Mountains with Flame Azaleas (Photo by Nancy Vehrs)
Eupatorium at Bull Run (Photo by Brigitte Hartke)
News & Updates
View the 2019 Wildflower of the Year: New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
Learn more about Virginia’s Natural Area Preserves, designed to protect the best examples of Virginia’s natural communities and habitats for our rarest species of plants and animals.
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VNPS supports conservation of biologic “hot spots”, protects shrinking natural environments across the state and raises awareness and appreciation for our native plants.
This year our fundraiser supports updates to the Flora of Virginia, which will be available in the Flora App as soon as completed. You can be assured that your donations to VNPS go right to the heart of what we are about. Donate Now!
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The Root of the Problem: Garlic Mustard
It’s a classic tale of being careful what you wish for. As a high school student in Germany I went hiking with my classmates in the early spring woods. As I unpacked lunch, friends gathered knoblauchskraut at the forest edge, and we then added the native herb to our sandwiches. “Ah,” I thought. “If only… [Read More]
Return of the Natives
My daughter, Chrissy, and I had been watching the 200-acre woodlands for months. First the “Land For Sale” sign went up; later the sign was marked “Sold,” then, most ominously, fluorescent orange flagging-tape marked the trees. The lovely wooded site was about to become a shopping center. The year was 2005, and a year… [Read More]
The Awkward Relationship Between Homo sapiens And Planet Earth
I, as do so many of you, present lectures and workshops to a wide range of people in which we are encouraging them to become familiar with the local flora, to plant native plants that require less water, to plant and conserve those species that are important to insects, birds and other animal species, a… [Read More]
Kates Mountain Clover: Trifolium virginicum
Kates Mountain Clover, (Trifolium virginicum) is one of only three clovers that are native to Virginia. First discovered on Kate’s Mountain in West Virginia in 1892 by botanist, John Kukel Small, this plant is known to exist only in four states and in a very specific habitat. In all four states it is listed as… [Read More]
Looking Back: VNPS in 2017
Small but mighty, the VNPS rose up with spirit to meet the challenges of 2017. The members of our Society did not sit around eating bonbons and gnashing teeth over discouraging events last year. Well, maybe there was some gnashing of teeth . . . but in the end, dedicated people got out and got… [Read More]
Finding Fulfillment as a Wildlife Way Station Volunteer
My excitement rose when I first glimpsed the Wildlife Way Station being maintained at the car rest area along I-95 in Dale City. A good-sized plot of land was being cultivated with native plants that were attracting and feeding many of the area’s wild birds and insects — pollinators. Those small flyers have been losing… [Read More]
Botany Without Boundaries at the Tri-State Conference
The Tri-state Native Plant Society Conference at the National Conservation Training Center was a blast this year. From the venue, to the nightly speakers, to the field trips, everything was incredible, which is why I’d like to first extend my gratitude to all those who contributed and worked so hard to make it happen. This… [Read More]
A Summer Intern Speaks Out
The listing of the Rusty Patched Bumblebee, (Bombus affinus), on the Endangered Species Act hit me as a surprise. It made me begin to think about bee habitat and how little the public knows about how to help this species. This bumblebee, along with many other pollinators, needs cover for protection throughout the year, but… [Read More]
Eastern Red Cedar in the Landscape
Though many view Eastern Red Cedars, (Juniperus virginiana), as weeds in abandoned sites, we love the native Cedar for its sturdy evergreen structure in the landscape. In our native plant landscape designs, here at The Natural Garden we use Red Cedars as a dense native hedge or scattered in groups in savanna and meadow plantings. As… [Read More]
Walk With A Botanical Bunch
Many are the pleasures of a stroll into shady woods or floriferous meadows on a fair summer’s day. Exuberant spring is spent and plants still verdant and youthful now assume attitudes more calm and serene. But when you go out to walk with a Botanical Bunch, you can forget serenity. What you get is a… [Read More]
