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Raspberry Awakening
So many native perennials sprouting their leaves as if little alarm clocks have gone off telling the plants to wake up. One of them, Purple-flowering Raspberry (Rubus odoratus), sending out its maple-like, very crinkled, serrated leaves. It is native to the eastern United States By late May bristly buds appear. The stems and branches of…
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Pipevine Swallowtail
Brand new! This Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) has just emerged from its chrysalis. A couple years ago I decided that if I wanted to see Pipevine Swallowtails, I should get a plant that would engage them. Their host plants are in the genus Aristolochia. One of them, Woolly Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia tomentosa) filled the bill since…
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Yarrow Revisited
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). I love native plants and when they show up as a volunteer in my gardens they are more than welcome! That’s the case with Yarrow, wandering aimlessly and finally settling here in a place that brings delight.
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Silverleaf Mountain Mint
A native mint that has intrigued me for years living trailside here on the mountain. I’ve found it available at a native plant nursery and now I have some in my gardens. Silverleaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum). Native to eastern North America. The nectar of this Mountain Mint is popular with bees and butterflies. The…
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Yarrow
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). The temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia and Europe and North America claim Yarrow as a native herbaceous perennial flowering plant. It’s blooming right now in this area, looking a bit like Queen Anne’s Lace because of the large clusters of flowers atop the plant’s stems. But those clusters of flowers…
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In Defense of Poison Ivy
I know, I know. I understand. It grows where I don’t want it. The NERVE. It makes me itch just to look at it and heaven forbid if its oil gets on someone else’s sleeve and that sleeve brushes against me. But Poison Ivy is a native, and native birds love the berries. Afternoon after…
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Common Blue-eyed Grass
A clump of grass in early spring becomes green streaks, highlighted with six pointed dots of cheery blue. Common Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is native to the eastern two thirds of the United States and Canada. Though “grass” is in the common name, it is not a grass at all but is in the iris…
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Zebra Swallowtail
The larval host of Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus) is any of the eight species of the genus PawPaw (Asimina). I’m in the process of replacing three PawPaw trees that I recently lost. An important quest for me. Exquisite Zebra Swallowtails depend entirely on PawPaw trees for their very existence. No PawPaw trees, no Zebra Swallowtails.…
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Purple-flowered Raspberry
I had no idea such a thing existed. A raspberry bush with such pretty flowers. Raspberry blossoms of a bright magenta rather than white. Being up on Skyline Drive at just the right time, during bloom time revealed this unusual plant to me. Purple-flowered Raspberry (Rubus odoratus). Since it was growing in Shenandoah National Park,…
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American Lily of the Valley
The Lily of the Valley that we all know, the one that used to grow in our Moms’ gardens is a native of Asia and Europe, European Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis). But there is a native too, though this designation of “native” and it being a different species is not agreed upon by…