Fire Pink
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Native Plants for Northern Virginia: Free Download or Purchase a Printed Copy

Fire Pink (Silene virginica), the New River Chapter Flower

Photo by Eric Hunt license CC BY-SA 4.0

News & Updates

  • Join us on March 12 for a program by Jordan Metzgar titled Freaky Ferns and Their Fantastic Features.  More information here.
  • We meet the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm.  Meetings this winter/spring are at the Blacksburg Rec Center, 725 Patrick Henry.  See Upcoming Events for more info about our programs.
  • View the new January 2024 edition of the New River News. Lots of information about upcoming programs, meetings, and other events! 9-12-2023
  • A Guide to Gardening with Southwest Virginia Native Plants is now live and ready to support your planting efforts.  Download here.  Free hard copies will be available at New River Chapter VNPS meetings.  The Guide is also available for free throughout SWVA at many libraries, state parks and more.  Click here for list.  If you live outside of SWVA or it's inconvenient for you to pick up, you can purchase online from VNPS to have it shipped directly to you for $9.
  • Plant SWVA Natives has a new email address.  Reach out or subscribe at their webpage.
  • Pages with info about native plant nurseries in the NRV area and their sales and resources for pollinator gardens are available.  Go to Resources on the main menu.
  • Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas book is available at our meetings and online.  Go to the Donate page to order online.
  • Chapter meetings since 2020 can be viewed on our YouTube Channel.  Samples include How to support nature while preparing your garden for winter (September 2020), the Flora of Virginia Mobile App overview (January 2021), and Biology and management of invasive aquatic plants in the New River basin (November 2022).
    10-19-2020
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By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society One of my favorite sights while walking in winter woodlands are the beautiful evergreen leaves of Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Goodyera pubescens. This eye-catching beauty is one of our most common woodland orchids and instantly recognizable by its exquisitely etched leaves with an intricate network of fine white…... Read more
March 17, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
White Turtlehead is a perennial herb rising from a rhizomatous rootstock. The smooth stems are only sparingly branched above and attain heights 0.5 to 2 m. Leaves are opposite, narrow, linear to lance-ovate, and up to 15 cm long, with prominently toothed margins. Flower spikes are 3-8 cm long and form at stem tips from…... Read more
February 12, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
The Virginia General Assembly convened January 10, 2024 and several bills were introduced in the Senate and House of Delegates that deal with native and invasive plants. The first step is to assign the bills to committees, then to subcommittees. Bills must pass the committee to be referred to the House or Senate for a…... Read more
January 18, 2024
Source: VNPS Blog
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Slender Flat-top Goldenrod (Euthamia caroliniana) is a beautiful deciduous, perennial closely related to goldenrods and is an underused but superior pollinator plant. Its nectar-rich flowers bloom over a long period from September into late fall, often lasting into November or even December. It is particularly important to…... Read more
December 20, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Fall is the time that our warm season grasses shine in the garden by adding movement, color, and drama to the landscape. Andropogon glomeratus, or Bushy Bluestem, also called Bushy Bluebeard, is a compact, beautiful native grass often reaching only 2 – 4’ high, with attractive foliage and distinctive…... Read more
September 17, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) is a standout in any garden pond, or freshwater coastal stream or river when its showy lavender-blue flowers are held above the foliage on tall stems. This perennial grows in shallow water where it tolerates up to 2’ of occasional flooding but prefers less than one…... Read more
August 12, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Chapter Virginia Sweetspire, Itea virginica, is a stunning deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub and the perfect choice for our May Plant of the Month as the long racemes of white flowers are just beginning to open on this first day of May. Typically growing from 3 – 5’ high and 4…... Read more
June 28, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog
By Betsy Washington, Northern Neck Native Plant Society Chapter Carolina or Yellow Jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens, is a stunning evergreen vine native to the southern United States and Mexico south to Guatemala. In Virginia, Carolina Jessamine is a coastal beauty, common along the southern and central Coastal Plain north to the counties of Lancaster and the…... Read more
May 9, 2023
Source: VNPS Blog