Friday, November 21, 2008

11/21/08 COLD WEATHER, BRIGHT RED BERRIES



Friday, 8:30 AM. 14 degrees, wind S, calm. Skies are overcast, but the barometer predicts partly sunny weather.
It looks like it will be a frigid opening for the regular gun deer season tomorrow. Much more like the deer seasons I remember from half a century ago, and that is O.K. There were no tree stands or bait stations back then, and most of us walked and moved around more while hunting. Really cold and windy conditions may see more of us reverting to past methods.
The shrubs with the bright red berries are a native Wisconsin holly, Ilex verticillata, which is found in wet locations, often along with red-twigged dogwood and alder. Its leaves are deciduous, so it does not serve the same landscape purpose as evergreen hollies, and the flowers are rather inconspicuous, but the bright red berries are a beautiful addition to the winter landscape, and these plant is available commercially. Some cultivars require a male pollinator plant.