Bluespiral's blog: Fairy Rings & Woodchucks

In some Maryland Augusts, color is never more brilliant than among mushrooms spangling forest floors shadowed by old hemlocks or oaks (See Cunningham Falls http://dnr.maryland.gov/public... ). Occasionally in bygone years here in Oella, a ring of toadstools would appear in our erstwhile glade higher out back on our slope. Some call those fairy rings, as portrayed by the British artist Edward Robert Hughes (1851 - 1914) - https://www.the-athenaeum.org/... . This watercolor is called Midsummer Eve, done in 1908.

Too bad we can't commission local fairies into lassoing woodchucks with their fairy rings and banishing them from our gardens. So alternatively, I hope the following list from Penn State Cooperative Extension, of woodchuck resistant plants, might help us to better coexist with our fellow bucktoothed epicureans:

Woodchuck Resistant Plants
(from Penn State Cooperative Extension)
https://ecosystems.psu.edu/res...

source doc (below), alphabetized:

Achillea sp. (Yarrow)
Aconitum sp. (Monkshood)
Ageratum houstonianum
Allium schoenoprasum (Chives)
Allium tuberosum (Garlic Chives)
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Anemone blanda (Windflower)
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Artemisia sp. (Wormwood)
Asarum candense (Wild Ginger)
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed)
Astilbe sp.
Calluna sp. (Heather)
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Plumbago)
Convallaria majalis (Lily-of-the-Valley)
Coreopsis verticillata (Threadleaf Coreopsis)
Delphinium sp.
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Hay-scented Fern)
Dianthus sp. (includes Carnation, Pinks, Sweet William)
Dicentra eximia (Fringed Bleeding-heart)
Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart)
Digitalis sp. (Foxglove)
Festuca ovina var. glauca (Blue Fescue)
Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel)
Gaillardia pulchella
Galium odoratum (Sweet Woodruff)
Gypsophila paniculata (Baby's Breath)
Helleborus sp.
Hemerocallis 'Stella d'Oro' (Daylily cv.)
Heuchera americana)
Iris sp.
Lavandula sp. (Lavender)
Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum)
Melissa officinalis Lemon Balm
Narcissus sp. (Daffodil)
Nepeta catarina (Catmint)
Nicotiana alata (Flowering Tobacco)
Oenothera tetragona (Sundrops)
Paeonia sp. (Peony)
Pelargonium citrosum (Geranium, Citronella)
Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas Fern)
Rudbeckia sp.
Saponaria officinalis (Soapwort)
Sedum sp.
Stachys byzantina (Lamb's Ears)
Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew) (syn. Chrysanthemum parthenium)
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
Thymus sp.

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original source doc:

BUTTERFLY AND HUMMINGBIRD GARDEN Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella) Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Coneflower (Rudbeckia sp.) Delphinium (Delphinium sp.) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) Lavender (Lavandula sp.) Ornamental Onion (Allium schoenoprasum) Sedum (Sedum sp.) Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata) Yarrow (Achillea sp.)


CUT FLOWER GARDEN Baby's Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella) Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Daffodil (Narcissus sp.) Delphinium (Delphinium sp.) Dianthus (Dianthus sp.) Foxglove (Digitalis sp.) Heather (Calluna sp.) Iris (Iris sp.) Lavender (Lavandula sp.) Peony (Paeonia sp.) Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata) Windflower (Anemone blanda) Yarrow (Achillea sp.)


DRY BORDERS Baby's Breath (Gypsophila paniculata)
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella) Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Daylily cv.(Hemerocallis 'Stella d'Oro') Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina) Lavender (Lavandula sp.) Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) Sedum (Sedum sp.) Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata) Wormwood (Artemisia sp.)

FERNS
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Hay-scented Fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas Fern)

GRASSES
Festuca ovina var. glauca (Blue Fescue)
Pennisetum alopecuroides (Fountain Grass)


HERB GARDEN Catmint (Nepeta catarina) Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium) Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) Geranium, Citronella (Pelargonium citrosum) Lavender (Lavandula sp.) Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) Thyme (Thymus sp.) Wormwood (Artemisia sp.)


LIGHT SHADE GARDEN Amsonia (Amsonia tabernaemontana) Daffodil (Narcissus sp.) Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) Foxglove (Digitalis sp.) Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) Geranium, Citronella (Pelargonium citrosum) Heuchera (Heuchera americana)
Iris (Iris sp.) Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) Windflower (Anemone blanda)


ROCKY AREA GARDEN Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) Heuchera (Heuchera americana) Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) Sundrops (Oenothera tetragona) Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)


SHADY ENTRY GARDEN Astilbe (Astilbe sp.) Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) Foxglove (Digitalis sp.) Fringed Bleeding-heart (Dicentra eximia) Hay-scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)** Hellebore (Helleborus sp.) Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis) Monkshood (Aconitum sp.) Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) Turtlehead (Chelone sp.) Wild Ginger (Asarum candense)


SUNNY ENTRY GARDEN Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) Amsonia (Amsonia tabernaemontana) Baby's Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) Blue Fescue (Festuca ovina var. glauca) Delphinium (Delphinium sp.) Dianthus (Dianthus sp.) Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium) Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata)

- - - - - - - -
Penn State is an excellent reference for many aspects of gardening and horticulture. We have them to thank for Norman C. Deno's Seed Germination Theory and Germination.

One last word here on woodchucks - they'll eat just about any vegie or flower, but the above might be last on their menu.

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