New Year, New Flower for Georgia

 

If you haven’t heard already, the current state floral emblem for Georgia is an exotic rose - Cherokee rose (Rosa laevigata) - that was mistakenly considered to be indigenous (that is, native) to Georgia when it was nominated in 1916. While some people think it honors the Cherokee people, we know now that the Cherokee citizens of Georgia would rather support a native plant (read more in this FAQ). That rose was later classified as invasive because of its ability to spread and outcompete native species.

Last year, the Georgia Native Plant Society (GNPS) initiated an effort with the Georgia Legislature to change the state flower emblem to a native flower, the sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). That effort didn’t complete before the session ended, so this year it is being renewed in both the State House and the State Senate.

Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

As a member of the GNPS Board, I have been involved in this effort and I’d like to encourage all Georgia citizens to contact both your State Representative and State Senator to show your support for this change. GNPS has created some documentation (like the FAQ) to help you understand more and as something that you can share when you contact your State Representative and State Senator. The full collection of downloadable and printable resources can be found on the GNPS advocacy page.

Here is some sample text that you can use when you write your elected officials. Find your legislator’s name and contact details here. The House bill number is HB145.

“Senator/Representative <name>: I am in your district and I'm writing to ask you to support legislative efforts by Sen Rick Williams and Rep Deborah Silcox in 2025 to change the state flower from an exotic rose to the native sweetbay magnolia. This document from the Georgia Native Plant Society helps explain: https://gnps.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/State-Flower-Change-FAQs.docx.pdf

Thanks and please let me know if I can count on you to vote in favor of this change.”

Georgia deserves to have a state floral emblem that represents the beauty of Georgia’s native plants. In addition, the sweetbay magnolia is a plant that can be planted almost throughout Georgia in residential landscapes and business landscaping. It benefits our native pollinators, especially our state butterfly, the Eastern tiger swallowtail, who uses it as a host plant.

As the old saying goes, “When we know better, we can do better.” Now that we know it was a mistake to nominate an exotic rose in 1916, it’s time to fix that mistake. Your letters to your legislators can really make a difference as they really do listen to their constituents in matters like this. Let’s go native!

January 2025 Moment in Nature

My front door is flanked by two large windows and I can't help but peek out the window when I walk by. I've found many a surprise out there - most often a bird searching for food (they spend most of their day doing so). 

While I did put out birdseed during last week's snow event, I do expect that birds find some food in the landscape, especially in the front yard where I don't have feeders.

This week I spotted a pair of cardinals searching through the ground litter for seeds. And they were finding them, thanks to my efforts to leave as much as I can during the winter. These sights are always a very satisfying #momentinnature. 

Snow Stops By

The predicted snow arrived this week and it seems like Atlanta was reasonably well-prepared: schools closed, people stayed home, and most of us got to enjoy a 2 inch layer of snow.

American beech (Fagus grandfolia)

I put out seed and suet for the birds but there was no need to do anything for our native plants. Nestled in a coating of ice, most plants will be fine; as long as it melts quickly on our warmer days, the bigger plants won't be damaged by the extra weight. A December 2017 snow event illustrated how 7-8 inches can be damaging.

A smaller event in February 2020 illustrated how quickly these events can pass.

We drove out to pick up our grandson the next afternoon as the sun was finally breaking through. It was beautiful to see every plant stem was transformed - even each weed! - into a bejeweled wand. The sun turned the icy tree branches into collections of tiny prisms (which I tried to capture in the photo below).  

Iridescent ice on trees as the sun breaks through

Thanks to my husband for spotting a great place to take a photo. If you can see the pinkish-purple tips then you're seeing the prism effect.

Resolutionize Your Landscape

Resolutionize may not be a real word but let's define it as implementing your resolutions. You probably made several resolutions, some may have involved your health but hopefully at least one involved the health of the ecosystem.

Baby frog on Helenium

If you didn't, I've got some ideas! Here are some posts I've made about that over the years. They include resources to help you. Some of them are small but change begins with one simple step forward: replace a non-native plant with a native one, stop using pesticides, add more pollinator plants.

I hope you find something to inspire your efforts in 2025:

Using More Native Plants in the Landscape (2013)

Into the New Year (2014)

It's a New Year (2016)

Resolutions 2.0 (2017)

Be Inspired (ideas for every month) (2022)

NOTE: If you don't have a yard, you can still make a difference by volunteering to help remove invasive plants at local parks, educate others about native plants, serve on committees/boards for environmental non-profits - there is a need for all skill levels when it comes to improving and protecting the ecosystem.

2024 in Pictures

I take a lot of pictures throughout the year and not all of them make it into a blog post. At the end of the calendar year, it’s a good time to reflect on the beauty of nature as well as share some of the extra pictures.

I believe that each day is an opportunity to find and appreciate something beautiful in the native plants and creatures of Georgia. In January I found this lichen at a rest stop in Georgia where many of the trees were struggling (lichen is able to grow when woody plants are not growing robustly). It was a beautiful specimen.

We usually get some of our first blooms in early February. Both of these plants - climbing fetterbush (Pieris phillyreifolia) and Eastern leatherwood (Dirca palustris) - are native more south of me in Georgia but I love having them.

 

Pieris phillyreifolia

Leatherwood (Dirca palustris)

I've been rescuing plants with the Georgia Native Plant Society for many years and it is always fun to see unusual things; in late March, one site had an active Canadian goose nest right next to where we walked. We also found some beautiful hybrid buckeyes (Aesculus pavia x sylvatica).

