Roses are red, my love Violets are blue Sugar is sweet, my love But not as sweet as you   So go the lyrics of “Roses are Red” by Bobby Vinton, circa 1962. I think of that song and slow dancing at Myrtle Beach when I drive through the hillsides of Virginia in early spring. That’s when the “Violets of Blue” are at their peak, often draping in splendid clusters along edges and … [Read more...]

  Another beautiful “weed” now growing in my back yard is the common buttercup. This variety, sometimes called the creeping buttercup, has stubborn roots and can be the devil to get rid of, but the flowers are certainly delicate and lovely. Buttercups are generally perennials, but unlike many wildflowers, they are poisonous. Livestock that grazes in a field overrun with buttercups can … [Read more...]

How do spell beauty? P-h-l-o-x. Phlox, not flox. Phlox may be hard to spell, but they sure are pretty, and they are easy to grow. I remember when I first moved to Charlottesville, I made many trips to Sugar Hollow to engage the trout in the Moorman’s River with assorted flies. I also vividly remember that in early April, lawns all along Garth Road and Sugar Hollow Road were teeming with … [Read more...]

I have a love/hate relationship with thistles. The “hate” part comes back when I fly fish Mossy Creek. The stream is especially productive in September when leaping grasshoppers miss their mark and plop in the stream – to the delight of some large brown trout. But fly casting involves back casts where you flip the line backwards to load the rod, only to see the line settle in the stream with no … [Read more...]

Another beautiful “weed” now growing in my back yard is the common buttercup. This variety, sometimes called the creeping buttercup, has stubborn roots and can be the devil to get rid of, but the flowers are certainly delicate and lovely. Buttercups are generally perennials, but unlike many wildflowers, they are poisonous. Livestock that grazes in a field overrun with buttercups can get … [Read more...]

  Roses are red, my love Violets are blue Sugar is sweet, my love But not as sweet as you   So go the lyrics of “Roses are Red” by Bobby Vinton, circa 1962. I think of that song and slow dancing at Myrtle Beach when I drive through the hillsides of Virginia in early spring. That’s when the “Violets of Blue” are at their peak, often draping in splendid clusters along … [Read more...]

  We first saw the first field of purple along Rt. 460 near Waverly. The further south we drove, the more plentiful and the more spectacular these fields became. By the time we hit the NC state line on our way to Nags Head, the fields of purple were breath-taking. The blooms from the small ground plants glowed like the reflection of a splendid purple gem. There are many farmers and … [Read more...]

  Halloween is over, but there is still some scary stuff out there. According to Virginia’s DWR, there are some invasive species in our state that pose a threat to our native plants and animals. Feral hogs, for example. Below is DWR’s report. Feral hogs (feral pigs, wild pigs, wild boar, etc.) in Virginia are defined as “any swine that are wild or for which no proof of ownership can … [Read more...]

  Whoever named the Redbud tree had to have been a guy. Half of us are color blind, you know, and the namer-of-redbud trees was not on top of his game. They are no more red than the man in the moon. They are bright pink, maybe, or a deep lilac or perhaps magenta, but they are definitely not red. They are, however, beautiful and they are at their peak now in  Central Virginia. Redbuds … [Read more...]