Calmes Neck

Pawpaw flowers.

 

 Last Saturday I went on the Virginia Native Plant Society's (VNPS) walk at Calmes Neck, a tract of private land overlooking the Shenandoah River a bit north of Front Royal. This is a unique site that contains a good number of native species over varied terrain: limestone cliffs with ferns and Columbines overlooking the river, and hillsides carpeted in Virginia Bluebells and other spring ephemerals.

 

Pawpaw flowers (Asimina triloba).

We started our walk at the top of a hill that was covered with Pawpaw trees in flower. There was little evidence that these flowers had been damaged by a frost earlier in the month, so I presume these trees didn't begin to flower until after the frost.

Twinleaf plants (Jeffersonia dyphilla)

Seedpod of Twinleaf.

I had hoped to sketch the twinleaf flowers after our walk, and had brought my sketchbook and kit, but due to the recent heat-wave, the plants were done flowering and had gone to seed. There was not a single flower on the entire hillside covered with these plants!

I had to console myself with the native delphiniums (Delphinium tricornis) nearby. There were a few unusual pale sports growing next to the normally deep purple flowers in this small patch near the twinleaf plants. There were also some trilliums (Trillium sessile), near the Delphiniums.

 

Delphiniums (Delphinium tricornis) on the forest floor.

Close-up of Delphinium tricornis

A pale variant of Delphinium tricornis

Toadshade (Trillium sessile)

We walked down the hillside toward the river where Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) grow in abundance. Among the bluebells we found plants of both squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) and Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).

 

The path by the Shenandoah River.

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis)

River floodplain filled with Virginia bluebells.

After a short stroll through the river floodplain filled with Virginia bluebells our group turned towards a high bluff overlooking the Shenandoah River. On the rocky ledges of this bluff grew a number of lovely and unusual plants: wild columbines, bulblet ferns, walking ferns, native sedums, purple cliffbrake, and spleenwort.

 

Looking down from the limestone cliffs.

Wild columbines (Aquilegia canadensis) on the rocky ledges.

 

 

Columbines and bulblet ferns (Cystopteris bulbifera).

Spring has been so dry this year that the usually green mossy rock ledges were all dried and brown; the walking ferns in particular seemed to be fried to a crisp! Still, they manage to hang on--I'm sure they'll all revive with the first abundant shower.

 

Walking fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum)

Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) with flower.

Rare purple cliffbrake fern (Pellaea atropurpurea)

Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)

Here was another rare fern--the wall rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria)--so tiny it would be easy to overlook if we didn't have an expert botanist as a guide. Other ferns and plants on the cliffs are unique to this site.

Wall rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria)

Alumroot (Heuchera villosa)

Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

Rock twist (Draba ramossisima)

A number of other spring blooming flowers were present: spring beauty (Claytonia virginica), harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa), cut-leaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), round-leaf ragwort (Packera obovata) etc., that are by-now very familiar to me. I did learn that the tiny spring beauty flowers actually have pink pollen, and that when bees harvest their pollen, the pink pollen sacs tell us they've been visiting these spring beauties..

 

Harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa)

Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)

Round-leaf ragwort (Packera obovata)

I had brought a sandwich and my paints so that after our excursion I could stay a bit longer to paint one of these lovely flowers. I chose to do a field sketch of one of the delphimiums, which turned out quite nice. I had just finished my drawing when I felt the cool breeze presaging that some rain might be heading this way, so I packed up and left.  I had just got back on Route 50 when a shower started.

 

Watercolor field sketch of Delphinium tricornis (9" x 6").

 

I finished the watercolor in my studio at home with the help of my photos. Above is my little sketch.

Peonies, Roses and More

Itoh Peony 'Bartzella'

Bartzella

 

Late May is such a wonderful time of the year for flowers! Peonies, roses, clematis, azaleas, wildflowers, just about everything seems to bloom at this time of the year. After the recent rainy spell, my garden looks fabulous! That is, as long as you don't look too closely at the weedy lawn.

My peonies put on  a gorgeous show this spring: the yellow Itoh 'Bartzella'  produced seven huge, dinner-plate size blossoms. 'Duchesse de Nemours' is so heavy with blooms that even with grow-through wire supports, the recent rains broke off a few stems. The perfect excuse to cut and bring them into my house to fill a vase for sketching.

