Now Accepting Youth Educational Grant Applications!
These grant proposals focus on engaging and educating youth about the importance of native plants to the survival of native ecosystems and their relationship to our own existence.
News & Updates
- Check out the latest issue of New River News: January 2021 Read about our upcoming Fall/Winter programs and outings, volunteer and outreach projects, and view some great member photos. 1-20-2021
- This Winter and Spring we will continue have to continue our monthly meetings via Zoom since Warm Heath and Virginia Tech are not allowing the public on their campuses. 1-20-2021
- View "How to Prepare Your Garden for Winter" by Debra Graff on our new YouTube Channel! 10-19-2020
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Virginia Native Plant Society Blog
- Showy Swamp Rose July 4, 2021By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter June is always an exciting month in the many freshwater wetlands in the Northern Neck and beyond as many plants come into bloom. And one of the showiest blooms belongs to our beautiful Swamp Rose, Rosa palustris, an upright, deciduous shrub typically reaching 3 – 6’ high and wide,…VNPS Communications
- Blue-Eyed Grass Blooms for Bees and Butterflies May 18, 2021By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Narrow-leaved Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is a lovely small perennial typically reaching only 6 – 12” high and wide but in late spring it lights up the landscape wherever it grows. This is a “grass” only in name as it is a member of the Iris family, with linear,…VNPS Communications
- Marsh Marigold: A Spring Tonic April 26, 2021By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Today, the first day of April, has dawned cold with rain and winds after a week of mild weather, and I seek solace in the first harbingers of spring. A hike to Cabin Swamp in Hickory Hollow Natural Area Preserve is just the spring tonic needed. Sure enough, the…VNPS Communications
- Redbud is Ready for Spring March 26, 2021By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter As signs of spring fill the air, I find myself eagerly anticipating the vibrant magenta pink blooms of one of our most beautiful flowering trees, the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis). This small tree is a common sight along roadsides, woodland edges, and old fields in Virginia in late March…VNPS Communications
- Beyond the Field – Enter March 9, 2021By Nicola McGoff, Jefferson Chapter You drive by it every day, without notice. It is just a field. An ordinary everyday field. Square shaped or almost anyway, with very defined boundaries. Manmade boundaries stretching back through time. The sedentary, fallow field. Static and uninviting for most. A place where utility trumps esthetic. Perchance, one day…VNPS Communications
- Phasing Out the Sale and Use of Invasive Plants February 19, 2021Virginia House Joint Resolution 527, approved unanimously in 2021, calls for a study that will explore options for phasing out the sale and use of invasive plants in Virginia’s horticultural industry, and to promote the sale and use of native plants. The study may include potential legislative action to be brought to the 2022 General…VNPS Communications
- Skunk Cabbage Secrets February 18, 2021By Nancy Sorrells On this winter weather Valentine’s Day I decided to journey back into the forest behind our property to the secret place I know where the globally rare Swamp Pink (Helonias bullata) grows. Today’s visit was not to see Swamp Pink, which is still sleeping and will not send up its amazing pink…VNPS Communications
- Wildflower of the Year 2021 American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) February 6, 2021Wisteria frutescens is a woody liana, potentially growing to heights of 15 m; young stems are smooth or covered with small hairs pressed tightly to the stem surface. Stems climb by twining around supports in a clockwise direction. Leaves are alternate and odd-pinnately compound, 10—30 cm long. Leaves may have from 5 to 15 leaflets…VNPS Communications
- A Parasitic Lifestyle: Beechdrops and Their Relatives December 17, 2020By Marion Lobstein Two primary characteristics of plants are a light-capturing pigment, chlorophyll, which gives most plants a green color, and the use of this pigment to capture light energy to carry out photosynthesis to produce energy-rich food from carbon dioxide and water. This kind of plant lifestyle is known as autotrophic or self-nourishing. Indian…VNPS Communications
- Red Chokeberry Shines in All Seasons November 9, 2020By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) is a versatile landscape shrub that shines in all four seasons of the year. In spring, showy clusters of up to 25 pristine white, or pink-blushed flowers light up the garden. Throughout summer the foliage is a lustrous dark green, then ignites in fall with shades…VNPS Communications