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Violets for the Birthday Girl
She’s celebrating her 104th birthday. Absolutely marvelous. She’s part of an amazing family. A family that brings love to everything they do. And she loves Violets. So Violets it will be. There are somewhere between four hundred and five hundred different species of Violets in the genus Viola, and those Violets are scattered all over…
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Yellow Lady Slipper
Is there anything else so beautiful? Yellow Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum). A trek in Shenandoah National Park is pure joy no matter what, but add a sighting of this native orchid and I’m more than elated. But it’s not just in Virginia. This species of Yellow Lady’s slipper can be found in much of North…
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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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Blackhaw Viburnum
A large bush that I’ve been delighted to find is Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium). It’s growing by my backdoor, and there’s lots of it growing in the woods all around my cabin. The leaves of Blackhaw emerge from the buds involute, or curled as a spiral. The mature, glossy, opposite leaves are three to four…