This is a Black Swallowtail butterfly. They are a very common butterfly. There were a lot of them up at Jump Off Rock. I’ve frequently seen butterflies up at Jump Off Rock. I think they intentionally plant butterfly-friendly plants there. One time I saw a cloud of butterflies go by. It was over before I…
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This is Dwarf Crested Iris (Iris cristata). It is native to this area. Dwarf Crested Iris have really short stems, only one or two inches. It is three or four inches tall to the top of the flower. It has a faint fragrance. This is the most common color, but I have seen them darker…
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We decided to take a different route up to the Pisgah Inn. We drove up to the North Mills River Recreation Area. The road continues. The creek on the left of the road is Wash Creek. It is a gravel road, but was in excellent condition. The road climbs pretty steeply. The only name I…
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These are Bluets. The real name is Houstonia. These were on a rock on the trail in front of the Pisgah Inn. They are very small, an inch or less tall. They come in blue, white, pink and shades of purple. People mix them up with Forget-me-nots. They do look very similar, but Forget-me-nots have…
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If you see holes in a tree in a straight line, it’s woodpeckers. And believe it or not, it doesn’t usually hurt the tree. Around here it is probably a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. They are small woodpeckers that make rows of small holes in straight lines. This is one of the trees in the field where…
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These trilliums grow in early April along Upper Ridgewood Blvd. They are also called Wake-robins. But most people call them Toad Trilliums. They don’t smell good, so don’t sniff them. They look like they are closed, but this is what they always look like. They don’t really open.
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Hendersonville welcomes Spring with thousands of tulips. They fill the planters down Main Street. A beautiful backdrop as you walk around Historic Downtown Hendersonville.
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Muscadine grapes are native to the Southeastern United States. They are the state fruit of North Carolina. Muscadines grow wild around here. There are some around the little wetland area down Meadowbrook Terrace. They grow on the banks of the rivers in just about any disused land. We used to go pick tons of them…
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In November, VanWingerden has an Open House. You can tour the greenhouses. You can see how the flowers and plants are grown. This time of the year nearly all of the greenhouses are growing poinsettia. I had no idea there were so many varieties. It is a very interesting tour. Van Wingerden is on NC-191.…
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