April brought another nest, this one is a Carolina wren nest tucked into a group of unused quart pots. As far as I know, they all successfully fledged. This year was a great year for finding frogs (see my July #momentinnature for spring peepers) and in May this green tree frog was nestled into an Iris leaf blade next to the swimming pool.

The non-native hydrangeas get a lot of attention, but the sweetness of our native blossoms is not to be ignored. This one in June was a perfect mix of fertile (inner) and sterile (outer) flowers.

Hydrangea radiata

In July, I found a new-to-me species of mountain mint in the most unexpected of places! This is Savanna mountain mint (Pycnanthemum flexuosum) and it is planted at the assisted living facility where my father-in-law lives. Each tiny flower is almost hidden by the long calyx. A good close-up photo can be found here. It is a Coastal Plain species.

Pycnanthemum flexuosum

Hymenocallis occidentalis

One of my seedling spiderlilies (Hymenocallis occidentalis) bloomed this year in August; the original parent was rescued many years ago in my county. This one is right next to the sidewalk and provided a spectacular display for over a week.

In September I was leading a hike on Stone Mountain when the group found this double-toothed prominent caterpillar on a native elm (Ulmus). It was my first time to see this species.

Our visit to Japan in October found a few of our native plants like this scarlet hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) being used in ornamental gardens. My post in October had a few more details.

Hibiscus in Japan garden

This has been a significant year for deer damage and one morning in November my husband spotted this buck sleeping next to our front steps. One of my resolutions will be to do more to protect my plants from browsing so that I can enjoy more blooms and the pollinators have more nectar and pollen. Oh dear, looking back at last year's pictures, I see a similar one was in the same place.

As I mentioned in my December #momentinnature post, this year has been a little unusual for fall foliage. This red maple (Acer rubrum) - and it is a cultivar but I don't know which one - in downtown Athens, GA was full of colorful leaves in mid-December! Red maples are normally one of the earliest native trees to color and drop their foliage. It was a treat to see it.

Wishing you a good year in 2025 and more native plants and critters in your daily life.

Your Pocket of Ecosystem

Georgia is a state rich in botanical species and overall biodiversity (plants, birds, insects). It helps that the state is large in size, but our state also has a variety of rivers, streams, landforms, and soil fertility. These all help to contribute to the presence of so many different plant species. This variety of plant species in turn contributes to the diversity of birds and insects that we have, and they all live together in our local ecosystem.

Sourwood in the mountains but natural at my house too

Each of us that have responsibility for a bit of land – from 1/10 of an acre to hundreds of acres – care for a piece of Georgia’s ecosystem. What we do with it matters. A key part of knowing what to do with your pocket of ecosystem is to know what’s in it.

When houses are built, a portion of the land is cleared, construction is completed, and landscaping is installed around the house. If we’re fortunate – or if we deliberately choose a property that wasn’t completed scraped – then a bit of land is left and some of the existing plants remain. It is up to us to recognize and identify them, keep the good ones (sometimes there are invasive plants), and appreciate them for the value they bring to the ecosystem, including the tiniest of things (which might support specialist insects).

Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) is tiny and easily overlooked

Each fall brings a reminder of this practice when certain plants turn lovely colors, heralding their continued presence: sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) is a medium tree; highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is a large shrub; and Florida maple (Acer floridanum) is a small tree. All of these plants are native and natural to my area and I can spy them in many of my neighbors’ landscapes too. Yet, as common as they are to my area, these are hard to find for sale and it would not be easy replace them if I hadn’t known to keep them.

One of the Vaccinium corymbosum in my yard naturally

This week I spotted 4 gorgeous highbush blueberries in the wooded area behind me where new houses were recently built, all decked out in beautiful fall foliage. One of them is probably over 30 years old, with a trunk thicker than my wrist. Once their leaves fall, most people would not recognize them for being anything other than a plant that is in the way of plans to remake the woods to human desires.

Also in my neighbors’ yards are invasive plants: privet (Ligustrum, two kinds), prickly Mahonia bealei, burning bush (Euonymus alatus), thorny and autumn olive (Elaeagnus, two kinds), English ivy (Hedera helix), ornamental pear (Pyrus calleryana), Nandina, Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum). You can imagine being unsure of what to keep and what to remove.

My fear is that people “clean out” their wild areas, inadvertently removing worthy plants and sometimes keeping the invaders. In cleared out areas, the invasive plants are often faster to recolonize, outcompeting any natives that might try to come back.

We have the tools now to help us identify these plants: books, apps, websites, identification groups on Facebook and Reddit, and local Master Gardeners. I written several times about using apps and the internet as well as some basic guidelines. Here are links to two of those posts:

Plant Id using Smartphones and Internet

Let Leaf Arrangement Lead the Way

Natural woodlands can have lots of great plants

Before you throw something good away, please first try to identify your plants. Then you can decide what to keep, what to remove, and know what you already have so you can add more diversity if you want.

December 2024 Moment in Nature

This has been a strange fall season. The dryness of September gave way to heavy rains at the end of the month, continued warm weather, and then another month of dryness in October. I've seen numerous reports of repeat blooming - triggered by the dry/wet cycle, I think - and the fall color has been late and prolonged for some plants.

I have been particularly charmed by some of the parking lot red maples (Acer rubrum) holding onto fall color even well into December. 

In my own yard, the native highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) have been really colorful and also quite long-lasting. Even as I write this, I can see several plants from my windows, glowing in the afternoon light. 

These plants are not just #amomentinnature for today, they are moments for several weeks this year!

Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)