Did you know we have a wonderful native Wild Strawberry, also known as Scarlet or Virginia Strawberry?  It is an adaptable low, herbaceous perennial that spreads by runners to form handsome, ground-covering semi-evergreen colonies.

With the arrival of spring this month, I always look forward to finding one of my favorite early wildflowers, Virginia Pennywort. This herbaceous perennial is a diminutive spring ephemeral that emerges as early as February in the Coastal Plain but is often hidden in the leaf litter and visible only to those with the sharpest eyes.

Red Maples, also called Swamp or Scarlet Maples, are known for their brilliant fall color. Now they may seem to be a surprising choice for the February Plant of the Month, but they are a true harbinger of spring, blooming in late winter often as early as February in Coastal Virginia.

One of my favorite plants during winter walks in the woods is the Common Running-cedar. This lovely but distinctive evergreen plant is common across Virginia in moist to dry acidic forests, especially in disturbed or successional forests with mixed pines, oaks or tulip poplars.

Inkberry or Gallberry is a great choice for the December Plant of the Month. This handsome broadleaf evergreen shrub typically grows slowly to about 5 – 8’ high and wide and has plenty of winter interest with its small narrowly ovate to lance-like dark green leaves that sparkle in the winter sun.

Winged Sumac is a beautiful large deciduous shrub that shines throughout the year but is especially vibrant when it ignites into a fiery crescendo in fall. Typically growing from 7 – 15’ tall, this sumac often spreads into large colonies by root suckers.

The October Plant of the Month, Sourwood or Lily-of-the-Valley Tree, is spectacular in every season but especially so each fall as the foliage ignites into brilliant crimson or reddish-purple. Sourwood is one of our earliest, most vivid, and most reliable fall coloring trees, especially in the South.

Sweet or Anise-scented Goldenrod is one of the earliest fall blooming Goldenrods to grace our open areas including open woods, fields, powerline cuts and roadsides each fall.

Common Cut-leaf Coneflower is a tall statuesque late summer-fall bloomer found throughout Virginia and stands above most perennials at heights 5 to 9 feet. Also known as Green-headed, Tall Coneflower, or Wild Golden Glow, it is widely distributed in open floodplain forests, alluvial swamps, seepage swamps, wet meadows, and along streams and rivers and even roadsides.