THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 21, 1995 TAG: 9506200117
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
The column on the beautiful mountain laurel growing in the new Elizabeth River Nature and Canoe Trail in Carolanne Farm sparked a responsive chord in a number of folks.
They either remembered when mountain laurel bloomed all over the area years ago or are among the fortunate few to have it in their yard today.
Much to her delight, Darlene Atkins has just discovered mountain laurel growing in a natural area in the back of her Avalon Terrace yard. Shirley Todd has mountain laurel at her Chesopeian Colony home, and someone whose name I didn't catch left a message about mountain laurel in Cypress Point.
Jane Santti, who lives in Thoroughgood on a branch of the Lynnhaven River that old maps call ``Laurel Cove,'' still has mountain laurel in her yard. Santti also has wild lady slippers, so many that she has to move the dainty pink flowers as they reseed across her lawn.
Landscape architect Pat Bridges called to say how common mountain laurel used to be in old Princess Anne County. He grew up on Broad Creek, before it was annexed by Norfolk, and remembers the laurel fondly because it always was blooming on his May 11 birthday.
The shrub's natural habitat is along creeks and rivers, Bridges said. They don't grow in the low-lying areas that flood, but thrive on adjacent high ground. That, he says, is why the beautiful plant is fast disappearing from Virginia Beach.
``The reason we don't see it now is that its natural habitat is the area that is so prized for real estate,'' he explained, ``and they have all been bulldozed.''
Mountain laurel is extremely difficult to transplant, he added. So if you see a large one, it's most probably a native one.
Bridges went on to talk about the native plants he remembers from his youth that he rarely sees any more. Wild azaleas, or pinxter flower, a showy shrub with pink flowers in early spring, grew in his yard (which also can be seen in the Carolanne Farm park). He also recalls seeing in his yard the dainty lady slipper and trailing arbutus, a low growing shrub with hairy leaves and fragrant groups of pink to whitish flowers.
``Another one of my favorites is the partridge berry,'' Bridges said.
The only place I've seen partridge berry until recently is along some of the trails at Seashore State Park. But the other day, Shirley Todd also showed me partridge berry growing wild in her yard, along with pennywort, the plant with the round shiny leaves that trails along the ground, and May apples, low growing plants with umbrella-like leaves and little white flowers underneath.
I remember an undeveloped section of woods in Bay Colony where I once lived. Walking back in those woods in spring was an adventure for the eyes. Atamasco lilies, also known as wood lilies, Jack-in-the-pulpits and carpets of May apples bloomed on the forest floor.
Carolina jessamine with its yellow flowers dripped from treetops in the spring and pretty coral honeysuckle brightened the landscape. The beautiful passion flower vine grew on the edge of the woods and bloomed its heart out most of the summer. Its exotic, pink to purplish flowers are said to be symbolic of the Crucifixion.
Those woods are long gone now. Houses and lawns are in its place. So the wildflowers also are probably gone, like the mountain laurel, taken away by the bulldozer. .
If you do try to save native plants from the bulldozer, you'll find it is hard to do. As with mountain laurel, most native plants don't transplant easily. It's hard to reproduce the soil condition of the forest floor. Under any other circumstances, wildflowers should never be removed from their native habitat, but some species can be purchased from our local nurseries and greenhouses and others can be ordered through catalogs.
The idea of bringing back mountain laurel and other special plants of old Princess Anne appeals to me more and more these days.
P.S. You can get in the mood for planting wildflowers by joining members of the South Hampton Roads Native Plant Society for a picnic at 4 p.m. Sunday at Lynnhaven House, where they sponsor a native plant garden. Call 464-2590.
You also can visit the beautiful new Bunny Morgan Memorial Wildflower Meadow at Norfolk Botanical Garden. It's in full bloom now, and so is the Wildflower Garden at the Virginia Marine Science Museum.
FIGHT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE LOGGERHEAD TURTLE is the topic of a program at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Call 721-2412 for reservations.
A LACEMAKING WORKSHOP will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at historic Francis Land House. The cost is $25, which includes supplies. Call 340-1732 to reserve a space.
A BERRY TEA will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday in the garden at the Hunter House Victorian Museum in Norfolk. The cost is $5. Call 623-9814 for reservations. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
The mountain laurel's natural habitat is along creeks and rivers.
by CNB