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Virginia Native Plant Society

Circle logo for The Flora of Virginia Project with a sketched flower in the center

Flora of Virginia Project is Awarded First 2025 Green Grant

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Circle logo for The Flora of Virginia Project with a sketched flower in the centerJune is one of our favorite months at Keep Virginia Beautiful!  Every year we announce our Green Grants awards, one each day through the month of June until all thirty selected organizations are recognized. This is our 15th Annual Green Grant awards program.

We’re exciting to announce that our first award goes to the Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project! They applied for a $500 grant in the Community Beautification category.

Government, non-profit, civic, and other service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification.

The Flora of Virginia Project inspires conservation of Virginia’s native flora through publication of the Flora of Virginia in electronic and print formats. This resource is critical to protecting the rich biodiversity in the Commonwealth and is necessary for the work of environmental professionals, educators and enthusiasts alike.

Globe-shaped purple-red flower called asclepias amplexicaulis (Common Milkweed)
asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed), photo by Kenneth Lawless

Essential to their mission is education. They launched the Flora of Virginia Ambassador Program in 2024 to extend the reach and ability to educate individuals across the Commonwealth on how to identify, protect and support native flora.  The Ambassadors, through the Virginia Master Naturalists and Virginia Native Plant Society, provide education and offer programs in their communities to inform people of the value of including native plants in personal and community restoration projects.

The Flora of Virginia Ambassador Program teaches native plant enthusiasts how to use the Flora of Virginia App for native plant conservation, education and restoration. Funds provided by the Green Grant will be used to purchase supplies needed to conduct the training.  Interested members attend online classes, field labs, and lead or volunteer for a program in order to achieve Ambassador status. They predict that in two years they’ll expand their ability to provide education and guidance on native plants by more than 500% with 78 trained volunteers.

We thank you, Flora of Virginia Ambassadors, for the benefit you will provide to encourage beautiful and healthy native plants in our communities!

Volunteers install native plants in the pollinator garden at Canoe Run Park

Volunteers LOVE VA at Canoe Run Park

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Volunteers install native plants in the pollinator garden at Canoe Run ParkNovember 15th wrapped up our LOVE VA Fall cleanup campaign!  And we had the perfect project to complete before the campaign ended.

We spent a gorgeous Autumn Saturday at Canoe Run Park implementing the next phase of a plan that we had started last Fall.  Volunteers from CoStar, Capital Trees, the Richmond Chapter of Young Men’s Service League, as well as staff from Keep Virginia Beautiful and Richmond Parks and Rec got to work once again with shovels, mulch, and native trees and plants.

Canoe Run Park is a 300-acre park located near West 22nd Street in South Richmond that opened in 1990.  There’s a large, open grass area for football and other games that’s surrounded by a large, oval jogging trail.  During hot, humid Summer days, it was too sunny and hot to comfortably enjoy the park.

Men building wooden park benchesThat began to change in October, 2023, when CoStar’s sponsorship supported an effort to partner with Capital Trees, the City of Richmond’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities (PRCF) and volunteers planted 50 mature native trees!  A Spring maintenance workday provided inspection of the trees, the addition of mulch where needed, and planning for the next steps to make Canoe Run Park even more green and inviting.

The group of partners gathered again in November with forty volunteers to put this year’s plans into action.  Even though the trees were outfitted with Tree Diapers, with the drought our area had at the end of the growing season, some of the trees did not survive – but only five native plants needed to be replaced.  Mountains of mulch were spread, and eight park benches were built and set in place (in concrete) near the children’s playground for visitors to enjoy.

