In autumn, large trees like maples (Acer spp.), hickories (Carya spp.) and Oaks (Quercus spp.) get all the attention for their vivid fall leaf color. And that esteem is well deserved, along with smaller trees like flowering dogwood (Benthamidia florida), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) and sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum), these colorful trees bring the tourists and their cameras each fall. 

Among my favorite things is to be walking in the woods and come across a patch of wild edible fruits. How quickly a leisurely stroll or difficult hike in the woods can offer a refreshing trailside treat or even enough abundance to make pies and jam just from noticing ripe fruits and knowing that they are edible and delicious. 

Master Gardeners are available to answer questions about lawns, vegetables, flowers, trees and or-namental plants; disease, insect, weed or wildlife problems; soils (including soil test results) and fertilizers; freeze and frost damage; and cultural and chemical solutions to pest problems. 

Snakes tend to scare people. Believe me, I get it. Being named Adam and being an avid gardener, stories of snakes and apples and Eve have followed me my whole life. Snakes have been demonized by biblical references and the general fear of wild things. This fear tends to keep many people from exploring the woods and meadows around them, unfortunately. 

For the past few years, whenever I encounter the whorled loosestrife growing along a trail or roadside I have been saying its name out loud, and slowly. Like a prayer: “World, lose strife.”

Or so it sounds to my ears when said aloud. “World, lose strife.” And this world around us could use a lot less strife, that’s for sure. 

Were you suddenly stuck on a north facing hillside in the Blue Ridge mountains during a Summer thunderstorm and were without jacket or hood, in theory you could pull off the leaf of one of my favorite wildflowers, flip it upside down and wear it on your head like one of those cheesy umbrella hats — that is, if you are near to where the umbrella leaf grows. 

The Asheville-Blue Ridge Rose Society will host its annual Rose Exhibition at The North Carolina Arboretum in the Education Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 24 and 25.

This two-day event showcases the diverse range of roses grown by Rose Society members and at local gardens. 

If you are driving or walking in the woods in the higher elevations of Western North Carolina at this time of year, you may be treated to the most beautiful explosion of deeply pink azalea flowers blooming in profusion all throughout the woods. And it’s not just any old azalea, but it’s a special and rare species that are often be taken for granted. 

Do you have a gardening question? NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers are available to answer your questions about lawns, vegetables, flowers, trees and ornamental plants; disease, insect, weed or wildlife problems; soils (including soil test results) and fertilizers; freeze and frost damage; and cultural and chemical solutions to pest problems. 

Lake Junaluska’s Spring Plant Sale will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Nanci Weldon Memorial Gym.  

For sale will be a few thousand plants, including an assortment of annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables, hanging baskets and several varieties of native plants from the Corneille Bryan Native Garden, said Melissa Marshall, Lake Junaluska director of grounds.