The Hunt for Alive Madrones
Somewhere in this field of thistle, Scot’s broom and Himalayan blackberry are several young madrones that we planted last winter, and our Summer of Service (SOS) crew is leading a visiting SOS crew from Othello on a hunt for the beautiful broad leaf evergreens. The hunting grounds are located in Pigeon Point Park in an area that we cleared of eight-foot tall Himalayan blackberry last summer with a different crew of youth. During the winter the area was barren, but for the few dozen madrones we planted and marked with pink-flagged bamboo stakes. However, as you may know, many invasive species love disturbed ground and sunny areas, so as summer made its way to Seattle, invasives sprouted up everywhere and seemed to swallow our new plantings!
Madrones are notoriously difficult to transplant, so I honestly did not expect to find many (or any) alive in this field of invasives. Much to my surprise, the diligent search conducted by our SOS crew turned up 11 healthy trees! Because we did not have very much time, the youth focused their efforts on finding the bamboo stakes that marked where the plantings were, assessed whether or not the madrones were still alive, and then cleared around the surviving trees to give them a little respite from encroaching grasses and other weeds. The result was a funny series of trails through all of the tall invasives that resembled an ant farm, and a bunch of happy madrones. Thanks, SOS!