New too was a large area that was prepped and planted to be no mow pollinator garden! Native plants, 160 of them, were planted to invite pollinator butterflies and other insect wildlife to the area.  If you’d like to learn more about the value of native plants, visit the Virginia Native Plant Society.  And here’s a list of the native plants that were installed at Canoe Run Park if you’re interested in planting some in your yard or community garden.  Maybe you’ll get a chance to visit the pollinator garden in Springtime to see what’s blooming:

Eupatorium fistulosumSmall native plant with roots being installed in a pollinator garden
Eupatorium maculatum
Solidago Graminfolia
Hibiscus mochutoes
Amsonia hubrichtii
Baptisia tinctoria
Chelone glabra
Rudbeckia fulgida v. dreamii
Pycnanthemum muticum
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
Veronia noveboracensis
Aster laevis
Aster o. ‘Raydon’s Favorite’
Helenium autumnale
Helenium flexuosum
Penstemon digitalis

It’s helpful to know the Latin plant names so that you can be sure you’re getting the correct variety when ordering or purchasing the plants, to be certain the native variety is being purchased.

It won’t be long before those 50 trees will provide shade to those visiting the park and sitting on the new benches.  Thanks to all for the great partnerships, support, and volunteer effort!

Kaity at Parallel Nursery

Local Businesses Sell Native Plants

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Monarch butterfly on Joe Pye Weed
Monarch butterfly on Joe Pye Weed, VNPS Wildflower of the Year

Spring is the perfect time of year to add plants to your landscape.  When selecting plants, think native!

What is the value of having plants in your yard that are native to Virginia?  And how do I know if this plant native to my region?  According to the Virginia Native Plant Society, the authority on native plants, some suppliers will label a plant “native” if it naturally occurs in the United States. An example of this is Blue Spruce which grows natively in Colorado but not in Virginia. While plants such as this will grow here, they do not provide the same ecosystem services as a plant from Virginia. In other words, birds and mammals in Colorado have co-evolved with Blue Spruce so they are able to utilize the plant. Organisms in Virginia, however, do not recognize the plant, so it provides little to no wildlife support.  Additionally, plants that are native to the area where planted are easier to maintain because they require less watering, fertilizing, pruning, and pest-control since they are well-suited for the area.

Fortunately, we have some excellent local nurseries who can help you choose native plants that are right for your garden.

Kaity at Parallel NurseryParallel Nursery is a native plant nursery in Richmond.  They are a majority woman-owned and operated nursery specializing in seed-grown native perennials from the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern USA eco-regions.  They are committed to providing you plant that are:  always bee-safe & pollinator friendly, seed-to-soil pledge of 100% pesticide free life cycle; they use ethical seed collectors and sources only; and finished plants are provided in a sustainable, peat-free, renewable, pine-bark medium.

Their broad selection of sustainably grown perennials allows you to create a diverse and healthy ecosystem in your garden, regardless of your landscape conditions or gardening experience.  And if you need a little help with design, you can inquire about landscape design consultations at [email protected]!  Visit their booth at the Lewis Ginter Spring Plantfest on Friday, May 5 & Saturday, May 6.

Seven Bends Nursery in Winchester is committed to providing lovingly curated, high quality native plants that support ecologically functional landscapes.  Their plants are chosen for both their beauty and for their role is supporting the wildlife that keeps our minds peaceful and our landscapes healthy and beautiful.

Their inventory includes an assortment of native perennial flowers, trees, and shrubs important for wildlife within the Shenandoah Valley, Piedmont, and Appalachia.  They grow from seed, cuttings, and plugs, and supplement with larger stock from like-minded nurseries. They practice sustainable resource use, are neonicotinoid-free, and focus on creating healthy plants that have the best chance at fighting off disease and pests. They grow pure species only, and you can purchase plants online here.  You can also find them at the Native Plant Sale on May 6th at Arts Herndon Lawn in Herndon.

Yellow Black Eye Susan flowers and Virginia mountainsThe New River Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society covers the counties of Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and Wythe and the towns of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and City of Radford. Native plants are those plants which have evolved over time in specific areas and with specific pollinators or wildlife that feed on them. Many agricultural crops need native insects to pollinate them. Other native plants including shrubs, vines and trees should be planted too so birds and other wildlife will eat the berries and seeds.  You can visit a demonstration garden by clicking on the areas indicated on this map.  They will also host a Native Plant Sale on June 10th at SEEDS Blacksburg Nature Center.

There are many chapters of the Virginia Native Plant Society throughout the Commonwealth.  Visit this page to find a local chapter near you. Most have their annual native plant sales in the spring, so check out their websites and start digging!