Tag Archives: native plant

Virginia Bluebell Season Is Almost Here!

Posted on March 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

Virginia bluebell season is around the corner so plan now to see carpets of this ephemeral wildflower here in Virginia. Although mid-April has been the peak time in the past, it may come earlier since we had such a mild winter. Here are a few places in Northern Virginia to view colonies of bluebells; some places are already reporting blossoms now in March.

Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are synonymous with early spring. Their blue trumpet-shaped flowers bloom above the green foliage in deciduous woodlands before the trees leaf out. These perennials emerge early in the year, bloom for a few weeks in March or April, and then die back to become dormant in the summer. The plants like the moist soil of the forest, high in organic matter. They self-seed and create colonies which is why you will see carpets of blue in the parks below. If you look closely, you will see that the buds are pink opening up to blue but the overall effect is a blue haze. These are native wildflowers, but you can purchase the plants from nurseries.

Balls Bluff Regional Battlefield Park (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority), Balls Bluff Road, Leesburg.

Bull Run Regional Park (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority), 7700 Bull Run Drive, Centerville. This park has a Bluebell Trail just off the Bull Run Occoquan Trail near the Atlantis Waterpark.

Great Falls Park (National Park Service), 9200 Old Dominion Drive, McLean.

Manassas National Battlefield Park (National Park Service), 6511 Sudley Road, Manassas. Best view is from the Stone Bridge.

Merrimac Farm (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), 15014 Deepwood Lane, Nokesville. They have a free, family-oriented bluebell festival on Sunday, April 7 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Riverbend Park (Fairfax County Park Authority), 8700 Potomac Hills Street, Great Falls. Riverbend Park is celebrating bluebells on Saturday, April 6, 2024, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. There is a fee for attending this family event; however, the public can visit anytime to view the bluebells.

Scott’s Run Nature Preserve (Fairfax County Park Authority). 7400 Georgetown Park, McLean.

Turkey Run Park (National Park Service), George Washington Memorial Parkway, McLean.

Leave a comment

Posted in flowers, native plants

Tagged , , ,

A Spring Flower for your Garden: Columbine (Aquilegia)

Posted on March 8, 2024 | 1 comment

Spring has many woodland bloomers: bluebells, dutchman’s breeches, bloodroot, yellow trout lily, trilliums, and columbine to name a few. Of these, columbine (Aquilegia spp.) can adapt to live successfully in your own garden. Columbine plants are low growing perennials noted for downward faced flowers with long, thin spurs that reflex back. These shade tolerant plants are often found in moist, woody areas.

In the mid-Atlantic region we either see the native species, Eastern red columbine, or cultivars of the common columbine. Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) has red and yellow flowers with spurs. This native is a critical food source for the ruby-throated hummingbird in the spring. The Virginia Native Plant Society dubbed it wildflower of the year for 1998. There are other columbines native to this continent but not to our mid-Atlantic region.

The native species blooming at Oak Spring Garden

The common columbine (A. vulgaris) has been bred to produce flowers that are single or double petaled, in shades of purple, blue, dark rose, rose, pink, white and even very dark purple to black.

Both are easy to grow from seed as long as you provide stratification–that period of cold to induce germination. If you are purchasing seed, you can provide stratification in one of four ways:

  • Place the seeds in a plastic bag with moist seed starting mix. Place the bag in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. Afterwards, you can start the seeds indoors under lights about 8 weeks before the average last frost or sow directly outside after the last average frost.
  • Sow the seeds in small plastic containers with moist seed starting mix and either put in the fridge, an uncovered cold frame, an unheated porch, or a shed where the temperature remains consistently between 35 to 45 degrees. When the average last frost date has passed, continue to grow outside.
  • Scatter seeds in your garden in the fall and let winter provide the cold stratification.
  • Sow a few seeds in a plastic gallon milk jug with about 3 to 4 inches of soil in December and leave outside, uncovered, until spring. In the spring, open the jug and transplant the seedlings into the garden. This method is called winter sowing.

Once your plants are established, they will self-sow. In fact, columbines are notorious for cross pollinating so if you want one particular color, grow only that plant. Do not mix up your seed. Mine have been in my garden for almost 20 years and are a mix of purples and blues. I know I have sowed several different types over the years, but these colors must be the hardiest.

Columbine blooming at the National Arboretum

Columbine plants are deer resistant, and the flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and hawk moths. After the spring, the foliage will remain which does tend to get leaf miners but this will not kill them. Leaf miner damage just goes with the territory, there is not much you can do other than snip off the damaged foliage. The unsightly silver “doodles” on the leaves is caused by leaf miner larvae tunnelling their way through the middle of the leaves. The Eastern red columbine is supposed to be more resistant to leaf miner than the hybrids. In the winter, these plants die down and become dormant. Foliage emerges as early as February.

In our area, we have plenty of spring native plant sales so you may find small plants of the Eastern red columbine. If not, check out these seed companies for both the native species and the hybrids.

Close up of the center of the flower

1 Comment

Posted in flowers

Tagged , , , , ,

Virginia Bluebell Season Is Almost Here!

Posted on March 9, 2023 | Leave a comment

Virginia bluebell season is around the corner so plan now to see carpets of this ephemeral wildflower here in Virginia. Although mid-April has been the peak time in the past, it may come earlier since we had such a mild winter. Here are a few places in Northern Virginia to view colonies of bluebells; some places are already reporting blossoms now in March.

Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are synonymous with early spring. Their blue trumpet-shaped flowers bloom above the green foliage in deciduous woodlands before the trees leaf out. These perennials emerge early in the year, bloom for a few weeks in March or April, and then die back to become dormant in the summer. The plants like the moist soil of the forest, high in organic matter. They self-seed and create colonies which is why you will see carpets of blue in the parks below. If you look closely, you will see that the buds are pink opening up to blue but the overall effect is a blue haze. These are native wildflowers, but you can purchase the plants from nurseries.

Balls Bluff Regional Battlefield Park (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority), Balls Bluff Road, Leesburg.

Bull Run Regional Park (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority), 7700 Bull Run Drive, Centerville. This park has a Bluebell Trail just off the Bull Run Occoquan Trail near the Atlantis Waterpark.

Great Falls Park (National Park Service), 9200 Old Dominion Drive, McLean.

Manassas National Battlefield Park (National Park Service), 6511 Sudley Road, Manassas. Best view is from the Stone Bridge.

Merrimac Farm (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), 15014 Deepwood Lane, Nokesville.

Riverbend Park (Fairfax County Park Authority), 8700 Potomac Hills Street, Great Falls. Riverbend Park is celebrating bluebells on Saturday, April 8, 2023, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. There is a fee for attending this family event; however, the public can visit anytime to view the bluebells.

Scott’s Run Nature Preserve (Fairfax County Park Authority). 7400 Georgetown Park, McLean.

Turkey Run Park (National Park Service), George Washington Memorial Parkway, McLean.

Leave a comment

Posted in flowers, native plants

Tagged , , ,

Hardy Hibiscus: Summer-Flowering, Native Shrubs

Posted on July 7, 2019 | 12 comments

Amaretto

This summer I am enjoying two hardy hibiscus plants in my Virginia garden. I planted them last year along the perimeter of the backyard where the water runs through like a river when it rains. It is a full sun, exposed area and the plants are blooming their heads off.

Hardy hibiscus plants (Hibiscus moscheutos) are native to the eastern United States and are common in swampy areas. They typically grow 4-5 feet tall with large hibiscus-like flowers. The flowers only last a day, attracting pollinators, butterflies, and hummingbirds. For years, several cultivars have been available with flowers in the white, pink, and red range.

My bushes come from a new series of eye-popping colors.  I have Amaretto (salmon-colored flowers) and Bleu Brulee (lavender petals with dark red center) from J. Berry Nursery’s Summer Spice Hardy Hibiscus collection. This is a wholesale nursery but their website has a retailer locator. The collection has unusual flower colors – from dark red chocolate to cornflower blue.

Bleu Brulee

My plants were very small when I planted them last summer but they grew quickly. In the fall, after the first frost, I cut the stems down to about 4 inches above the ground. They overwintered well but as with all hardy hibiscus plants, they were late to the dance. Just when I thought the bushes might be dead, I saw new growth at the base in May. The stems grew so fast that by June the bushes were about 3 feet tall (this series also is more compact). Now in July, they are covered in flowers constantly visited by bees. Hardy hibiscus plants are also deer-resistant, although I have seen some Japanese beetle damage on the foliage. I like their large flowers, especially since I can see them from the house. I have a few areas in my garden where there are depressions in the ground that remain damp after the rain or low lying areas through which rain water channels and hardy hibiscus plants are perfect for these areas. In addition, they thrive despite our heat and humidity and provide great color all summer long.

12 Comments

Posted in flowers, plants

Tagged , , , ,

Blessed with Native Aster ‘Lady in Black’

Posted on September 9, 2015 | 2 comments
Lady in Black aster at Derwood, September 2014

Lady in Black aster at Derwood, September 2014

I love participating in giveaways for gardening items and plants. Recently, I won a flat of fifty asters from New Moon Nursery, a New Jersey-based, wholesale company that specializes in Eastern native plants. The gift was actually a flat of any plant they had in stock and I specifically asked for Aster lateriflorus ‘Lady in Black’. I first saw Lady in Black last fall at the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, Maryland. I was struck by mass of pretty small flowers and the colorful foliage. Also known as calico aster, this particular type of aster grows to 3 feet, has purple black leaves, and blooms small, daisy-like white and purple pink flowers in September and October. Drought tolerant when established, Lady in Black is a low maintenance, native plant known for attracting butterflies but not attracting rabbits and deer.

Fifty asters in flat, September 2015

Fifty asters in flat, September 2015

I was excited to get the asters but fifty plants! What was I going to do? I barely had the space for five let alone fifty! And even if I had the space, it was too hot and dry to plant in the ground, the small roots would shrivel up in no time.  These plants were in a 50-cell, deep plug tray which means that each plant was only about 2 inches in diameter with a 4-inch depth. Planting them in the ground now during the current drought and high temperatures would only kill them. Yet leaving them in the flat all winter long would also kill them. For now, I put the flat in a place in the garden that received morning sun and afternoon shade to reduce the heat and stress and watered every few days. Later in the month, when the heat diminishes, I will plant all fifty in my melon patch, which is a new bed in full sun, but vacant now as melon season has passed. The little asters will live in the melon patch over the winter in a holding pattern (alive but not growing) while their roots dig down for moisture and insulation. In May, I will transplant most of them into small plastic containers and plant the ones I want to keep elsewhere in my own garden. So friends and family, next year I will be sharing about 40 native aster plants, lovely perennials with beautiful fall flowers!

2 Comments

Posted in plants

Tagged , , , , , , , ,