Please don’t get me wrong, I love the orchids of springtime. Love them. They tend to be as big and showy and beautiful as springtime itself.  Ladyslipper orchids, both yellow and pink (Cypripedium acaule and C. parviflorum) and showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis) are certainly beautiful and fun to see blooming in the woods in the spring.  

Established more than 20 years ago, the Haywood County Farm Bureau scholarship program assists graduating seniors who have a financial need as well as a demonstrated history of community service with the cost of obtaining a college education.

Our culture tends to celebrate youth and youthfulness above all other life phases. Growth and vitality are venerated over age and wisdom. This wasn’t always the case.

After a botanical survey identified the location of several invasive species in Jackson County’s Pinnacle Park, work has begun to manage the ecologically threatening pests. 

On May 18, Haywood Waterways Association and Haywood Community College will lead a moderate 6-mile hike in the Sunburst area of Haywood County. 

The Haywood County Extension Office is presenting a free class on “square-foot gardening,” a simple, versatile system that takes up less space and requires less work and water to cultivate. 

Wildcat Ridge Farm is welcoming visitors throughout May to enjoy the peonies in bloom. 

The Western North Carolina Orchid Society (WNCOS) and The North Carolina Arboretum will host the 23rd Asheville Orchid Festival entitled “House of Orchids.” 

I’ve been writing this column for over a year and a half and every plant that I have highlighted and celebrated evolved and co-evolved in the bioregion of Southern Appalachia.

There are so many different native plants and flowers that I have yet to see growing in the wild. And I really want to.