One of our most prized plantings this year is a gorgeous Butterflyweed. This spring, Nancy picked a half dozen small seeds from a Butterflyweed pod. She started them inside and nurtured them into small plants. When she brought them outside, she knew the damned squirrels would get in them and dig them up so she put a heavy wire guard around them with a top to keep the squirrels from climbing … [Read more...]

  There is a stretch of sheer beauty along Route 29 just south of Ruckersville. For several hundred yards, tens of thousands of Queen Anne’s Lace plants adorn the roadside. It’s  almost as white as a January snowfall. I wrote about  Queen Anne’s Lace last year and received many responses from others who admire this delicate plant. Some advised that the lace-like flowers could be … [Read more...]

Morning Glories are night people. They bloom and party and carry on all night, and when daytime comes, they close up shop and snooze all day. But if you get a peek at them before they tuck themselves in, they are certainly pretty things. Recently, I have been seeing a few morning glories growing wild on the sides of the roads. These special places often hold many wildflowers and plants you … [Read more...]

All along our roadsides, a beautiful pink plant is now blooming. It’s red clover, a lovely and versatile member of the bean family. Red clover is a short-lived perennial and can grow to heights of nearly three feet. Many of the plants I saw while heading to the Shenandoah Valley last weekend were pushing two feet and they were beautiful. Red clover is not native to America, but has thrived … [Read more...]

Since I noticed a butterfly weed, a brilliant orange plant growing beside the road last year, I have become more and more interested in ordinary weeds and wildflowers we often ignore. One is blooming right now, it’s common chicory, totally considered a weed and in the dandelion family. Chicory, of course, is a name associated with coffees, and this plant can be used as a coffee substitute and … [Read more...]

  They are called common daisies, but there is nothing ”common” about them. The delicate white and yellow flowers – usually growing wild – are among nature’s most lovely and they are just beginning to bloom along our roads and bi-ways. Daisies are flowers you would normally find in a meadow – if we still had meadows. Mostly, we don’t. We now have thick stands of fescue grass across most … [Read more...]

Funny, but there are still a handful of smells that I can distinctly remember from my youth. One was the smell of a new baseball mitt, a strong leather scent that lasted until you left your glove out in the rain just once. Another smell was that of a new pair of blue jeans, the aroma of the strong indigo dye was tantalizing. Another unforgettable scent I recall was from Grandma Brewer’s kitchen … [Read more...]

  In my continuing series on common weeds and wildflowers, I now have another bloom in my yard to write about - the common dandelion.  Most consider dandelions to be pests – invasive weeds that must be eradicated with a good dose of Roundup, but dandelions are like a health food store growing in your yard Dandelions, of course, are small plants with yellow flowers and deep root systems, … [Read more...]

For the past few weeks, as I mowed my lawn, I have noticed beautiful flowers growing where they probably shouldn’t be growing -  like violets and buttercups. This week I saw clover blooming. Clover is not at all a weed, but many consider the delicate plant to be invasive. Not me. I actually plant clover whenever I have a patch in my yard that may be in need of some grass seed. Clover is one of … [Read more...]