 

Peony 'Duchesse de Nemours'

'Duchesse de Nemours'

The pink peony in the front bed by the driveway was the first peony I planted in my garden, and it has been putting on a show since then. Peonies are long-lived plants, and usually bloom in greater profusion every year if they're happy in their location.

 

Pink peony in front bed.

 

Pink peony, alliums and shrub roses in bed by driveway.

Shrub rose 'Petal Pusher' with blue Fescue and yellow alliums.

 

The sunny bed by the driveway with the pink peony is fuller this year with yellow alliums, and the roses are now starting to bloom. I don't recall the tufts of blue fescue grass blooming so profusely before, they are stunning this year!

 

Red 'Double Knockout' rose by the front walk.

Ground covers by the front walk.

The red 'Double Knockout' rose by the front walk is lovely with its first flush of bloom, and will keep on blooming until the first frost, if not as profusely--I only wish it had some perfume! The rest of the ground covers and shrubs along the walk are lush too; the Persian carpet effect I wanted here is coming together nicely. The blue-green foliage of woolly thyme and Juniper contrasts nicely with the yellow-greens of the sedum 'Angelina' and a miniature golden Hinoki false cypress, and the fresh green of Greek oregano, accented with the clump of magenta pink dianthus flowers.

Clematis 'Etoile Violette'

 

My clematis 'Etoile Violette' took a beating last year when the climbing rose 'New Dawn' was blown down off the porch pillar during a storm. The rose had to be pruned back severely, which I don't think hurt it any. This year it looks as if 'New Dawn' will bloom a bit later, so the two will not coincide. I like the color combination of these three plants: the deep purple clematis with a golden Hinoki cypress and a dwarf Colorado blue spruce. 

 

East garden in the evening.

Moving along the east of the house, three Japanese maples provide shelter for shade-loving plants like the Rhododendron and two azaleas. The photo above was taken last week, the one below a few days later. The Japanese maples are a red-leaved 'Bloodgood', a full-moon maple 'Shirasawanum', and between these two, a small-leaved one I grew from a seedling found in the grounds of the office building next to the one I used to work in.

Same bed in morning light, pagoda dogwood on the left, fringe tree on the right.

'Blue Barlow' columbines with Fringe tree and Japanese maples.

 

The Virginia Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginianus) and Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) blooming at the same time with the columbines really made this area of the garden sing this year. The great blue Lobelias are spreading all over this bed, competing with the 'Blue Barlow' columbines. Later in the year the Lobelias will cover the bed with their blue spikes of flowers.

 

Dutch iris, 'Major Wheeler' honeysuckle and double flowering Quince

In the back yard, the deep blue Dutch iris sets off the honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler' while the double flowering quince continues to bloom in the long island bed. In the same bed, the elderberry 'Black Lace' and other plants bloom, waiting for the Asian lilies to make their entrance.

Clematis 'John Warren'

Elderberry (Sambucus 'Black Lace')

Pentstemon 'Electric Blue'

Foxglove Pentstemon

Last fall I transplanted one of the foxglove Pentstemons to the Herb bed and another to the back bed, where they are flourishing. Meanwhile, the Badlands shine with the same foxglove Pentstemons and the blooms of 'Coppertina,' a ninebark tree (Physocarpus opulifolium 'Coppertina).  The deer eat this shrub back every year so it doesn't seem to get any bigger, but they seem to have stopped devouring my other ninebark tree, 'Amber Jubilee' in another bed, allowing it to produce its first blooms this year.

Ninebark tree 'Coppertina'

Ninebark tree 'Amber Jubilee'

I'd forgotten to show you my 'Kousa' dogwood, which has more blooms this year, despite the ravages of the 17-year locusts last year.

 

'Kousa' dogwood in back bed.

I can't wait to see what marvelous new blooms the season will bring forth soon!

Elleber Ridge

Tiger swallowtail butterfly on flame azalea flowers.

 

The day after my hike to the Dan Ingalls Overlook Trail  I had planned to go with Amanda's friend Charles on a plant finding expedition. Charles Garratt is a well-known photographer and native orchid aficionado who has located and documented an amazing variety of hard-to-find orchids in Bath County and neighboring areas.

