There are are 100 counties in North Carolina. Before they were eliminated, there were 100 pennies in a dollar. 100 degrees centigrade is the boiling point of water. And no matter how many times I capture one to count them, there are usually way more than 100 legs on a centipede. The “cent-” prefix means 100, but it just doesn’t make sense, or cents, for that matter.
You are reading the 100th column in this series. Four years and four months ago, The Smoky Mountain News published the first piece in what would become “The Joyful Botanist” with the hope of sharing my love and passion for the plants and wildflowers of Southern Appalachia. That first article, written under the title “Notes form a plant nerd,” was an introduction to me, the origin story of how I found my way into studying and teaching about plants.
That first column ended with this question I am still asking today: “…If you don’t know something is there, how can you love it? And if you don’t love it, why would you care if it’s there?” I ask this because I want you to fall in love with native plants and wildflowers.
