Spring

Virginia’s spring landscape comes alive with native blooms, each offering a burst of beauty. Jack-in-the-pulpit, wild ginger, and common blue violet brighten shady woodlands, while green-and-gold and foamflower create lush groundcovers. Pink flowering dogwood and serviceberry add elegant blossoms to the understory. Wetlands glow with northern blue flag and golden ragwort, and sunny spots shine with moss phlox ‘Emerald Blue’, golden Alexander, and Philadelphia fleabane.

Summer

Summer natives light up the landscape with bold color and beautiful textures. Butterfly weed, fire pink, and purple passionflower dazzle pollinators, while swamp milkweed, pickerelweed, and jewelweed thrive near water. Wild bergamot, mistflower, and Virginia spiderwort add softness, and sundrops, Carolina rose, and woodland sunflower brighten open spaces. Shade-lovers like black cohosh and Turk’s-cap lily bring elegance, while Virginia wild rye and eastern prickly pear add structure and surprise.

Fall

The fall season glows with rich color. New York ironweed and great blue lobelia add bold purples. White wood aster and late purple aster light up woodland edges, and obedient plant and turtlehead thrive in moist soils. Shrubs like winterberry ‘Red Sprite’, spicebush and American beautyberry offer vibrant berries and fiery foliage. Grasses like river oats and trees such as sassafras and shagbark hickory add texture, rhythm, and a strong seasonal presence to the landscape.

Winter

Even in winter, Virginia’s native plants offer subtle beauty and structure. American holly and winterberry provide vibrant berries while Christmas fern, seersucker sedge, and partridgeberry keep the forest floor lively. Trees like eastern white pine and American sycamore stand tall with striking bark and form. Grasses such as Virginia wild rye add texture, and the seed heads of common milkweed and golden ragwort offer winter interest.