35 Natural Wonders of Georgia (the book)

 

Georgia is such a big state – 159 counties – and with hundreds of cool natural places to visit and explore, it’s hard to know where to start (or continue). I’ve written before about an older book called Favorite Wildflower Walks of Georgia that has 20 recommendations. A new book came out that has 35 recommendations (and a few of them are duplicated from the other book, an indicator of just how special those places are).

Authored by writer Charles Seabrook and artist Ann Litrel, this book provides two different perspectives on each location. Charles is the experienced explorer, describing some of his favorite natural wonders, a list that he compiled in 2008 with the help of naturalist friends. Ann found his list and embarked on a quest to paint them all; being new to many of these places, her personal wonder and artwork both add a perspective not always seen, yet often felt. [For budding artists, her sketches include notes about the techniques she used to create them.]

35 Natural Wonders of Georgia introduces each of these to ordinary Georgians. With places located in all 5 ecoregions of Georgia, there is sure to be at least one of these relatively near any of us. Others would be worthy of short day-trips or longer vacations. Some of these places are field trip destinations by Georgia Botanical Society, an organization of passionate amateur and professional botanists.

Mountain laurel Pine Mountain

Between trips with them and trips of my own, I have been to just 14 of these 35 places (some of which have inspired my blogs such as #1 Okefenokee which inspired 3 posts by me: by land, by swamp, and a focus on the carnivorous plants that live there). 

Yet as I read the chapters on even the ones I have visited, Ann’s excited descriptions and artwork make me want to visit them again. Charlie’s text provides background about the sites and good context for why these places are so very special (and I learned several things!).

I hope this book will inspire you to visit some of these natural wonders. Conservation of special places depends on people who learn to appreciate them.

Photo of book courtesy of UGA Press.

Captcha This!

You know these things - what you need to prove you're a human. Pick all the motorcycles, buses, traffic lights ... from a combination of up to 9 photos. Well, I say we should make this more interesting (plants!) and challenging (native plants!).

So, I am here to present just that! This one happens to be the "in your lawn" version. How many of these have you seen in your lawn? Some are flowering now, some may take a few more weeks. See answers at the end of the column.

I like a little humor with my native plants. Some of the other silly posts I've made include:

Wordle (All Words Lead to Native)

Fake Butter (I Can't Believe It's Not the Native)

Food Pyramid (Native Landscape Pyramid) - ok maybe not so silly on this one.

Grandchildren (The Tiny Hands Project and How to Rake Leaves)

Ok, are you ready for the answers to the native captcha?

Scroll down.

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No, scroll down some more.

Starting with the top row, left to right: Common violet (Viola sororia), Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), Carolina geranium (Geranium carolinianum). Middle row, left to right: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), Slender wild basil (Clinopodium gracile). Bottom row, left to right: Bluets (Houstonia pusilla), Dwarf dandelion (Krigia biflora), Carolina bristlemallow (Modiola caroliniana).

Some of these are annuals and some are perennial. Look up each one to learn more (about keeping them or getting rid of them!). I personally love having some of those native ones - kind of like a pollinator lawn! This 2014 post has a few more that you might see in the lawn.

March 2026 Moment in Nature

I'm sure that half of Jackson County heard me squeal when I found trillium on my property this week. When you have a new place, there are a lot of new things to discover as the seasons progress. Spring is particularly full of these new discoveries, and finding spring ephemerals is one of the very best things that most of us hope to discover.

Trillium cuneatum

Even though the flower is not yet open, I'm fairly confident this is Sweet Betsy trillium (Trillium cuneatum). I had it at my previous house naturally, and I did not bring any of it with me because I knew I could probably get it on a rescue or from a friend. Finding it already on the property means I might get some other cool things popping up. This is rich soil here.

Get out there and see what spring is bringing you. It is a season for squealing, for sure.

#momentinnature

The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail

 

After several years of absence, I returned this week to The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail in Northwest Georgia in preparation for a field trip I am co-leading next month. It’s been a while since I went; I think my last visit was in 2017 because I blogged about it twice – two visits, one month apart. 

We’ve had some warm days lately so I was curious if there would be a lot of flowers; this visit closely matches with my February 19, 2017 visit in terms of what was blooming.

Sharp-lobed liverwort (Hepatica acutiloba)

The site is publicly accessible although it requires a pass (same as for any WMA). I usually get a Fishing License; it costs $15 and is good for a year but you can also get a one day pass. You reach the parking area via a narrow dirt road that contains significant ruts so consider your vehicle choice carefully. You used to have to drive over a stream to reach it; they’ve built a small bridge over that now. Parking is in an open, graveled field that can be fun place to see early butterflies puddling for minerals.

