BRWS Fall 2022 Newsletter
In the Spring, 2023
BRWS Newsletter

Upcoming Field Trips and meetings, our chapter's Native Plant Sale May 27, our President's message, Joe-Pye-Weed apparel, Master Naturalist classes, visiting a Honey Bee Sanctuary, Obedient Plant, Forest Bathing, and more...

BRWS Fall 2022 Newsletter
In the BRWS
Fall 2022 Newsletter

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

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 a Bee Sanctuary, our 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

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Skunk Cabbage
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Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!
Heading Layer

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society!

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Eupatorium at Bull Run

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

Photo by Brigitte Hartke

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News & Updates

• You'll want to attend our BRWS Native Plant Sale on Saturday, May 27 at the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs. View more information about the Plant Sale on our calendar of events. 4-30-2023

• View Dr. Bob Pohlad's slides from his April 24 presentation "Spring Wildflowers of the Appalachians." 4-30-2023

• 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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Carolina Jessamine: Coastal Beauty
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Chapter Carolina or Yellow Jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens, is a stunning evergreen vine native to the southern United States and Mexico south to Guatemala. In Virginia, Carolina Jessamine is a coastal beauty, common along the southern and central Coastal Plain north to the counties of Lancaster and the…... Read more
May 9, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
My Discovery of the Eastern Prickly Pear
By Emily Byers, Jefferson Chapter I enjoy the surprise of blooms in my garden each year and always add new native species. Last Fall, I received two eastern prickly pears, Opuntia humifusa, from a fellow gardener. I planted both cacti in a “problem” area of my garden. The area is shaded, gritty stays dry, and reminds…... Read more
April 3, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
Hepatica Heralds Spring
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Chapter One of the earliest signs of spring is the bloom of the Round-lobed Hepatica or Liverleaf, Hepatica americana. The lovely small flowers of this woodland wildflower look fragile but this hardy perennial blooms in the face of winter often as early as February. An array of…... Read more
February 25, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
Save Richmond’s Last Pitcher Plant Swamp
  Attention, VNPS Members! We have a rare opportunity to comment about a solar facility application (Case # PUR-2022-00179) that is proposed in Chesterfield County (south of Richmond) at a Natural Heritage “Irreplaceable” Site, which has numerous populations of rare plants and an expanse of intact native forests and woodlands that will be harmed if…... Read more
February 19, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
Wildflower of the Year 2023 Hollow Joe-Pye-Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
Hollow Joe-pye-weed is a perennial herb that may grow as tall as 35 dm (about 11.5 feet). Stems are frequently purple and, when young, are covered with a thin, glaucous, layer of wax. Cross sections of stems will reveal the presence of hollow cavities in the central pith region. Leaves are whorled, 3-7 per node;…... Read more
February 1, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
Wildflower of the Year 2023 Hollow Joe-Pye-Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
Hollow Joe-pye-weed is a perennial herb that may grow as tall as 35 dm (about 11.5 feet). Stems are frequently purple and, when young, are covered with a thin, glaucous, layer of wax. Cross sections of stems will reveal the presence of hollow cavities in the central pith region. Leaves are whorled, 3-7 per node;…... Read more
February 1, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
Wax Myrtle Sparkles in Winter
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Our evergreen Wax Myrtle or Southern Bayberry (Myrica cerifera) is handsome in every season of the year but it particularly sparkles in the winter after the leaves of deciduous trees have fallen leaving a gray and brown landscape. Not only are Wax Myrtles a beautiful native evergreen (large shrub…... Read more
December 17, 2022
Source: VNPS Blog
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
Source: VNPS Blog