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American Plum
A meander up the mountain two days ago. The Trilliums would be blooming. I found them, white turning to soft, delicate pink. Always special. But I noticed a small tree full of airy blooms way up there near where I usually turn around. Flowers I didn’t recognize. As is my custom I took photos and…
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Gray Dogwood
Just like the Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) that we see most often, Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) has opposite leaves and those leaves look quite similar to Flowering Dogwood. The flowers of Gray Dogwood arrive on dome shaped panicles, or branched clusters, in late May and June here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The…
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Sassafras Trees Are Dioecious
Seems winter has given up. Spring has won the battle of the seasons and is stepping through the woods. Right now, mid-April, Sassafras Trees (Sassafras albidum) are in bloom throughout the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia. Creating a soft watercolor wash of pale yellow. Sassafras is a dioecious tree, meaning any…
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Trout Lily
If ever there was the perfect use of the word “diminutive” I think it would be for describing Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum). A lily that grows to be just six inches tall. A bit too big for a doll house but still mighty small for a lily. It’s flower which dips shyly has no petals…
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Cutleaf Toothwort
A spring ephemeral, a perennial native to eastern North America. Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata). The “toothwort” of its name is thanks to the appearance of its rhizome. The Cutleaf Toothwort likes woods with mesic soils covered with lots of leaf litter. This certainly must be the description of the woods where I live. Many of…
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Wood Poppy Revisited
I’ve written about Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) before but I enjoy the native flower with its happy yellow so much I’d like to tell you more about it. The deeply lobed green-blue leaves of Wood Poppy are poking up from the surface of the soil here in the Blue Ridge now, as the month of…
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Rue Anemone
Here in the Blue Ridge depending on your elevation you’ll be seeing Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) beginning to bloom around the middle of April. This spring ephemeral is native to deciduous woodlands of eastern North America. So small, you must really look for them along the trail. They grow to only four to eight inches…
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Bloodroot
It’s hard for me to believe since I’ve still got snow on the ground, but spring is nearly here. At least meteorological spring. It arrives on March 1. The weather here is assuredly unpredictable. We’ll see what the month of March brings forth. Spring or more winter? But plants will be sprouting no matter. One…
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Jeffersonia or Twinleaf
Jeffersonia (Jeffersonia diphylla). In 1792 the botanist Benjamin Smith Barton named this plant after Thomas Jefferson. In 1807 Jefferson had Jeffersonia growing in one of the oval flower beds of Monticello. I’m proud to have something in common with my neighbor Thomas. Within a matter of four weeks I’ll be searching for these little signs…
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Tall Anemone
Tall Anemone (Anemone virginiana). A gift that shows up in my gardens thanks to Mother Nature. Filled with delight when it makes an appearance as a volunteer. A plant native to eastern North America where it can be found in 38 of the 50 United States. In the north from Maine to Minnesota and clear…