Flowering dogwood (cornus florida), as all Virginians should know, is the state tree. Early on, I noticed numerous dogwoods on my property – they are gorgeous in the spring when they bloom! On this trip, a friend told me that … Continue reading →
Shortly after buying my property, I went out to Rocky Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway and bought a copy of Trees & Shrubs of Virginia, by Gupton and Swope. While browsing through it, I noticed an entry for a … Continue reading →
Little by little, I am identifying the plants that are on my property. I took lots and lots of pictures, but when I got home and downloaded them, I found that I didn’t have a very good system for taking … Continue reading →
Ah, wingstem! A vigorous plant, indeed. Early on, in the winter, a friend pointed the plant out and told me that it was locally called “stickweed”. He said that it hadn’t been all that common when he was a kid … Continue reading →
When Fred First identified this plant as Virginia knotweed, I feared that it was related to the invasive exotic, Japanese knotweed. While both are in the same family (polygonaceae), Virginia knotweed is in the genus persicaria while Japanese knotweed is … Continue reading →
Most of the trees on my property are really tall and I didn’t have binoculars with me to be able to see the leaves in detail. Some of the trees are very recognizable, like black cherry (prunus serotina), because of … Continue reading →
I never gave the slightest thought, when I selected my vacation last fall, that this time of the year was Spring Break and Easter. That fact led to some re-scheduling and delays because folks were out of town, but I … Continue reading →
In various pictures posted so far, you can see a pasture in the distance. It is not part of my property, but I am on good terms with the owner. I asked him if I could go after the multiflora … Continue reading →
Last summer, I engaged the services of Sutherland, LLC, which owns a Bull Hog machine, to clear thickets of multiflora rose and oriental bittersweet. The thickets were so dense that once they were finished, I really couldn’t see what else … Continue reading →
When I got the first part of the driveway finished in late 2008, I was unsure where the house site would be and thus didn’t know the route of the driveway. I made that decision early last summer and a … Continue reading →