Brilliant! I was hoping that's what it was, although I've never seen a labeled or IDed specimen before. C. latifolium is one of my favorites.

SCENIC PLANNER MAKES THE CASE AGAINST ALIENS June 11, 2009 (CHARLESTON, SC) -- If we fill our parks, lawns or scenic byways with non-native plant material, we might as well pave them over, according to planner Edwin Gardner of Heritage Strategy Group in Charleston, South Carolina. Gardner is an advocate of the concepts Douglas W. Tallamy discusses in his book 'Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants.' In a recent post to Heritage Strategy GroupÂs blog -- heritagestrategy.wordpress.com -- Gardner says he agrees with TallamyÂs central point 'that we owe it to the environment to plant only native species, which provide food for our increasingly beleaguered wildlife and avoid apocalyptic risks to the ecosystem.' What are native species? Gardner agrees with Tallamy who defines Ânative as 'having the ability to support a large number of insect and animal species.' Exotic plants brought from other countries that have been 'naturalized' here even for hundreds of years are not native, he insists, since they canÂt support native insect life. For example: 'Our North American caterpillars have not developed the ability to eat leaves of most alien plants,' Gardner says. While that may be music to the ears of nurseries and landscapers who seekout insect-resistant plant material, to the natural ecosystem chain, itÂs disastrous. 'In fact, the caterpillar is a most generous beast,' Gardner says. 'It provides food for most birds, especially during critical nesting periods, and forms the base of a food pyramid thatÂs critical to the whole ecosystem. A yard full of foreign nursery stock may look green and natural, but it might as well be paved with asphalt if youÂre a caterpillar, or an animal thatÂs looking to feed on one.' As a heritage planner, Edwin Gardner develops recreational areas and scenic byways so that growth and prosperity do not interfere with the cultural, historical and natural heritage of the effected areas. That mission drew him to Douglas TallamyÂs book. 'As we develop byway beautification plans or park management plans or anything that involves plantings in a developed area, we have a responsibility to urge that non-native species be eliminated and replaced with true native species,' he insists. Gardner cites several examples of 'environmental destruction wrought by alien organisms and invasive plants that were brought from overseas to beautify America.' To read the entire discussion, visit heritagestrategy.wordpress.com and click on ' A New Philosophy on Landscaping.' Here is a link that might be useful: Heritage Strategy Group's blog

If you're wanting to ID plantation forestry species or amenity species (eg eucalypts or deciduous species) you might find it helpful to contact your local farm forestry people or Tree Crops Association, and go prepared with plant material/photographs and info on the location. If the plants are on your property that will probably cause you few problems. Another possible source for tree ID is to call a logging contractor. They can usually tell the difference between Douglas fir and spruce..;-D. It could be part of establishing your baseline property values - and arranging for pruning/thinning to get the best return on your timber crops. If they're not indigneous species - and you're a confident photographer - try using the 'Name That Plant!' forum on the main listing. If you check it out first you'll quickly see the photographs that help the plant sleuths - and the ones that cause severe head-scratching...

Glad you all enjoyed them. Tumblr is a blogging platform that is similar to Pinterist. I'd say 99% of the content you see on it is people 'reposting' photos which is how the platform is intended. I'm only posting original photos. I 'heart' something you just set up an account which then allows you to do that and follow someone. The woods really is tiny, probably smaller than a quarter acre. The original owner - now in his 90's, planted many of the original flowers. I've been here about five years and spent several years removing buckthorn and garlic mustard which the last owner allowed to flourish. I've also been adding lots of new plants which I've either started from seed, root stock or plants I've gotten at various nurseries. I've also been activity splitting bloodroot, ferns etc and moving things around and expanding some of the patches. Last year I cut up some sod and expanded out a section of the woods to add some transitional sun/shade plants and grasses. I'm also looking at converting some of the other sod areas to short and mid grass prairie plants. I also have three small flower gardens which is where I have most of the tulips, alliums and other non-natives that I take photos of. All together I have close to 100 species back there. Looking forward to the spring when things start coming up. I'll be posting new photos and doing a lot more commenting. Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Natives This post was edited by misterpatrick on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 13:38