News & Updates
- A Perpetual Journal Practice Workshop with Lara Call Gastinger
Tuesday, October 20 at 10AM
Ivy Creek Natural Area
Spots are limited, email rcarter112@aol.com to register. - Night Shift: Plants that Support Nocturnal Wildlife
Natalie Izlar from Virginia Working Landscapes shares native night-blooming plants, species whose foliage and flowers glow in the moonlight, and the diverse habitats that sustain nocturnal wildlife. - 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(opens in new tab)
Carolyn Duckworth shares the basics of nature journaling for both personal enjoyment and programming and education opportunities. - Calculating the Impact of Leaving Leaves(opens in new tab)
Interesting article on the current science regarding leaving fallen leaves on your lawn and garden. -
Check out this great new resource from Virginia Working Landscapes.
- Find more chapter meeting videos at our showcase(opens in new tab).
- Update your calendar for upcoming local meetings, presentations, lectures, and other events described in the Jefferson Chapter Events Calendar(opens in new tab).
- And keep up with Jefferson chapter activities and discussion on our Facebook Page(opens in new tab)!
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Plant Sale 2025 — Dicentra cucullaria
Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) gets its name from the shape of its blooms and it grows six to twelve inches tall. They look like little white pantaloons hanging upside down. In April to May four to ten white or pink flowers hang off stalks that are five to ten inches…
Plant Sale 2025 — Chelone glabra
Chelone glabra (White Turtlehead) grows 1-4 feet tall. Blooming in late summer it is found in wet woodlands and meadows. This is a good plant to grow near drainpipes. The white flowers sometimes have a pale pink or purple tinge. Bumblebees pollinate this plant and hummingbirds sometimes visit. The common…
Plant Sale 2025 — Trillium sessile
Trillium sessile is a long lived woodland plant that is often called Toadshade or Wake Robin. “Trillium” is from the Latin “tri” referring to the flower parts occurring in threes, and “llium” from the Latin “liliaceous” referring to the funnel-shaped flower. “Sessile” is from the Latin “sessil”, for sessile, stalkless,…
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society In Fall, many of our native ssters literally light up the landscape with their daisy-like flowers that are vivid lavender violet, blue violet, pale blue or even white. These late season bloomers are critical food sources for migrating Monarchs and other late butterflies, as well as pollinators…Read more
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society In late summer the vanilla-scented flowers of Sweet-scented Joe-pye-weed fill the garden and landscape with billowy clouds of long-lasting blooms covered with bees and butterflies. This gorgeous tall perennial can reach 4 – 7’ high topped with large dome-shaped pink to purple inflorescences up to 12 –…Read more
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society I am always dazzled by the vibrant, long-lasting blooms of Fall or Garden Phlox as they emerge in July attracting dozens of butterflies, skippers, clearwing moths, hummingbirds and other pollinators to their showy blooms. The large, fragrant pink to red-purple, lavender or rarely white flower clusters (actually…Read more
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
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
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
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
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