The trail is part boardwalk and you can see most all of the plant types from there. For the adventurous and the able, there is a dirt path with roots and rocks that you can continue on until you reach the waterfall, but it is not required. From the parking area, you can also walk up the much wider trail that goes all the way to the top of the waterfall (it is called the Pocket Loop Trail). There are some different plants on the Pocket Loop Trail and it is easy walking; the top has a nice area for picnicking by the gurgling stream so bring lunch and something to sit on.

Here are some photos of what we saw on both trails; the Hepatica shown above is on both trails. On the Boardwalk trail, some of the tiniest flowers are up and some of the popular flowers (like Virginia bluebells) are just barely starting:

Claytonia caroliniana

Erigenia bulbosa 

Stellaria pubera

Mertensia virginica

On the Pocket Loop trail, the soil is a little drier:

Viola rostrata

Erigeron pulchellus

And even without flowers, you can find dried Hydrangea blooms, cool evergreen ferns, evergreen foliage of other plants, and mosses of all kinds.

Hydrangea arborescens will bloom in May

Walking fern

A fern duo at the top of the falls

Left to right: Heuchera, Sedum, Erigeron, Aquilegia

If you want to look ahead as to what you might see in March, check out my March 2017 blog post or my March 2012 blog post.

If you’re interested in other wildflower walks, check out this book about walks throughout Georgia. The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail is their #1 recommendation.

February 2026 Moment in Nature

You can be surprised that I chose this for my #momentinnature. This is not a native plant. It was brought here as a result of a long path of botanical explorations that date back hundreds of years. Daffodils (Narcissus) have their origins in the Mediterranean (read more here). Bulbs like daffodils and tulips were part of a lucrative trade in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

European settlers brought them here and planted them in places where they persist even long after the humans have left, fooling some folks into thinking they are native. Here you can see the native American beech foliage in the woods behind this clump, giving all of it a naturalized appearance.

These particular ones haven't outlasted the humans yet. They are in my new yard (and they are in abundance!), planted by the original owners as many as 30 years ago. Deer don't seem interested in them.

So while they are not native, they bring a smile for many folks when they bloom in the winter (the earliest species often do bloom in winter here), their bright flowers appearing to defy the winter weather.

Enjoy the moment.

Goldenrod Gets Its Moment

 

Solidago petiolaris

Goldenrod needs to be in more gardens! Its late summer and fall blooms are very important to resident and migrating pollinators such as the Monarch butterfly. Yet, its message of positivity doesn’t always reach the gardeners. Instead, a fear of aggressive behavior (and the ridiculously inaccurate assumption that it contributes to allergies) keeps people from using it in designed landscapes.

A new trial garden report for goldenrod was released recently by Mt. Cuba Center as part of their ongoing efforts to evaluate native plants for gardens. This is their sixteenth report and two more are in-progress. These 3-year trials focus on the Mid-Atlantic region, but many of the species in their trials are native to Georgia as well. 

I have written about some good goldenrods for Georgia in 2011 and again about a particularly available species in 2023.

The report’s overall assessment on aggressive species is that “only a handful of the evaluated Solidago could be categorized as aggressive, and even these plants can be used to great effect in naturalistic gardens.” This was a full-sun trial but in the Mid-Atlantic that even includes our shade-tolerant species Solidago caesia. Several of the species of Euthamia were included. Of the 70 plants tested. Some of them were straight species, some of them undescribed (listed at the genus name only), and some were cultivars.

For beginners, the report includes a lot of useful information about plant structure (see photo above), taxonomy, habit, and care. Each of the top 13 performers has a detailed description (see example below). There is also a downloadable spreadsheet that I found very useful. Sun exposure, moisture, height, bloom time, insect activity, and even deer browse impacts are shown for each species in the spreadsheet.

I encourage you to read the report (and some of the other reports!) and get inspired, ready to incorporate some goldenrod into your garden this spring. Goldenrod (Solidago) is a keystone perennial for Georgia gardeners and your impact on supporting the local ecosystem increases with your use of it.

January 2026 Moment in Nature

Wintry weather happens. When we're prepared, it's nice to have a seasonal sprinkling to remind us what winter is all about. So far, that seems to be what's happened this time, similar to what happened last January. 

Now, all this is really just a collection of tiny ice pellets, but it looks like snow and makes for a very seasonal #momentinnature. This particular photo is from my porch and is as close as I want to get because all paths to get closer are sheets of ice. Be safe out there!