by Mary Reid Barrow
Its spikey white blooms that some say look like a little like a pincushion are unlike most any flower you are apt to see around here.
Yet it’s called a buttonbush because its fruit looks like a round button!
Not only does buttonbush have whimsical features and a name that makes you want one in your yard, but hummingbirds and butterflies also love its nectar and birds and waterfowl like its seeds.
So, if you have a nice sun-to-part shade, damp or even a wetlands area, a buttonbush may be the bush for you. Better yet you may be able to get one free!
They will be among the plants and trees that Arbor Tree Experts will give away at LRNow’s Spring Fling Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the office on Holland Road. Bartlett will also have redbud trees, sweet bay magnolias and muhly grass to give away Saturday.
There should be something for every gardener that day. Native plant sales by Southern Branch Nursery and Nature’s Roots and Shoots will make your green thumb itchy.
Among the plants for sale, you will find milkweeds galore to make the monarch butterflies happy and almost all of your pollinators will be happy if you bring home a mountain mint or two.
If you have extra seedlings, seeds, or house plants, you can participate in a veggie, houseplant and native perennials seed and plant swap with EverGreen EcoScapes.
And to make your make your garden grow throughout the year, you will find Tidewater Compost with their compost for sale and information on their composting service.
Bring the kids along and visit with the Virginia Beach Public Library which will focus on children’s activities.
The Virginia Beach Friends of Live Oaks will have information on Virginia Beach’s official tree and Bee City USA will help you with everything you may want to know about bees.
Lastly purchase a LRNow Plant for the Future/Plant Natives tee shirt and go home in style. Show the neighbors how much you care about natives as you put your new treasures in the ground.
And just like the plants, we’ll be happy to see you Saturday, rain or shine!
Bonus Blog: How about that Pine Pollen?
Those wiggly yellow doodads on the pine trees have been having a heyday in this unseasonable heat and dry wind.
But today’s rains and cooler weather may bring a cure to the pollen that has been casting a yellow hue to everything it comes in contact with, not just the land but also ponds, cars and us.
For those who care, those yellow worm-like appendages dangling from the branch tips are actually male flowers. They are pollinating much smaller female flowers on the pinecone scales. The “candle” in the center is new growth.
Unfortunately, though the rain will probably take care of this irritant, pine pollen is usually not the allergen that makes us sneeze. There is more of that to come from other trees.