Trails Forever Volunteers Needed
Trails Forever Volunteers Needed
A group of dedicated volunteers has spent the last five years making much needed trail improvements in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Working in tandem with experienced trail building staff, they are using sustainable materials to preserve the trails while also protecting the trail corridor. Smokies Trails Forever teams first-time volunteers, as well as those who have donated time and skills with previous trail restoration projects or volunteered in other capacities within the park, will be teamed with experienced trail builders. This is your chance to make a lasting positive impact in the Great Smoky Mountains.
REI (Recreational Equipment Inc) has funded trail reconstruction along Forney Ridge and Chimney Tops Trails and also provides a Trails Forever equipment trailer.
For more information on how individuals and groups can help, go to friendsofthesmokies.org or call 828-452-0720.
Eighth Annual Bear Necessities Event
Eighth annual Bear Necessities event on Sunday, September 23, 2018 will be a night to remember.
The event will be held in Gatlinburg at the new Gatlinburg Event Center. The festivities will feature a delicious meal prepared by local chefs so come hungry. A small silent auction will have amazing Smoky Mountain items for the discerning bear lover. A bear-themed performance by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will create music to soothe the savage beast in you.
Denali National Park Wildlife Biologist Patricia Owen will provide an update on management efforts for all of our North American bears and bears in Denali National Park, Alaska.
Mark your calendar for September 23, 2018 and make your reservations for this “Black Fur (not Tie!) and Blue Jeans” event. Reservatons are available for $125 per person and include dinner catered by the Barn Event Center of the Smokies and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra performance.
Joe – Pye Weed: Summer Ends
Joe – Pye Weed: Summer Ends, as it must. And you can tell its end is near and autumn’s arrival close at hand by what is happening in the fields of Cades Cove. The plants that bloom now are the tall ones. Like Ironweed and Goldenrod and Joe-Pye weed. Plants that, out of necessity, tower over their neighbors in order to get their share of the sunlight, now lessening each day. Although they are present in the meadows and woodlands all summer long, they remain inconspicuous until they begin to bloom in late July or early August. Moreover, their flowers differ from those of the spring and summer plants with colors that are deeper and darker.
Most often found in low-lying moist meadows near woodlands, Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) is more than a harbinger of summer’s final weeks. It is an excellent wildflower, worthy of domesticating in our own gardens. Because of its height (5 to 7 feet), it creates a perfect backdrop for borders of flowers and shrubs, blooming when many other plants have stopped.
Joe-Pye weed loves full sun but tolerates partial shade, though it may not grow as tall. It does require a moist to wet humus and so is not very drought tolerant. Maintaining a thick mulch helps solve this problem, however.
Its dusky pink flowers develop as whorls of tiny blossoms atop a strong pinkish stem that, conveniently, requires no staking, despite its height. Also the flowers give off a rich vanilla-like scent and are much loved by a wide variety of butterflies, making Joe-Pye weed a perfect addition to a pollinator garden.
It has no insect enemies but is susceptible to powdery mildew and rust, especially when air circulation is blocked by neighboring plants. Therefore, proper spacing, typically 2 to 4 feet, is important.
Whether you watch for it in our wild meadows or in your own backyard, Joe-Pye weed is a wildflower well worth knowing.
For more on Joe-Pye weed see the Missouri Botanical Garden website:
Joe – Pye Weed.
Carl Parsons
