American Beeches are one of our most magnificent native trees, beautiful in every season, especially winter. They are also one of the most easily recognized of our eastern deciduous trees, with their silvery gray bark that appears “cast from molten pewter”. The massive trunks appear smooth to the eye but are slightly rough to touch and sometimes likened to elephant hide. American Beeches are slow growing but reach heights of 60 – 80’ and are known to grow as tall as 120’. This tree has massive smooth trunks with fluted bases that give way to a tracery of fine silvery branches accented with rich brown narrow pointed buds. Oval leaves alternate down the fine branches and are lined with small regular teeth along the margins and distinctive parallel veins on either side of the mid-rib. The lustrous leaves are almost translucent when held up to the sun, casting a dappled light under the trees. The leaves emerge a glowing chartreuse in spring, and light up the woodlands once again in fall when they turn a rich copper which glows against the silvery gray trunks. In winter, some of the leaves curl and fade to a light parchment color and hang on the branches, especially on younger trees and on lower branches of older trees, creating a lovely contrast with the gray trunks and surrounding forest.

As the winter solstice approaches, I am already anticipating the blooms of our earliest spring wildflower, Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. The buds of this winter blooming wildflower begin to appear in our region as early as December and the flowers often start to bloom by New Year’s Day. As one might imagine for a wildflower that manages to bloom and attract pollinators in the dead of winter, this plant has developed some remarkably interesting adaptations to the cold and even snow cover.

As the winter solstice approaches, I am already anticipating the blooms of our earliest spring wildflower, Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. The buds of this winter blooming wildflower begin to appear in our region as early as December and the flowers often start to bloom by New Year’s Day. As one might imagine for a wildflower that manages to bloom and attract pollinators in the dead of winter, this plant has developed some remarkably interesting adaptations to the cold and even snow cover.

Every fall as the leaves begin to drop and little else dares to bloom, I look forward to the blooms of our Common Witch Hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, a lovely small deciduous understory tree that flaunts clusters of spidery yellow blooms along its bare branches.

Red Chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia, is a versatile landscape shrub that shines in all four seasons of the year.

Seashore Mallow goes by many fitting names - Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow, Coastal Mallow, or Virginia Fen-Rose – but no matter what name this lovely coastal plant goes by, it puts on a dazzling show in late summer and fall that will make you fall in love!

Driving along sandy roadsides and fields of the coastal plain in summer, it is always a delight to find our native Purple Passionflower, a deciduous vine with dark green, three-lobed leaves and exquisite, showy flowers and edible fruit. This vigorous vine is native to the southeastern US from Kansas to Pennsylvania and southward and to Florida and Texas. In Virginia, it is most common in the southeastern coastal plain and outer Piedmont. Occurring in both Lancaster and Northumberland Counties, it is one of the hardiest Passionflower species.

Serviceberries are one of our loveliest small native trees with multiple seasons of ornamental interest. In the Northern Neck, we have several species found in our area in a range of sizes to fit any garden. Amelanchier arborea, the Downy Serviceberry, is also called Juneberry, Shadblow and Shadbush among other names and is one of the most beautiful and common species.

The lovely Sweetbay Magnolia, Magnolia virginiana, goes by many common names, including Sweet Magnolia, Swamp Magnolia, Swamp Bay, Laurel, White Magnolia, and Beaver Tree to name just a few. Regardless of the name, it is a spectacular small tree in every season and we are lucky it is a common understory tree along coastal areas of the Northern Neck.