Author Archives: Brenda Clements Jones

About Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

The Easter Bunny?

April 19, 2025

Probably not the Easter Bunny, but a Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii). At one of my favorite places in New Mexico, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site.

Ninety percent of their diet is grass. Other things they eat include the leaves and peas of Mesquite, and the pads of Prickly Pear Cactus. Fortunately for them, considering where they live, they seldom need to drink. They’re able to get their water from the plants they eat and from dew.

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Azaleas Abloom In The Woods

April 18, 2025

Pinxter Azaleas (Rhododendron periclymenoides) are blooming in the woods right now. Taking over the duty of providing pink, as the Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) send out their new green leaves and the pink blossoms drop to the ground.

The Pinxter Azalea is in the genus, Rhododendron. In that genus, there are Rhododendrons as well as Azaleas. They’re a deciduous, woody shrub, which blooms in the spring before its leaves emerge. Native to eastern North America.

So many gorgeous flowers in the woods right now!

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At The Garden Gate

April 17, 2025

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

They arrive here in late autumn, stay during the winter enjoying the snow, and are here for a good bit of spring. Their population is most dense in the southeastern United States during late autumn, winter, and early spring. The breeding season finds them in Canada, and northern parts of the northeastern United States.

They’ll be here for perhaps two or three more weeks and then they’re heading north. Migration adds an interesting dimension to bird watching.

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Tiny Lilies In Bloom

April 16, 2025

Pure joy every spring when these diminutive Trout Lilies (Erythronium americanum) decide to emerge from the soil and reach their short stems skyward.

In preparation to becoming a Virginia Master Naturalist, I took a natural history class in Charlottesville many years ago. That class was incredible in its content. We took many field trips and I saw things I had never seen before, including Trout Lily in bloom. That inspired me to get some to add to my garden.

They are certainly beautiful flowers but, oh so tiny! Two leaves and a stem reaching up to no more than six inches. Not quite small enough for a doll house though.

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White And Sometimes Pink Trillium

April 15, 2025

White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) in bloom up the mountain right now, sometimes in large swaths.

These flowers spread into large areas thanks to mymecochory, a process I’ve mentioned before. It is the process in which ants are attracted to the seeds of certain plants. Seeds that have elaiosomes, or fatty structures, which the ants feed to their larvae. White Trillium also spreads with the assistance of rhizomes.

Though it is said that the white petals of these flowers will turn pink with age, I don’t often see old flowers that have turned pink, but that does seem to happen. But I also see just every now and then, pink buds or pink young flowers. These are a pink form of White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum f. roseum.

It is thought that this form occurs because of an infection caused by a microorganism in the plant. These pink forms are found mixed in just occasionally with the normal white flowers.

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Precious Star Chickweed

April 14, 2025

Another native plant that lives in the shadow of a somewhat similar non-native invasive plant. This is Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera), in bloom right now along trails up here in the mountains. Having the name Chickweed in its common name I’m sure will turn people off but this is a good plant. Well behaved and native to the eastern United States.

The blooms of Star Chickweed are 1/2 an inch wide with 5 petals. Because the petals are deeply incised, the blooms give the impression that there are actually 10 petals. A plant in the carnation family Caryophyllaceae. The stamens of the flowers are tipped with dark anthers, which set against the white petals, is quite an appealing look.

Both nectar and pollen are produced by the blossoms which attract bees, flies, buttterflies and skippers.

And remember it is a GOOD Chickweed!

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Rich Yellow Blooms

April 13, 2025

Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) in bloom right now. A marvelous plant native to the east and central United States and southwestern Ontario. Its rich yellow is a color that I adore.

Stylophorum diphyllum has two common names, Wood Poppy and Celadine Poppy. I choose to use the name Wood Poppy since there is another plant with a similar name, Greater Celadine (Chelidonium majus). Greater Celadine has a similar appearance, and is a non-native highly invasive plant. The name Wood Poppy leaves no confusion.

In the wild it is threatened by two invasives that are a concern to many native plants, Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), and Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum).

Wood Poppy is a flower which only provides pollen for visitors looking for such things, but no nectar. And it is one of those plants that has seeds with an oily appendage called an elaiosome. Ants gather these seeds to provide their larvae a nutritious food source, the elaiosome. They then discard the seeds in their “trash room” where the seeds may eventually sprout. This fascinating process is called myrmecochory.

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Hummingbirds And Blooms

April 12, 2025

I’ve been wondering about the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris). How in the world are they finding nectar here to keep them humming along? The woods and gardens are just beginning to create the blooms that the hummingbirds need.

Turns out the answer is quite obvious. The many trees that are in bloom right now, in early spring are generous with their nectar. The Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is among our hummingbirds’ favorite trees.

And the Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is also right up there among the favorites. So many generous flowers providing them nectar all along their route from the very far south to their summer breeding grounds.

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Wintercress

April 11, 2025

Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris). The lighter yellow flowers in this photo. Native to Eurasia and Northern Africa and invasive.

The darker yellow blooms on the left are Roundleaf Ragwort (Packera obovata)(native to Virginia), and the orange in the lower right corner are California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)(native to California and the northern part of Baja California, Mexico).

Wintercress, another example of a non-native invasive in our landscape.

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Another Very Small Butterfly

April 9, 2025

Perched on a Bi-color Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia f. priceana), sipping its nectar. One of just a few flowers that are available during their season of flying, in early spring.

This, a male Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea). The male has orange tips on the dorsal side of its wings. The female looks similar to the male, white with black speckles, but without the orange tips. Another of the small butterflies with a wingspan of 1.375 to 1.5 inches.

As adults these butterflies have a lifespan of 6 to 10 days.

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