Who Belongs to the Dead Plant Society?

How often do you get to kill something and feel good about it? It’s good anger management therapy! There we were, hiking up Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, going through one of the smallish wooded areas (most of it is bare granite). When what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a bunch of bittersweet….oh, my…

Read More

Salt-Tolerant Native Shrubs

In our area of southern tidewater Virginia, three salt-tolerant shrubs (or small trees) grow on pond shores and marsh edges. The most striking is Baccharis halimifolia, covered with white fuzz; the white blooms indicate the female plant. The fruits are covered with tufts of white silk that carry them to new destinations. It is known…

Read More

Raise Your Voice

A conviction that native plants are important is what motivated Ruth Douglas to raise her voice. Deciding to become active in their support was not an easy choice for Ruth, who had to overcome an inherently shy personality, but it’s a decision she does not regret. Her journey through deeper levels of commitment has given her…

Read More

Native Wildflowers: A Feast in the Fall

Our native wildflowers are still putting on a show, in addition to provisioning late season pollinators and butterflies searching for fuel to carry them through the winter. Some of those creatures hibernate right here, others are taking wing and heading south, but they are all adapted to count on the late season boost from those…

Read More

Generation Y Won’t Garden Because of Fear of Failure?

Millennials, especially the Gen Y batch, are proving a hard target for the nursery industry to get a bead on. They have a fear of failure, said a recent article written for professional growers. Furthermore, the article states that Gen Yers were urged to their best in school every day, (surprise!) to beat the competition;…

Read More

Adding Land to Cedars Natural Area Preserve

From Chris Ludwig, Chief Biologist, Virginia Division of Natural Heritage: “I understand that we are almost 90% of the way towards our fundraising goal for additional acreage on the tracts to enhance The Cedars Natural Area Preserve in Lee County Virginia. WAY TO GO VNPS!!!!  Many of you will never see this preserve; it is…

Read More