Notes from a plant nerd: The plant nerds are coming!
If you find yourself on the campus of Western Carolina University in the summer around the third week of July, you might notice a large and slightly odd group of people walking around.
Notes from a plant nerd: Trilliums, Trilliums, Trilliums
Trilliums are some of the most beautiful and iconic wildflowers in the world, and the Southern Appalachian mountains are filled with many different trillium species.
Notes from a plant nerd: St. John’s wort
Among the many plants that signify the start of summer, perhaps none is more showy than St. John’s wort (Hypericum spp.)
Notes from a plant nerd: World, lose strife
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.”
Native Plants Act gets unanimous Senate approval
The N.C. House of Representatives is considering a bill titled the North Carolina Native Plant Act after it unanimously passed the Senate May 3.
Floral delight: Native plants expert leads Parkway tour in search of rare species
“When we get out, we’re going to walk across the street and I’m going to show you the most sacred spot,” Larry Mellichamp said as he began his botanical tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The spot in question wasn’t a gravesite or a cultural landmark or even one of the many breathtaking overlooks spread along the Parkway’s 469-foot length. Rather, it was a seemingly dead end — a face of rock bordering the north side of the road, slick with water seeping from within, partly shrouded by flourishing vegetation.
Planting for pollinators: Waynesville couple seeks to educate on the benefits of native bees
Brannen Basham spends more time puttering around the yard than the average homeowner, but the result is not what most people would picture when asked to envision a well-cared-for lawn.
EBCI and Smokies work toward agreement for plant gathering in park boundaries
Cherokee tribal members could be gathering sochan plants from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as early as next spring after Tribal Council’s vote last week to fund the $68,100 needed to complete the regulatory process.
Sylva’s carnivorous plant man: After nearly 30 years and thousands of plants, carnivorous plants still fascinate
When it comes to carnivorous plants, Darwin Thomas knows what he’s talking about. It doesn’t take much to get him started on a fact-filled tangent about the plants’ prey preferences, proper care and feeding, or histories. But Thomas, a heating and air technician by trade, didn’t learn any of it by sitting in a class somewhere.
“I read a lot of books, and just talking to people too,” Thomas said. “I’ve not had any education at all in anything to do with this. I just learned over the years. And after 28 years, I think I’ve learned how to grow them.”