WNC Mountain Garden Adventure

09/20/2024

06/19/2024

Some more garden images.

06/19/2024

A recent bee capture!

05/23/2024

Galax blooming! May be the first time in the 10 years since it was planted.

04/29/2024

I love these native Columbines. They are doing well this year.

04/17/2024

Trilliums are showin their heads in my woodland garden.

04/14/2024

Dwarf Crested Iris are showing off today.

03/14/2024

The first native plant to flower in my backyard this year, Hepatica Americana. It flowered several weeks earlier last year.

01/05/2024

Happy New Year! THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE NATURAL COMMUNITIES OF NORTH CAROLINA (FOURTH APPROXIMATION) BOOK IS DONE!!!
You can download the final pdf version of the Natural Heritage Program natural community classification book from the program website: https://www.ncnhp.org/publications/natural-heritage-program-publications. We are looking into printing options, so let us know if you are interested in buying a hard copy.
It has descriptions for all the communities and all the themes, and dichotomous keys for all communities.
• Check out the last of the new communities: Pine—Oak/Heath (Linville Gorge Subtype), Pine/Scrub Oak Sandhill (Coastal Plain Mesic Transition) and (Sandhills Mesic Transition), Sandhill Seep (Savanna Subtype), and Boulderfield subtypes of Montane Oak—Hickory Forest, Chestnut Oak Forest, and High Elevation Red Oak Forest.
• Check out the updated crosswalks to the National Vegetation Classification.
• Check out the beefed-up reviews of dynamics in some of the theme descriptions.

The excellent cover design and illustrations are by Cameron Ward, Creative Services and represent the natural communities Dry-Mesic Oak—Hickory Forest (Piedmont Subtype), Fraser Fir Forest (Herb Subtype) + High Elevation Rocky Summit (Typic Subtype), Wet Loamy Pine Savanna, and Dune Grass.

06/27/2023

I do believe that the tulip poplar tree need to come down.

03/15/2023

Have you been seeing lavendar clumps of flowers in yards? If so, they might be Tiny Bluets (Houstonia pusilla). The ‘pusilla’ part of their scientific/botanical name means ‘very small’, in reference to the size of the plant and its flowers. They’re generally less than 2 inches tall. Tiny Bluets are native to the eastern US and often grow in clusters within sunny yards, open woodlands, and roadsides. They’re one of the earliest natives to bloom, having beautiful lavender, violet, or white flowers from late winter into spring. This is one wildflower you should “let be” or encourage in your yard.