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Plant Sale Profile: Trillium grandiflorum

April 14, 2014

Native to Greene and Nelson, Trillium grandiflorum known as Large-Flowered Trillium or Great White Trillium, is one of the showiest trilliums in Virginia.   It grows in cove forests, mesic to dry-mesic slope forests, northern hardwood forests, Northern Red Oak forests, and seepage swamp hummocks; most characteristic of and numerous in…

Plant Sale Profile: Chrysogonum virginianum

March 26, 2014

Another plant being offered at our native plant sale this spring is Chrysogonum virginianum.  Common names for this plant are Goldenstar, Green and Gold, and Golden Knees.  Chrysogonum virginianum is a nice groundcover that actually will tolerate some light foot traffic. With golden yellow blooms (1- 1.25 in wide) from…

Plant Sale Profile: Pycnanthemum muticum

March 24, 2014

We will be offering Pycnanthemum muticum, sometimes called broad-leaved mountain-mint, clustered mountain-mint or short-toothed mountain mint for sale at our plant sale this spring (check out the events link to find details).   Native to several counties in Virginia including Albemarle, Greene, Orange and Fluvanna, Pycnanthemum muticum is found in fens,…

Plant Sale Profile: Lobelia cardinalis

March 23, 2014

Lobelia cardinalis, commonly called Cardinal Flower was the Virginia Native Plant Society’s Wildflower of the Year in 1991.  This is one of the showiest of the red blooming native plants in Virginia, blooming from July to October.  It is found throughout the state, including the entire piedmont. Lobelia cardinalis is…

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
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
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
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