Home - Blue Ridge Wildflower Society

BRWS Summer 2022 Newsletter

In the BRWS
Fall 2022 Newsletter

Upcoming Field Trips and meetings, Franklinia - the Franklin Tree, BRWS Fountain Dedication, member profiles, Annual Meeting to elect officers on October 24,
And More...

Photo by Kaye Brandt

BRWS Summer 2022 Newsletter

In the BRWS
Summer 2022 Newsletter

Wildflower Sale Blooms Into More Than Money
May Field Trip to Quarry Gardens at Schuyler
Field Trip to Bee Sanctuary
Annual August Picnic
And More...

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!

Heading Layer

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Skunk Cabbage

Heading Layer

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!

Heading Layer

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

News & Updates

• Don't miss our Annual Meeting & Election October 24: We elect new officers every two years at the October meeting. Please plan to attend. Our speaker will be Brent Wills from Bramble Hollow Farms, telling us about "Biological Farming and Soil."

• Spring is Coming! The Spring, 2022 BRWS Newsletter is hot off the presses. Learn some ways plants endure winter and check out our chapter's schedule of upcoming events. 2/7/2022

• The BRWS 2022 Spring Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 28 from 9am to noon at the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs. View more information. 2/7/2022

• Hello Fall! Read the Fall, 2021 BRWS Newsletter to see our schedule of upcoming events, a special message from President Jessica Fleming, and details about Pirate Bush, found only in our region. 9/26/2021

• Goodbye Winter! The Spring, 2021 edition of the BRWS Newsletter is now available. Read a message from our president, plan for many upcoming chapter events, and learn about American beautyberry. 2/13/2021

• See the list of newly elected BRWS Officers and Board Members. 11/4/2020

• Check out our chapter's Fall 2020 Newsletter: online election for new officers, our summer plant sale success, and suggestions for wildflower walks on your own! 8/30/2020

• The Blue Ridge Wildflower Society Spring, 2020 Newsletter has just been published! Read about upcoming Field Trips and programs, Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) , and Radford's white basswood.

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Enchanting Blue Vervain

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) enhances any landscape in which it grows. It is one of my favorite mid to late summer native perennials for any number of reasons. The beautiful purplish blue flowers atop tall stems provide a striking vertical accent contrasting with more typical mounded plants and flower…... Read more

August 28, 2022

Turk’s-Cap Lily Stuns in Summer

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Turk’s-cap Lily (Lilium superbum) is one of our most spectacular wildflowers in eastern North America. Its stunning flowers bloom right now in July and August. Native to wet meadows and rich moist cove forests and bogs from New Hampshire south to Georgia and Alabama, it is found in most…... Read more

July 20, 2022

The Curious Pawpaw

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter The Pawpaw, Asimina triloba, is a handsome small tree that is as fascinating as it is curious. Pawpaw is a member of the Custard-Apple Family, the Annonaceae, a large family of tropical and subtropical species. Ranging from Florida and Texas north to New York and Southern Ontario, Pawpaw is…... Read more

May 29, 2022

The Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly, Its Host Plants, and the New Threat They Face

By Mary Lee Epps A new non-native fungus and the beetle that carries it may soon severely impact sassafras, spicebush, and most other members of the Laurel family in the United States. Sadly, since these are the main host plants of the spicebush swallowtail butterfly, which is now common throughout most of the Eastern U.S.,…... Read more

April 29, 2022

Magical Mexican Dogwoods: What Should We Call Them?

By W. John Hayden, Botany Chair Who knew? Cornus florida, the 2018 VNPS Wildflower of the Year and State Tree of Virginia, has a cousin living in the mountains of eastern Mexico! Mexican Dogwoods have been found in the states of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz. They are, manifestly, close relatives of the familiar Flowering…... Read more

March 29, 2022

Partridge-berry Is Bright All Year

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Partridge-berry (Mitchella repens) is a handsome evergreen vine that creeps along the ground reaching only 2” high. Its long trailing stems can reach 12” long but it develops roots at nodes along the stem wherever it touches the ground, creating large dense colonies. Widespread across eastern North America, it…... Read more

February 17, 2022

Native and Invasive Plant Legislation in the 2022 General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly convened January 12, 2022 and three bills were introduced in the House of Delegates that deal with native and invasive plants. The first step is to assign the bills to committees, then to subcommittees. Bills must pass the committee to be referred to the House for a full vote. View the Virginia…... Read more

January 17, 2022

Wildflower of the Year 2022 Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

Buttonbush is a shrub or small tree commonly attaining heights up to about 6 m, occasionally twice that size. Leaves are opposite or whorled, elliptic to ovate, 2-8 cm wide, and 6-15 cm long; margins are entire and apices are acute or cuspidate, i.e., with an abrupt, short, tooth-like point. Triangular stipules, 2-3 mm long,…... Read more

January 1, 2022