Garlic Mustard is blooming all over New England right now: in yards, ditches, fields and woods. PULL IT UP! This plant poses a severe threat to native plants and animals in forest communities in the eastern and mid-western U.S. Many native widlflowers grow in the same habitat as garlic mustard, which out-competes native plants by aggressively taking light, moisture, nutrients, soil and space. Wildlife that depend on these early plants for their foliage, pollen, nectar, fruits, seeds and roots, are deprived of these essential food sources when garlic mustard replaces them. We are also deprived of beautiful spring wildflowers. Care must be taken to remove the plant with its entire root system because new plants can sprout from root fragments. Grasp low and firmly on the plant and tug gently until the main root loosens from the soil and the entire plant pulls out.

And here are three of those competing wildflowers blooming now:

Columbine

 Star Flower

 Dwarf Ginseng

 And for a change, here is one of my favorite trees:

 Shagbark Hickory

 Leaves of Shagbark Hickory emerging last week. They look like funny faces.

Enjoy this slink:

Eastern milk snake in our yard. They eat mice which makes me happy.

Have a great week everybody!

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