Peggy shared a photo of the forest floor from her hike.
(Photo: Peggy Singlemann)
While I pen this note I am enjoying time in the mountains of Virginia where, even while hiking the trails, I am taking lessons from the natural world around me. While hiking I cannot help mentally naming the plants I pass along the trails. I spy the layers of the forest: the canopy, understory, and forest floor. I mentally note some plants have bloomed and some are blooming, while others will bloom later in the season. Take a note from nature and please walk your landscape to review what's blooming when. If you have a gap, visit your local nursery or garden center during that time of year to purchase flowering plants that will create a continuously blooming landscape. If you choose a Virginia native plant, then the pollinators and birds will benefit, too. Remember to keep working toward a landscape with a green mass of 70% native — and yes, that includes the trees.