a tract of wet, spongy land, often having a growth of certain types of trees and other vegetation, but unfit for cultivation.. Swamps were generally seen as useless and even dangerous..
These are a couple of definitions I pulled off the web regarding the word ‘swamp.’ I have often wondered about the negative associations with this habitat and their origins. The references to ‘unfit for cultivation’ probably gives a lot of hints about the historical negativity. If a piece of land cannot be used by man – it is deemed ‘useless.’ That says quite a bit about our regard toward certain habitats. What an arrogant species we are to label and assign value to everything according to our use for it. We see this same thinking pattern in arguments for pro-drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that it is a barren, useless piece of land. To humans perhaps.
So today I went photographing in Lakeville Swamp, a preserved area covering 76 acres with more than 400 species of native plants. There is no camping, no hunting, no bike path, no boating – only a simple primitive path. I went specifically for Showy Lady Slippers as this is their blooming time of the year and happen to only grow in swamps. It never ceases to amaze me the diversity of plant life found here. Clearly some species find this type of land of great value, and in many other swamps across the country. On my way out I noticed this cedar tree root looked like an eye. I couldn’t help but think it was the “Swamp Spirit” watching this human cautiously and with suspicion.
Have no fear Swamp Spirit, your land is protected here – regardless of what some may consider the worth, others know the true value. We leave you to manage yourself, and may only visit now and then to say hello. (But if you could do something about those mosquitoes..)
Very beautiful pictures, thank you for sharing
Hey Mark, swamps are my favorite place to shoot. There is some much life and interesting things that I can spend all day there.
Mark, some orchids are very, very easy to grow and others quite difficult because of their need for very specific conditions.
The ones you see in Home Depot are hard to kill. The lady slippers are difficult. I forget the details, but I think it has to do with the acidity of the soil and the amount of water…..what I do remember is that they need a very specific set of conditions to grow that the dedicated hobbyist might be able to duplicate in a growing room or greenhouse but just transpanting them into one’s garden will not work, even if the garden is relatively close by.
So some unscrupulous companies, given the expense and difficulty in cultivating them, will just take orders and go into the woods and pick them and mail them out.
Great post Mark, and especially love the Lady Slippers image. Stunning, rich quality to that piece!
And Paul is right too. We do have some man-eatin mosquitos at the CSNP!
They are about the size of the pileated woodpeckers!!
Beatiful slippers…..they should be blooming here soon. Graet post as well.
Howard and Paul, thank you for the comments.
Howard, It doesn’t surprise me some companies might stoop that low. Is it more costly to grow them rather than find them in the wild? Just wondering what drives them to go after wild ones.
Cool lady slipper shot. I used to raise orchids and so know a bit about orchid conservation as well. Lots of people would try transplanting these into their garden….an exercise in futility as they need very specific conditions to survive and also a good way to decimate the orchid population. Also lots of companies selling them would pick them from the wild.
There is one company I know of (there may be others) that sells purely lab raised lady slippers that can be relied on not to pick them from the wild. So if anyone ever wants to try their hand they can be had with no need for guilt from:
http://www.vtladyslipper.com/
LOL!
Now, I suppose that a mosquito is useful, but, I just don’t see it! 😉
I like the swamp, too, but don’t venture down there often. There is one in Columbia, SC, it’s called Congaree National Monument. The place is infested with mosquitoes and mosquito repellent seems to only be a suggestion! They still come in force.
Honestly, I’ve not gotten any good pictures from there, so I don’t frequent the place, add to that that it is about 100 miles from my house, and you can see why.
Beautiful shot of the Lady Slippers!