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.
Read MoreThe July Plant of the Month, Common Milkweed, is a lovely, robust, herbaceous perennial festooned with showy clusters of flowers from June to August. A member of the Milkweed genus, Asclepias, it often gets a bad rap for its rhizomatous roots that can spread aggressively; however, this species offers many attractive benefits.
Read MoreSoutheastern Prickly-pear Cactus, is certainly eye-catching when in bloom in late May and June and curious and just plain cool at any time of year. This native evergreen is technically a “shrub” although it grows only 6 – 12” high.
Read MoreEvery spring I look forward to seeing the lovely lavender-blue spires of Sundial Lupine rising above distinctive pinwheel foliage along sandy roadsides and open woods. Also known as Wild Lupine, this member of the Legume Family is found throughout the Eastern and Central United States.
Read MorePlant an Oak for Earth Day... “Oaks are the quintessential wildlife plants: no other genus supports as many species of Lepidoptera thus providing more types of bird food, than the mighty oak... The value of oaks for supporting both vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife cannot be overstated.”
Doug Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home -How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens.”
What can you do to promote Biodiversity on your own property? …
From the April 2024 Newsletter
Read MoreThe 2024 VNPS Plant of the Year is the beautiful White Turtlehead, Chelone glabra. This fall blooming wildflower graces wet areas around the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. Read more about this beautiful plant at Wildflower of the Year 2024 White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) -Virginia Native Plant Society (vnps.org).
You can order the new VNPS 2024 White Turtlehead Tee shirts at: https://www.bonfire.com/store/vnps/
Read MoreA few weeks ago, driving north from Florida, we passed mile after mile of waves of lavender-blue flowers gracing the highway shoulders in South Carolina. We were thrilled to see Lyre-leaf Sage, Salvia lyrata, creating a gorgeous spectacle along an otherwise barren straight stretch of road.
Read MoreTrailing Arbutus is one of our earliest blooming wildflowers and has been considered a “herald of spring” with its extremely fragrant clusters of pink to white flowers blooming from late February to April in our area.
Read MoreOne of my favorite sights while walking in winter woodlands are the beautiful evergreen leaves of Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Goodyera pubescens. This eye-catching beauty is one of our most common woodland orchids and instantly recognizable by its exquisitely etched leaves with an intricate network of fine white veins on either side of a broader white midvein.
Read More
The purpose of this scholarship is to recognize an outstanding student graduating from a High School, either public or private in the four Northern Neck Counties: Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond Co., and Westmoreland. The graduating senior must exhibit a desire to continue studies in a recognized College, University or Community College with a focus on the environment, conservation, botany or any discipline that is geared toward bettering our Commonwealth with an emphasis on flora of the Northern Neck.
Read MoreThe January Plant of the Month, Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, goes by many names such as Eastern Juniper, Red Cedar or even Pencil Juniper. This widespread handsome native tree is found from Nova Scotia and Ontario south to northern Florida and Texas and west across the Great Plains and is extremely cold and heat tolerant.
Read MoreHICKORY HOLLOW NATURAL AREA PRESERVE
LANCASTER, VA
JANUARY 1, 2024, AT 2 PM
New Year’s Day is the perfect day, to get outside for a stroll and start the New Year off naturally and focused on our native flora and fauna. A number of years ago the Northern Neck (NN) Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society began a New Year’s Day Walk at Hickory Hollow Natural Area Preserve in Lancaster County.
Read MoreAs I write this in early December, most of the fall leaves have fallen from our deciduous trees and their architecture and bark has taken center stage helping to brighten the landscape. Birch trees are known for their colorful bark and our River Birch, Betula nigra, is no exception with its exquisite pale pink to salmon exfoliating bark making it one of our most stunning and picturesque trees.
Read MoreSassafras, Sassafras albidum, is one of our most distinctive and colorful native deciduous trees. Its brilliance is especially vibrant in fall when its leaves ignite into a glorious kaleidoscope of reds, golds, oranges and even purples. Even in summer, the blue-green leaves of Sassafras are distinctive with three different leaf shapes on a single tree.
Read MoreSlender Flat-top Goldenrod is a beautiful deciduous, perennial closely related to goldenrods and is an underused but superior pollinator plant. Its nectar-rich flowers bloom over a long period from September into late fall, often lasting into November or even December.
Read More