Native Dogwood berries
The pinkish purple of the almost translucent mapleleaf viburnum leaf makes up in color, if not quantity, what the gaudy burning bush used to accomplish on our property.I spotted a small volunteer Nyssa sylvatica by its shockingly brilliant red color, Pantone number 180, to be exact.Its seed may have traveled along with a mountain laurel we planted over a decade ago.
By now, you know to leave the leaves on the ground and not sweep them up. It might seem untidy, but these leaves are the winter home for caterpillars and other beneficial insects that will feed baby birds when they hatch in spring.Turn your attention instead to another kind of fall clean up.
With many of the leaves gone, you can now clearly see the lingering leaves and berries of the invasives that are causing harm to your soil and trees. It is peak burning bush season; their scarlet leaves signal you to them.The smaller ones — less than 2 feet high — are easily pulled out of the ground with roots intact.Same for the pale-yellow leaves of bittersweet vine running vertically on trees — pull them out and observe the orange roots.
Pulling after a rain is always easiest. After a hard frost, we will need to move on to other tasks, as plant roots might easily snap off from the stems, remain in the ground and regrow.Our next window for pulling will be the spring thaw.
If you feel ambitious, the bright red berries on bittersweet and burning bush — as well as those on barberry and multiflora rose — scream for your attention.These will require a gloved hand and secateurs or loppers. Add the berries to your fireplace or a winter bonfire so that they don’t have a chance to germinate.
Native Dogwood berries Dee Salomon
The abundance of berries on our native shrubs and trees this year is quite the bird buffet. A few weeks ago, the migrating birds were stocking up on aronia berries while here, in a friend’s backyard, a hedge of gray dogwood was stripped of its white berries overnight.The rest they seem to spare for the over-wintering birds, who here at least will have dogwood, winterberry and the American holly that the robins will strip bare in early March.
All of these are native and most of them were planted by us.I have written in a previous Ungardener column of the science behind why native berries are critical sustenance for overwintering and migrating birds (“Birds in a Candy Store,” January 2024) and why the berries on the pervasive and invasive barberry, bittersweet, burning bush and multiflora rose do not provide our feathered friends with the fats and proteins they require to survive.
Leaving leaves, removing invasives and planting natives that grow food for birds — these are the new fall chores. Have a wondrous autumn season!
Dee Salomon ‘ungardens’ in Litchfield County.
Dancers at the Raleigh Hotel's teen club, 1950s-early 1960s.
We learned a great deal about the many resorts in Ulster and Sullivan counties that sprang up during the 20th century. The history is truly fascinating. In the 1920s, many Jewish New Yorkers sought to escape city life and found cheap land in Sullivan County. Eventually, about 1,200 families established farms there.
Schenk's Paramount Hotel,So. Fallsburg, N.Y., 1937. Tichnor Quality Views, Fallsburg Printing Co.,Cohen Bros.Provided
They raised dairy cows and meat animals — such as chickens, beef cattle, lambs and veal — but not pigs. They also grew vegetables. However, farming was difficult due to the area’s poor soil and the physical and financial challenges involved. Middlemen often cut into profits, so many farmers began renting out rooms and outbuildings, and feeding their guests.
These guests were treated like family and served wholesome food in generous portions, what they called “a full hand.” The farms had an abundance of meat, vegetables, milk and cream, and they made butter, sour cream and cheeses on-site. If a guest wanted another potato, they got one.
Soon, the farmers realized it was more profitable to grow hospitality than potatoes. The resorts emerged — organically, you might say. It was one of the earliest “farm-to-table” hospitality movements in the region.
Guests outside the Jerry Lewis Theater Club at Charles and Lillian Brown’s Hotel, Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. Max Schwartz Co.Provided
Eventually, some resorts added entertainment like music, dancing, comedy acts and the famous Simon Says game. They even offered childcare using local teenage counselors. It all worked remarkably well.
These resorts became springboards for musicians and comedians who went on to build careers and perform in larger venues, including Las Vegas.
Installation of pop-up in progress.Provided
It’s all laid out wonderfully in a charming brick building for visitors to explore and enjoy. Plans are underway to open a restaurant there — tentatively named “Fort Lox” — featuring Jewish delicacies such as borscht, knishes, blintzes, and bagels with lox. Both indoor and outdoor seating will be available.
The addition of food will make the experience even more enriching, and we plan to return. But don’t wait — check it out now and relive the memories.
