Plant Ridge & Valley Natives

The second edition of Ridge & Valley Native Plant Guide is out! Available for purchase at local nurseries

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News & Updates

• Want to stay in touch with everything going on? Sign up for our newsletter! Free, no membership required.

• Second Sunday Social at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum, June 14, 2026, 1:30pm-3:00pm

• 2026 Spring Native Plant Tour, various locations, May 30, 2026, 10am-1pm and May 31, 2026, 1pm-4pm

• Annual fall plant swap in Bridgewater, October 11, 2025, 1-3 p.m.

• Picnic & Pulling Invasives at Natural Chimneys Park, March 23, 2025, 12-2:30.

• Join us at the 3rd annual Pollinators in Your Yard event hosted by Harrisonburg Public Works, Saturday, March 29, 12:30-4

• Save the date! Our annual spring plant sale will be held Saturday, April 26, 2025 at Earth Day Staunton.

• The 2nd edition of the Plant Ridge & Valley Natives Guide is out! Find it at Carrier Arboretum, Seven Bends Plant Nursery, A Woman’s Touch, Yellow House Natives, Secret Garden Supply Co. (Staunton), Stone Soup Books, Waynesboro Landscape and Garden Center, Woodstock Gardens, & more

• Save the date! Fall 2024 plant swap will be held in Bridgewater October 19, 2024.

•The statewide annual meeting of the Virginia Native Plant Society will be held Sept. 20-22 at Massanetta Springs, in Harrisonburg.

•Native Gardening 101: Fall Maintenance & Planning Ahead, September 7, 2024, 10-12. Cost: $10 for the series

•Guided Walk on the Madison Run Fire Road June 20, 2024, 10-1. Free; registration required.

•Guided walk & potluck social at Sunnyside Retirement Center June 9, 2024, 3-6:30 p.m. Registration required; space is limited.

•Native Gardening 101 webinar June 8, 2024, 10-12. Cost: $10.

• Our annual plant sale will be Saturday, April 20, 2024 at Earth Day Staunton, 11-3.

• Don't miss our Plant & Seed Swap and Chapter Meeting on Sunday, October 22, 2023. View details, location, and more information.

• Orders for the new Plant Ridge & Valley Natives Guide are now shipping. Order your printed Guide now. 5-31-2023

• The new Plant Ridge & Valley Natives Guide is available for pre-order. Update May 11: We expect to ship the guide to pre-order customers by the end of May. 5-11-2023

• It’s official! On Monday September 12, 2022 the Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society was unanimously reinstated by the VNPS Board!

• In July 2022 we formed a Steering Committee to revive the Shenandoah Chapter (1987-2017). The committee includes Anna Maria Johnson (Coordinator), Elaine Smith (from the former chapter), Isaac Matlock, and Lora Steiner. View more details in our announcement of the Shenandoah Chapter Reboot. For more information, please contact Anna Maria Johnson at shenandoahchapter@gmail.com. You can also connect with us on our Facebook Page.

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Fall or Garden Phlox, Phlox paniculata
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
Redring Milkweed, Asclepias variegata
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
Common Blue Violet, Viola sororia/communis
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
Plantain-leaved Pussytoes, Antennaria plantaginifolia
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
Hepatica Heralds Spring
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
American Hazelnut, Corylus americana
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
Wildflower of the Year 2026: Ghost Pipes (Monotropa uniflora)
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
Ebony Spleenwort, Asplenium platyneuron
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