We have a ravine that runs alongside the southern perimeter of our property. This is very deep, wide and dark. It has a small creek that runs fairly strongly in winter with the rains that we get, but never is deep, perhaps no more than 2 feet tops, maybe a little deeper in pooled areas. The base of this ravine is wide and mucky, a perfect place for the skunk cabbage to grow like wildfire. In the spring the aroma of skunk can be smelled for a long ways around here, no wonder this perennial is named skunk cabbage. This is a high source of pollen for the bees in early spring. I am surprised that they venture down into such a dark and dank area, but maybe they can smell it too as they are flying by (LOL). The kids love to play down in this dark and dank place, they play in the creek, take my shovels down there (yikes!!!) and build little dams, divert the stream in little places, but they always keep the water running. They know that they must keep certain spots open in case a fish or two may want to travel along, up or downstream. Not that there would be many, it is too small, but there could be minnows. It is a wonderful place to play, with gumboots on for sure. They also can catch crayfish in the summer, that is great fun too. This is where the bear travels, we are along a bear path, but the kids always take the dogs with them (we have 4), and the bears travel at night, so I feel pretty comfortable that there is no bears present when the kids are down playing. You would be surprised how old boys are that still play in this creek. I have a picture of my banana grove, that I have bronze leaf cannas and hostas planted in as well below. The ravine is at the back of the picture, it has many conifers and maples that grow along the side. The big leaf maples, vine maples, Japanese maples and one other that I don't know the name of are also enormous pollen sources for the bees come spring too, and man are these big leaf maples big trees. The picture is taken from my bedroom patio, it is a lovely sight in the summertime. Cindi
Topic: Skunk cabbage (Read 1487 times)