Home - Jefferson

News & Updates

Wildflower Walks at Ivy Creek
The third Saturday of every month, meet at the parking lot kiosk at 9AM. Check Upcoming Events for more information.
Fire Ecology in the Southeastern US
Marie Norwood, a PhD Student in Dr. Carla Staver's lab in the Princeton Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, shared ways that fire shapes, and is shaped by, vegetation, climate, and land management.
Methods for Ecological Restoration at Home
Piedmont Discovery Center team shares hands-on ecological restoration methodologies.
Corpse Botany
Virginia Working Landscapes’ Botany Technician, Natalie Izlar, helps us identify dormant plants.
The Basics of Nature Journaling
Carolyn Duckworth shares the basics of nature journaling for both personal enjoyment and programming and education opportunities.
Calculating the Impact of Leaving Leaves
Interesting article on the current science regarding leaving fallen leaves on your lawn and garden.
Milkweed in Virginia: Identification Guide

Check out this great new resource from Virginia Working Landscapes.
Find more chapter meeting videos at our showcase.
Update your calendar for upcoming local meetings, presentations, lectures, and other events described in the Jefferson Chapter Events Calendar.
And keep up with Jefferson chapter activities and discussion on our Facebook Page!

Upcoming Events

Find Field Trips, Meetings, Programs and Plant Sales.

Find a Chapter

Get involved in your
local VNPS chapter.

Plant Sale 2025 — Packera aurea

April 13, 2025

Packera aurea (Golden Ragwort) makes a very nice groundcover. The flowers look like deep yellow daisies and are in bloom for about three weeks. Not only is this plant beautiful, herbivores rarely eat it because it is toxic. While happiest in moist to wet soils in either sunny or shady…

Plant Sale 2025 — Geranium maculatum

April 3, 2025

Geranium maculatum (Wild Geranium or Wild Cranesbill) is a great plant to add to gardens: It reaches from ½ – 2 feet in height It grows in part shade such as dappled shade under trees The white, pink or more often purple blooms appear between April and June The palmate…

Plant Sale 2025 — Trillium grandiflorum

April 1, 2025

Trillium grandiflorum is known as both large-flowered trillium (the flower spans 3-4” across) or great white trillium. It is one of the showiest trilliums in Virginia. It is a woodland plant commonly found in the mountains and enjoys dappled shade and rich soils. Each flower consists of 3 white petals,…

Potting Party Success!

April 1, 2025

On Sunday, March 30, William Hamersky graciously hosted the Potting Party at his Full Tilt Farm, to pot up member provided divisions of such sale favorites Celandine Poppy, Green and Gold, Robin’s Plantain, Golden Ragwort, Wild Petunia, and White Wood Aster. In the past, nearly half of the plants offered…

« Previous
1
2
3
4
…
9
Next »

Redring Milkweed, Asclepias variegata

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Milkweeds are wildly popular in many gardens but most of us grow only two or three species, including Butterflyweed and Swamp Milkweed and possibly Common Milkweed. There are thirteen species of milkweed in Virginia and one of my favorites blooms in late May and June, Redring or…Read more

Common Blue Violet, Viola sororia/communis

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society The cheerful flowers of our native Common Blue Violet are one of the most anticipated signs of spring, bringing joy to both gardeners and pollinators alike. Blooming from March to June, with occasional rebloom in fall, our Common Blue Violet reaches only 3 – 8” tall with…Read more

Plantain-leaved Pussytoes, Antennaria plantaginifolia

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Plantain-leaved Pussytoes is one of our most charming perennial groundcovers and begins blooming this month with fuzzy white, tufted flower heads that resemble the toes or paws of kittens. Other names for this appealing groundcover are Pussytoes, Everlasting, Mouse Ears, Ladies’ Tobacco, and even Dog Toes. Who…Read more

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

American Hazelnut, Corylus americana

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Our February Plant of the Month, American Hazelnut or Filbert, Corylus americana, is one of our earliest blooming native shrubs, a true harbinger of spring often flaunting its flowers as early as February. As a member of the Birch (Betulaceae) family, American Hazelnut is monoecious, meaning it…Read more

Wildflower of the Year 2026: Ghost Pipes (Monotropa uniflora)

Coming soon: VNPS offers Ghost Pipes artwork on T-Shirts and other apparel. Visit our Online Store to order. Ghost Pipes are herbaceous perennial plants that lack chlorophyll; they obtain their nutrients via mycotrophy, i.e., by parasitizing the fungi present in their roots. The plants are commonly white at flowering but, in rare instances, may be…Read more

Ebony Spleenwort, Asplenium platyneuron

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Ebony Spleenwort is a charming small, evergreen fern that grows in dense tufts with dark green narrow fronds with a distinctive, wiry dark reddish brown shiny main stem (stipe). In fact, it gets its common name, Ebony, from this very distinctive dark shiny stipe. The narrow fronds…Read more

Flat-branched Tree-clubmoss, Dendrolycopododium obscurum

By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Common Tree-clubmoss—often called Princess Pine, Common Ground-pine, or Flat-branched Tree-clubmoss—is appropriately named, as each plant looks like a miniature pine tree and a colony resembles a miniature forest. Club mosses are ancient plants and evolved over 400 million years ago and reproduce by spores produced in “club-like”…Read more