Just Don't Eat Them!

   Early this afternoon, Son and I were out doing a bit of yard work when I noticed some beautiful "nuts" on the ground near the citrus trees.  Uh, oh!  Time to grab a bucket and start gathering.  The chore brought back memories of being on the farm and picking up pecans each fall but these "nuts" were not nearly as nice.  You see, what I was gathering today were not nuts.  They were the seeds of the Red Buckeye Tree.  Although the seeds greatly resemble chestnuts when free from their outer case, there is a HUGE difference.  Buckeye seeds are highly toxic.  If eaten, they can cause many, many problems even death.  So a warning....never eat buckeyes!  In fact, the seeds of the buckeye tree are toxic to animals as well.  Deer, squirrels and raccoons love nuts but will not touch these as they know...you just do not eat these things!  Supposedly, the toxicity can be lessened if the seeds are prepared correctly by boiling and leaching them but why take the chance?  It seems to be a lot more logical to gather the hickory nuts that simply go to waste because of their hard shells.  Those are edible just difficult to open.  I would rather smack something edible with a hammer than take a chance of eating something poisonous.

  So. at this point, you may ask why I was so intent on gathering the seeds?  Well, it is a simple fact that each of these seeds will drop, sprout and make yet another tree.  Then, I would be gathering thousands of seeds instead of the fifty or so that were on the ground today.  While I love the gorgeous blooms in the spring, I am not a fan of stumbling over the seeds during the fall and winter.  It is just easier to pick up the seeds and dispose of them.  

  Before I throw them in the burn bin, however, I always have to admire the beauty of the woodgrain on the seeds.  When the outer husks split open the seeds are a rich reddish-brown and are quite shiny.  After drying for a few days, they become almost black and are rather dull.  The change is amazingly quick.  It is said that if you wish to sprout the seeds, you must plant them while they are still fresh.  Once they dry, the seeds are no longer viable.  

  So, folks.  As tempting as it may be, please do NOT eat the buckeye seeds!  You have been warned!  This is one case where something that looks so good is not edible.  Looks can be deceiving, for sure!  

Something Strange Going On....

  The other evening, I went out to photograph the frogs that were doing their nightly singing.  I am one of those nuts that find the cacophony of a billion or so frogs singing to each other quite beautiful.  It reminds me of how remote the Bayou is even though society is quickly encroaching upon us.  Progress has a way of putting a damper on wildlife.  The little piece of paradise called the Bayou is all that is left for critters (and me) to roam and live in peace.  While out near the Frog Pond, the camera flash lit up a bit of bright yellow.  Knowing that there should not be any yellow flowers in bloom, I had to investigate.

  The yellow "flowers" were not flowers at all but rather were the leaves of the red buckeye tree.  One branch dangled below the others and had the brightest yellow leaves that I have ever seen.  Wait a minute!  It is not fall yet!  Why are there yellow leaves on my tree?  A bit of research did not turn up any answers.  There was leaf blotch, leaf spot and powdery mildew but none of these seem to be the cause of my yellow leaf malady.   A diagnosis needs to be made to prevent any future problems with the tree.  It almost seems as if the tree has its time schedule a bit off and the leaves are already turning their usual fall pumpkin yellow.  

  More research will be attempted but, in the meantime, I will just enjoy the beauty of the yellow leaves.  Perhaps this is some plant disease but their brightness against the dark of the night was something to behold.

Looking Good, Plants, Looking Good!

  With all the rain of late, it seems that the yard has its sights set on becoming a rainforest.  I guess every kid has to have a goal for when it becomes an adult so the garden must feel that it has every right to become whatever it wants when it grows up.   The backyard especially has become lush with new growth.  Weekly trimming with the snips has had little effect on the plants.  They are determined!

  This afternoon, a short stroll through the garden on the north side of the house brought delight as the false indigo was blooming right alongside of the red buckeye.  Both small shrubs were beautifully adorned with blooms...the buckeye with red and the false indigo with a deep, deep purple.  The exciting part was seeing just how many honeybees were visiting the blooms!  Hundreds of bees were busy collecting pollen from the shrubs.  Somewhere nearby there has to be a honeybee hive.  How fun would it be to find that wild hive and urge them to come live in the garden!

  While I have no knowledge of any problems with the false indigo, I have heard rumors that buckeye is not the best for bees.  Skuttlebutt has it that the toxins in the seeds are also in the blooms and can eventually cause problems for the honeybees.  It seems that bees (and most other critters) are smarter than humans when it comes to knowing what is safe for them to eat.  Since the buckeyes grow wild here, there is no reason for me to worry.  For that matter, both the buckeye tree and the false indigo were dug from the creek bed so I feel that neither will harm the local critters by being in my yard.  Besides!  They look rather pretty!

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!

Its a Southern Thing!

