May 2021: Chionanthus virginicus

May 3, 2021

Ellen Honeycutt Left: Fringetree in full bloom (photo by Ellen Honeycutt). Right: Willam Bartram’s painting of fringetree (http://www.wikigallery.org/). Our Plant of the Year for 2021, as chosen by our members in November 2020, is fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus).... read more

April 2021: Buckeye

Apr 3, 2021

Ellen Honeycutt Left: Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia). Right: Painted buckeye (Aesculus sylvatica). Imagine you are a migrating hummingbird winging your way north. As you arrive in Georgia, your tiny body exhausted from a long flight, you spot a large shrub with panicles... read more

March 2021: (“Species Spotlight”) Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly

Mar 3, 2021

Ellen Honeycutt Often we admire plants for their beauty, and native plants are no exception in that department. Scratch that beautiful surface a bit and you’ll find another quality to using native plants — that is their ability to support wildlife such as the... read more

February 2021: Carolina jessamine

Feb 3, 2021

Ellen Honeycutt I love going to South Georgia in the early months of the year to see things that bloom ahead of where I live in the Piedmont. One such plant is the evergreen vine called Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) and February would the time to look... read more

January 2021: Wax myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Jan 3, 2021

Ellen Honeycutt Wax myrtle (Morella cerifera) When you go out the door on a chilly January day, what is the first thing you look for? For me, it’s a bit of something green. I need to see some confirmation that life is still there. While I love the look of bare... read more

December 2020: Plant One for Wildlife: Native Oaks

Dec 3, 2020

Ellen Honeycutt White oak (Quercus alba) Native oaks are one of our most abundantly supportive plants for wildlife. Those who are new to understanding the relationship of native plants to wildlife might at first consider only the fall crop of acorns as the benefit... read more