Plants grow in soil. It is plant roots that hold soil in the ground in fields and forests, and along creekbanks, streambanks and riverbanks. When floods come again — and they will — having plants like shrubs, trees and wildflowers growing along and up to the waterline will help ensure that the banks do not fail.

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. 

Dear reader, yeah, I mean you. You who are reading this while holding the paper in your hands or scanning through on your computer, tablet or phone. Yeah, you. I am so deeply grateful to you for reading my articles. This marks the 52nd column that I have written for The Smoky Mountain News, with one running every couple of weeks for the last two years or so. That’s one for each week in the year. One for every card in a deck.