  Around back of the house, a small Red Buckeye tree is in full bloom.  I love this little tree and have babied it along through hurricanes and ice storms.  It has sort of become a bit of a symbol of endurance for me.  I can always look at the Red Buckeye and be more determined than ever that things are going to be A-Ok.  Years and years ago, a dear sweet friend of mine gave me the tree.  It had come up in the woods behind her house and when she offered it to me, I immediately accepted.  I had always wanted one in the yard ever since I had seen one while picking Huckleberries as a kid. When "Ms. Twin" offered, I quickly connived Mark into digging up the sapling for me!  (He never complained when I would find some tree or flower in the woods or on the side of the road.)  The sapling was toted back to the Little Bayou House and given a good home in the flower bed.  There it has struggled through so many dire incidents but just kept on growing. Today, the little tree is obviously happy as it is covered with the red blooms and this, in turn, makes the hummingbirds happy which, in turn, makes me happy!  So as far as I can see, this seems to be a win/win situation for all of us!  

  The Red Buckeye is a small tree that is native to the southern and eastern portions of the United States.  It grows wild in the woods and along roadsides.  There it attracts hummingbirds and butterflies in droves.  The tree can successfully be grown from seed and is quick to bloom (sometimes during its second summer!)  The seeds resemble large nuts but are poisonous to humans and wildlife.  If you wish to grow a Red Buckeye from seed, it is best to plant the nut as soon as the case opens.  Otherwise, the seed will dry out quickly preventing it from sprouting.  One of the tiny seedling buckeye trees that I sprouted this last fall has made its way to my sister's place. She and I share plants every spring and this year I surprised her with a small seedling Red Buckeye!  She did seem to love it as much as I do mine!  If the other plants and trees at her place are any indication of how the tree will do, it will be blooming this next spring!  

  Now a bit of trivia about the Red Buckeye tree!  There is a tale of how long ago folks would crush the seeds to a powder and use this to stun fish in ponds and lakes.  The drunken (poisoned) fish would rise to the surface and be easily captured.  This is all fine and dandy but it sure makes you wonder how safe that fish was to eat!  Still it just goes to show that a bit of ingenuity can go a long way.

What do you do with...catnip???

That is right! Just what do you do with catnip? I mean bunches of catnip? This is another of the plants that I am babysitting for my son and daughter-in-law while they are in Arizona. I had no idea that this plant would grow so much! It is huge now! I have never grown catnip before and the only use that I have ever known was to drive your cat bananas. Sorry..my cat, Ms Put is already crazy besides she doesn't even look at this stuff. Consequently, the catnip is about to outgrow its pot. They had planted it in the same pot as a basil plant and both are several feet tall and as many wide. Now granted, I do keep the basil in check by using quite a bit of it in cooking and I dry a lot of it for later use but what about this other stuff?? Should I make little cat toys and stuff them with the leaves? Hehe..I could covertly give them to all my cat-lover friends and let their cats all become as wacko as Ms Put! Now there is an idea! My son was determined to let me know that I should use this herb as much as the basil. When he unloaded the huge flowerpot containing the basil and catnip, he promptly picked off a leaf and ate it. "See, Mom..it is edible!" Well, I knew that..but so are magnolia leaves and I have no desire to munch down on those either. I thought, "Just how big can one catnip plant get anyway?" and told him that I would take good care of it. Oh! Was I wrong??!! The plant is gargantuan! Not being one to waste anything, I did a bit of research on catnip and discovered that I have been missing out on what appears to be one fantastic herb! There are so many things to love about this plant (other than driving "other" people's cats insane!) that I will try to root more. I would love to overwinter this plant in a greenhouse if I ever a bigger one built! This plant is so useful in herbal remedies that I can only imagine how much I will use! It contains a chemical called nepetalactone (the stuff that affects cats) that can be used as a sedative, antispasmodic and antibacterial. It can also be used as a pain killer and used to reduce fever. A tea made with the leaves can also be helpful as a decongestant! Woohoo! A new herb to be added to my vastly growing collection. I will be drying catnip as well as the basil. Thanks, Kids for introducing me to another great herb!

Today in the garden, I noticed that the Red Buckeye Tree was heavy laden with its seed pods. They should be busting open sometime within the next month and I will be sure to collect the "nuts" as they drop. These "nuts" are poisonous to humans so I am not gathering them for food but rather as seeds. I just love this small shrub-like tree because it is such an attractant for hummingbirds and bees. Blooming in March, it is one of the first flowers that the hummers have to feed from after a long winter. Hopefully, the seeds will sprout and grow into more beautiful little trees. Since it only gets about eight or ten feet tall, the Red Buckeye is a great complement plant in the flower garden. They can be found growing wild in any wooded area around here. I actually rescued mine from a site where bulldozers were clearing for new homes. It always breaks my heart to see so many wonderful plants being smashed under the heavy

machinery and I was fortunate enough that this crew let me dig out at least one of the bushes. I saved a tree!!! It has repaid me well each spring with lovely flowers and lots of visiting hummingbirds! The only downside is that it goes dormant relatively early in the year (late September or early October) and stays bare of leaves until early Spring. Still it is one of my favorites.