 species of deciduous holly They are sold as bare rootstock, in containers or balled hardy in U.S. plant hardiness zones 3 through 9. Commonly and burlapped. They grow well in full sun to part shade referred to as black alder or winterberry holly, it grows erect and thrive in moist soil, rich in humus, with a pH of 4.5- to a height of 5 -12 feet with a similar spread. 6.5. Be sure to take a soil sample to check the pH of the In spring, its slender branches are covered with planting site, and amend the soil accordingly. small green leaves followed by clusters of tiny white flowers, about ¼- inch wide, that grow in the leaves’ axils (near the stem). In the fall, after shedding its leaves, the shrub reveals an impressive mass of berries of brilliant color varying from bright red to deep CROSSWORD PUZZLE orange to golden yellow, depending on the cultivar. Laden with brilliant berries, this shrub is even more striking in winter against a backdrop of snow and bare trees. In addition to aesthetic year-round appeal, winterberries do not mind wet feet. They are ideal for boggy areas or rain gardens. In their natural habitat they grow in waterlogged sites, swamps and near streams and ponds. In such wet environments they tend to form thickets and develop suckers, yet they are not invasive. As is typical of the genus, the winterberry is dioecious, which means that each plant is either male or female. The gender is identified by the characteristic of its blossoms. The male winterberry produces staminate flowers (with stamens) while the female produces pistillate flowers (with pistils). Since only pistillate flowers produce fruit, winterberries require a strategic planting of male and female plants to maximize pollination by insects for an abundance of berries. Planting one male plant for every four or five female plants will optimize pollination and fruit production. Botanists recommend locating a male plant within 40 feet Winterberries look best planted “en masse” as a backdrop to other plants or at the forest edge. Space them 3 to 5 feet apart, measuring from center to center. For best results, follow the planting guidelines recommended by the nursery where you purchase your plants. Once established after two to three years in the ground, you can trim suckers and prune them to shape before growth emerges in early spring. As a bonus, winterberry branches with scarlet berries make attractive floral arrangements both indoors and outdoors during fall and winter. This winter as you map out the plants you would like to add this year, consider giving this amazing native the place it deserves in your garden. SUDOKU PUZZLES page 19 > By Nadie VanZandt
The Mountain Times • Jan. 13-19, 2021 COLUMNS • 33 Livin’ the dream: To climb the mountain, literally or figuratively, you must continue to move forward > from page 31 I must choose to move forward. I must choose to not give up, but to continue our climb up the mountain. Instead of using poles to desperately hold onto the mountain in fear, I must rock back into my own body and press my heels into the snow. I must place trust in my strength, in my learned skills and in my valued equipment. I must look deeper into my true self, to find the motivation to move up this mountain. And so I chose to continue on, each slide, each stride, pulling me closer to the top of the mountain. At some points in my climb, I cannot see the summit. It may be blocked by a ridgeline or the fog settling in, but the summit always seems out of reach. So I must have faith that through my repeated determination, I will, one day, reach the mountain top and enjoy all the glory that awaits us on the descent. What are our mountains, truly? It is easy to imagine the simple task of skinning up Pico, the joy of seeing the ... we must continue to put one foot in front of the other, we must keep moving. sunrise from a mountaintop and the fresh, untouched snow of a dawn patrol that lies awaiting the descent. While these mountains are beautiful and their joy simple, there are other mountains which we must climb, there are other struggles that we must confront. We cannot just climb this mountain. We must, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us so eloquently, “Keep moving from this mountain.” In his April 10, 1960 speech at Spelman College, Dr. King addressed a small crowd of female students and reminded them that, like Moses leading his people out of Egypt, they must not turn around or be comfortable with that already achieved. These things must not be enough, but instead we must say that “We will go on in spite of the obstacles, in spite of the difficulty, in spite of the sacrifices that we will have to make.” We must choose to push forward to the highest peak, for only then will we stand on the mountaintop and see the promised land. For many skiers, MLK weekend means simply an extended weekend with more ski time. But I cannot find a single piece of evidence that Dr. King himself ever went skiing or struggled with the decision of when to turn around on an ascent up Pico. However, Dr. King did speak of four mountains up which he and the citizens of By Merisa Sherman The trek to the top of a mountain can be trying at times and choices must be made to keep going, to keep moving. our nation must all ascend before we can be rewarded: the mountains of Moral and Ethical Relativism, of Practical Materialism, of Racial Segregation and of Corroding Hatred and Crippling Violence. Only when we have moved beyond these four mountains of injustice, will we find the freedom and fulfillment which we seek. As we move toward the next chapter, as we do every four years, we must continue to do better. We must continue to climb up the mountains that challenge us and we must not turn around or rest in our compliance. As Dr. King reminded us in his final sermon on April 3, 1968, only from the mountaintop can we see the promised land. Until then, we must continue to put one foot in front of the other, we must keep moving. > Looking forward: Seed catalogs have begun to arrive, a perfect opportunity to spend some time looking forward to what to grow this year from page 31 There are several types of grow-lights available. They range from floor models to clamp-lights and some that hang from chains. Experts always recommend starting small when you are venturing into something new. Herbs and lettuce are two good choices for indoor growing. Choose your container and get soil mix designed for growing seeds. Plant and wait! I saw a YouTube video where a plastic gallon jug was filled with sand and a PVC pipe was inserted into the neck of the bottle. A growlight was clamped to the PVC pipe so it could be moved up as the plants grow in their containers. Now that wins the prize for an inexpensive and very creative method! It’s time for your “spring fix” and a packet of seeds is all it takes! If you plan to grow plants from seed and then move them outside in summer, the seeds should be planted six to eight weeks before the last expected frost. For Vermont, that would be in early to mid-April. Using grow-lights will prevent your plants from getting “leggy.” Since the lights are above your plants, they mimic the sun. This makes the stems strong. You will need to allow for a Submitted couple of weeks of gradual outdoor exposure to sun and wind before the plants are ready for the garden. I like to grow flowers that I can’t find at local garden centers. For me it’s an added bonus when they can be dried at the end of the summer and enjoyed indoors all winter. My favorites are strawflowers which come in a variety of colors and statice, which is available in either blue or apricot. When you are buying seeds keep in mind that they could be in short supply by late summer. If you want to do a fall planting it’s a good idea to buy the extra seeds now. Then you won’t be disappointed later. Perhaps growing flowers inside seems too labor intensive. In that case, choose seeds that you can sow directly in the ground in May. My favorites are “cut and come again” zinnias and calendulas. They won’t bloom until late in the season but that can be ideal as so many perennials are finished by then. What I love about the zinnias is the fact that you can cut them for a bouquet and as the name says, they will “come again” and you get more flowers from the same plant. It’s time for your “spring fix” and a packet of seeds is all it takes! Have fun browsing through the enticing packets and even more fun planting the seeds when the time is right.
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Mountain Times - Vol. 50, Number 2, Jan. 13-19, 2021

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