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Plant Sale 2025 — Lindera benzoin

March 28, 2025

Lindera benzoin (Spicebush) is a shrub that grows 6 to 12 feet tall. The more sun it gets the brighter the fall foliage but will tolerate even full shade where it will grow wider and airier. It blooms in March, sporting yellow (with a hint of green) clusters before the…

Plant Sale 2025 — Erythronium americanum

March 27, 2025

Erythronium americanum (trout lily) common name refers to the mottled appearance of its leaves. It prefers woodland soils that are moist and rich. It blooms in the early spring, appearing under deciduous trees before they leaf out. When young, Erythronium americanum only has one leaf but once it matures it…

Plant Sale 2025 — Sedum ternatum

March 27, 2025

We plan to offer Sedum ternatum (Wild Stonecrop Sedum) at our April 27th native plant sale. It is a low growing semi-evergreen succulent groundcover that forms large mats covering rocks, tree roots or mossy areas near streams. This plant flourishes in part to full shade in thin moist soils and…

Plant Sale 2025 — Mertensia virginica

March 26, 2025

Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells) is also known as Virginia-cowslip, Roanoke-bells, Lungwort, and Oysterleaf. Growing up to 2 feet, Mertensia virginica thrive in part shade to shade in moist, rich soil. The leaves are a lovely shade of purple as they break ground quickly turning a medium green. The showy nodding…

Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Great Blue Lobelia is a lovely late-blooming perennial in the Bellflower family that flaunts tall blue spires of flowers for weeks on end in the late summer-fall. Also called Blue Cardinal Flower or just Great Lobelia, this relative of the well-known red Cardinal Flower is native to…... Read more
August 15, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
Short-toothed Mountain-mint, Pycnanthemum muticum
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society One of my all-time favorite pollinator plants, Short-toothed Mountain-mint, has just recently been added to the flora of the Northern Neck and I am thrilled to include it as the July Plant of the Month. Several large populations of this incredible pollinator powerhouse were recently discovered near…... Read more
July 11, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
American Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society American Elderberry is a common, deciduous shrub that lights up our landscape from mid-May through June with huge and profuse clusters of white flowers that literally form a lacy veil over the shrub. Each flower is only about ¼” across but is held in large, flat-topped or…... Read more
June 13, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
False Indigo-bush, Amorpha fruticosa
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society As May comes into bloom, I always look forward to the flowers on my False Indigo-bush that graces my upper shoreline. I inherited this lovely deciduous shrub when I bought this property and count myself lucky to have this amazing shrub that is beautiful yet tolerates dry,…... Read more
May 15, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Did you know we have a wonderful native Wild Strawberry, also known as Scarlet or Virginia Strawberry? It is an adaptable low, herbaceous perennial that spreads by runners to form handsome, ground-covering semi-evergreen colonies. This diminutive strawberry rarely grows above 6” high but can spread indefinitely as…... Read more
April 18, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
Wildflower of the Year 2025: Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Coming soon: VNPS offers Mayapple artwork on T-Shirts and other apparel. Mayapples are perennial herbaceous plants with thick fibrous roots that arise from a creeping rhizome. Each year the rhizome elongates about 6 to 20 cm in length, terminating in a bud for the subsequent year’s leafy stem and one or more buds for continuation…... Read more
February 8, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
Red Maple, Acer rubrum
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Red Maples, also called Swamp or Scarlet Maples, are known for their brilliant fall color. Now they may seem to be a surprising choice for the February Plant of the Month, but they are a true harbinger of spring, blooming in late winter often as early as…... Read more
February 5, 2025
Source: VNPS Blog
Inkberry, Ilex glabra
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Inkberry or Gallberry is a great choice for the December Plant of the Month. This handsome broadleaf evergreen shrub typically grows slowly to about 5 – 8’ high and wide and has plenty of winter interest with its small narrowly ovate to lance-like dark green leaves that…... Read more
December 26, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog