And Just What Good Are They?

  Buckeyes...just what good are they?  Who knows?  Not me. Other than being a small shrub that has showy blooms once a year, I can see no other use than to take up space in the garden. Yep, I begged Mark for this bush.  When "Ms. Twin", a sweet elderly lady that used to live down the road from us (God rest her soul) offered one from her woods, I jumped at the chance.  Well, Mark sort of begrudgingly trudged through the brambles to dig the shrub but I was elated.  (Him? Perhaps not nearly so much but being the good hubby he is, he dug my bush.)  That was some twenty years ago.  The Red Buckeye Shrub has not failed to please me during the spring with its bright red and yellow blooms.  It has thrilled me as a hummingbird attraction and even provided some lovely "nuts" in the fall.  Right now, the seeds are contained in rough brown husks but in a few days, these will split and reveal a most lovely nuts. The problem is....those nuts are poisonous.  Yep, pretty much every thing avoids the glossy brown nuts hiding inside those husks.  So what good is this tree?

  Here lately, I have been on a mission to eliminate yardwork from the get-go.  If something does not provide a service, then it is pretty much a goner.  I have clipped the wisteria into one foot pieces to burn in the woodstove and have been chopping out or mowing down vines, plants and bushes.  The only things on the safe list are plants that provide food.  I am not sure just what prompted this idea other than the fact that since Son hurt his knee, the entire yard has been my project.  It is a tremendous lot of work when you consider my yard is nigh on four acres.  The remaining four are woods and marsh and require little to no work.  Those first four, though, have run me ragged!

  But, back to that Buckeye Shrub.  Do I want to keep something that I literally pleaded to get?  Do I ignore the fact that poor Mark struggled through the brambles, braved the Sumac and toiled digging the bush from the midst of oak roots?  Perhaps this one will stay a bit longer....at least until after the next arbor is devoid of wisteria and the roses have been clipped of their sharp thorns.  After all, what good is a Buckeye...other than being a name of a college football team.  Now that is pretty cool...name your team after a poisonous seed!

  One bit of trivia is connected to the Buckeye nut/seed!  Folklore tells us that obtaining a seed will bring good luck.  Supposedly, if you carry one with you, it will bring you luck and protect you from misfortune. Hmmm? There you go.!  Buckeyes....the "Good Luck Charm of College Footballers in Ohio",  We all knew they were good for something.  Actually, I am being facetious there.  I still have no idea but I do have a good crop of poisonous seeds!