Charles was very kind to offer to drive me around and show me some botanical sites; we agreed on exploring a botanical site known as Elleber ridge, on the state line between Virginia and West Virginia, where we might find some orchids in bloom at this time of the year.

 

The bathhouses in Warm Springs

The Warm Springs gazebo by the bathhouses.

We agreed to meet in Warm Springs and ride north to Highland County, which I'd never visited before. The ride through the fields and forests bordering the Jackson river was lovely, everything looked so lush and green with all the recent rain. Highland County is the least populated county in our state, known to me primarily for its sugar maple syrup production. Charles told me that raising cattle was currently topping the list for economic activity here.

 

Wild columbines in Highland County.

 

As we passed open fields heading into the mountains, we saw lovely Columbine flowers along the roadsides, and Charles remarked that some botanists believe these may be a different species of Aquilegia than the ordinary A. canadensis, because they seem to bloom all summer long and are taller than usual. I guess only DNA studies could determine if it is a different species or simply a variant.

At the top of the mountain was the entrance to the Elleber Ridge area, and as we made our way down a steep forest service road, we crossed a stream and several ravines. Charles kept a sharp eye for  unusual vegetation by the roadside. Deep in the woods he stopped at a place where there were several pieces of heavy machinery--it appeared that the forest service was getting ready to cut down a stand of Virginia pine for timber.

 

Padleaf orchid (Platanthera orbiculata)

In the shade of the pines by a small creek we found many orchids growing among thick stands of fern: quite a few pink lady slippers (Cypripedium acaule) were still in bloom here, and some padleaf orchids (Platanthera orbiculata) in bud were getting ready to bloom. We took lots of photos of these and other lovely woodland flowers. What a shame that heavy equipment was about to destroy this wonderful orchid refuge! If I'd had a place to keep some of these orchids alive, I would have rescued them right on the spot! Alas, if they manage to survive the timbering operation, it may take many years for this population to recover.

 

Pink ladyslipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule)

Pink ladyslippers

Mountain woodsorrel (Oxalis montana)

 

Flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceae)

After that stop, we pulled up by a thicket of Flame azaleas and mountain laurels. The Flame azaleas were absolutely irresistible! Even the butterflies couldn't leave them alone! 

White monkshood (Aconitum reclinatum)

We also found white monkshood in bud, and a maple in bloom--I later confirmed it was mountain maple (Acer spicatum)--it's unusual to see a maple flowering this late in the season. This small understory tree's normal range is much farther north, it's only found in the higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains. An enormous pipevine twined into the top parts of a tree overhanging the stream where we ate our lunch.

 

Pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla)

The drive back through the town of Monterey and Rte. 220 was very scenic. It was early evening by the time we got back to Warm Springs, when Charles said he had one more site to show me. Earlier we had talked about shale barrens, and their unusual native vegetation, and he now surprised me by driving through the town of Hot Springs down to the sewage treatment station. Right across from this was a sheer wall of rock facing southwest--a shale barren!

A shale barren near Hot Springs.

Clematis viticaulis in shale barren

Clematis viticaulis in shale barren.

Charles had talked about two of our native clematises that grew in this inhospitable habitat: Clematis viticaulis and Clematis albicoma. Here were some clematises with their characteristic seedheads, at least one, possibly both species! There were also butterfly weed (Asclepias) in bloom, the native Sedum ternatum, and in the rock undercuts, some spleenworts (I believe these are Asplenium trichomanes).

 

Sedum ternatum in shale barren

Spleenwort in shale barren (Asplenium trichomanes)

The summer temperatures in these shale barrens can reach up to 180 degrees, and the vertical slopes drain quickly, making this environment very hot and dry. The plants that live are able to adapt to these extremes. 

I enjoyed the day and the company to the max: it's not often that I get to see and photograph so many plants new to me, in such amazing settings, and talk to such a fascinating plant aficionado! I'm hoping to acquire some of these clematises native to the shale barrens, to see if they will grow in my garden--I'm sure there are some dry, hot spots that might provide just the right conditions for them, if I can only find the drainage they need.