Something Downeast

I got a chance to visit Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, near Freeport today. I’m hoping to go there again some day. There are several trails, ranging from the “wheel chair accessible” White Pines Trail to the slightly rugged, winding Harraseeket trail, which runs partway along Harraseeket river, and partway along Casco Bay. Today was one of those Maine Autumn days that threaten to rain, but never quite deliver. I took a lot of photographs.

Sugar Maple eaves already showing mottled red and orange, striking against the bright green of other deciduous trees’ leaves.

Not sure what species of fungus this mushroom is, but there were many of them, large and small.

Lady Slipper with seed-pod.

Partridge Berry

Partridge Berry Mitchella repens L. 

Partridge Berry is one of the plants I love. It’s really common in the Eastern U.S. and it’s a favorite food for grouse. It takes two flowers to produce a single berry.

Most of these saplings are less than twenty years old.

Glacial gift

The floor of this forest is rotted vegetation over soil. A foot or three (at most) of soil that’s covering bedrock, or what’s locally called ledge. It’s the same rock you see as outcroppings along the Maine and N.H. and Canadian coastline.

I don’t know what this is. It’s shrub; maybe an Elder species?

A spray of partially turned Sugar Maple leaves, mottled with bright orange.

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Maine “beach rose” Rosa rugosa

I have always loved the “beach roses,” those bright pink and rose colored blooms that appear in late July and early August along the shore all over the New England coast. In August, you can often find buds, blossoms and hips all at once. Until fairly recently, I thought I’d try to find a friend or nursery willing to pack some Rosa rugosa cuttings or young plants and ship them to me in Washington, to try growing them into a hedge (instead of the ubiquitous blackberry hedges of the Pacific Northwest).

Rosa rugosa is originally a species of rose native to eastern Asia, particularly northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia. It is often found on the coasts there. Originally introduced  to North America in the mid 1800s, c. 1845, for its ornamental qualities, it spread rapidly all along the New England  coast. Now, Rosa rugosa is considered an invasive species, or a noxious weed, depending on locale. In Maine, Rosa rugosa is classed as invasive.

Nootka Rose Image credit: brewbooks

As an alternative to importing Rosa rugosa to Puget Sound Washington, I’ve now altered plans to plant the Pacific Northwest native rose, Rosa nutkana, the “Nootka rose.” It is similar to Rosa rugosa in some respects, including its tolerance for boundary areas, and coastal weather patterns. It’s also inclined to produce hedges, so it might work even better than Rosa rugosa as a natural thorny barrier that will offer shelter and food for birds as well as attractive flowers and greenery.

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