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Sunday, May 31th
1pm - 4pm
Host sites, listed in no particular order:
Host sites, listed in no particular order:
Please, only visit sites during the dates and times listed for each location.
Please, only visit sites during the dates and times listed for each location.
Tour Guidelines:
Be respectful of people's property and privacy. No pets, please.
Do not pick flowers, collect seeds, or take cuttings (etc.) without express owner permission.
Feel free to take photos and tag #ridgeandvalleynativeplants
Owners may be out and happy to show you around and answer questions, others may choose to stay inside. Please be respectful and do not disturb homeowners who choose not to lead tours. No restrooms available.
If owners are not present, you may show yourself around the yard or meadow indicated in their "About" section below.
Each property will have a Ridge & Valley Native Plant Tour sign.
Lesley Mack, Luray
Lesley Mack, Luray
LOCATION:
1414 Longs Road, Luray, VA 22835-4933 (Listed as "Additional Parking" on Google maps)
ABOUT:
What once was a 3-acre, all grass property, is now a 3-acre garden. Over time and believing in the "teachings" of Doug Tallamy and Heather Holm, et al., we have worked to transform our 34-year-old garden into a native pollinator habitat, Birdsong Pleasure Garden.
Our 2-acre parking area, aka BPG annex, was once a small engine repair/trailer trash dump site. After taking a year to clean out the mobile home, junk parts, and stuff, we began the process of creating an all native pollinator habitat. Now, the BPG annex in its 4th year, shows signs of growth and success.
PLANTS ON SITE:
In the BPG annex, 2 acres (full sun) and in Birdsong Pleasure Garden, 3-acres (Full sun to full shade), favorite pollinator native plants - ferns, wildflowers, grasses, rushes, sedges, sarracina, shrubs, large and small trees, vines - as listed in "Plant Ridge & Valley Natives." Also: Native Bee Boxes, Ponds, and Birds.
PARKING:
Parking will be at 1414 Longs Road, Luray, VA. 22835. An all native 4-year-old garden is on that property. Our 34-year-old, mostly native garden is across the street.
Charlie Wilfong, Broadway
Charlie Wilfong, Broadway
LOCATION:
264 East Springbrook Road, Broadway, VA 22815
ABOUT:
My garden has been about a 10-year journey into native plants. What started as a little bed to help pollinators has turned into a full-fledged mission. To do everything possible with the space I have control over to do no harm and to provide the biggest ecological benefit I can.
Many mistakes have been made in this DIY garden but the education I have gotten from my trials and errors is priceless. The reward of growing natives and what that brings to the property via pollinators and other critters is an absolute joy.
PLANTS ON SITE:
I have over 70 species of native plants on the property however not all are in bloom.
PARKING:
If needed, extra parking is available directly across the street at Broadway High School.
Rebecca Cannaday, Staunton
Rebecca Cannaday, Staunton
LOCATION:
66 Valley Manor Drive, Staunton, VA 24401
ABOUT:
Like many people, I started my pollinator gardening journey with first focusing on nectar plants, then moving on to natives, and now planting a variety of host plants. I’m also working to remove the invasive plants in the wooded area on my property. As you can guess, it’s been a journey of growing and learning.
As of right now, I have four different areas on my property where I’m planting for pollinators.
Area 1: Hillside that I’m rewilding. I plant new plants every year. The plants that I have planted so far include common milkweed, showy goldenrod, short tooth Mountain mint, and and many others that are mixed in including some astems
and other volunteers.
Area 2: Front Bed this is where the whole garden started here at this house. I planted asters, red bee balm, wild bergamot,, and some goldenrod, along with a couple of nine barks since then I have added in some other native plants like golden Alexander’s. At the time I didn’t realize how aggressive some of these plants could be so it’s been definitely a journey but also kind of a science experiment to see who will grow the best.
Area 3: The Side garden is where I wanted to show more of a planned garden Here I have planted heuchera, and wild blue phlox, a lot of Virginia blue bells, as well as some wild ginger and wild geranium. My whole goal here was to show how native gardens could look more deliberately planted than my hillside or even the front garden.
Area 4: I have already started one small wildlife pond, and I’m currently in the process of building out a second wildlife pond near the trees in the back. In these both ponds, I have worked to plant native plants such as blue flag Iris’s some hedges along with water, lilies, the native kind and more .
PLANTS ON SITE:
Plants you will see in the yard: Common Milkweed, several varieties of goldenrod, rattlesnake master, dogweed, mountain mint, climbing prairie roses, wild woodland phlox, wild columbine, heuchera, wild bergamot, red monarda, several varieties of asters, oxeyed sunflowers, several varieties of native grasses mixed in. I am adding in red twigged dogwood, a common elderberry, and more.
PARKING:
Park in the cul-de-sac in front of our house and hill.
Margaret Moore, Staunton
Margaret Moore, Staunton
LOCATION:
101 Stafford Street, Staunton, VA, 24401
ABOUT:
I have four different zones on this property, from full sun to full shade. Each zone is populated with species that are native to Augusta County. I got several spring ephemerals in recent weeks in the shady zone, and I'll get lots of summer and fall blooms in the sunny zones. Right now, things are looking a little quiet flower-wise, but maybe there will be a whole different scene by the end of May. I recently saw a hummingbird and a bluebird, which I never used to see when this urban yard was overrun with English ivy and Japanese honeysuckle. So who knows? Maybe this is working!
I'll hang out and talk to anybody who comes by. The property is located in the city of Staunton (walking distance from downtown). This is a long-term project that is in a fairly early stage.
PARKING:
Street parking is tight but available. Please obey the signs and park legally to keep the neighbors happy.
Jennifer Lewis, Waynesboro
Jennifer Lewis, Waynesboro
LOCATION:
113 Iris Drive, Waynesboro, VA 22980
ABOUT:
Hosted before, loved it! I will have plants for people to take with them, like mountain mint, yarrow, bee balm, and thimbleweed. *Bring pots!* I will also have my little notebook available that maps out my gardens with what is what.
PLANTS ON SITE:
Mountain mint, so much mountain mint, milkweed, thimbleweed, bee balm, yarrow, blue star, wild geranium, Carolina geranium, so much more.
PARKING:
Park on the side of the road. Do not park in driveway because it blocks the gardens to look at.
Marty Diecchio, Crimora
Marty Diecchio, Crimora
LOCATION:
459 Crimora Mine Road, Cimora, VA 24431
ABOUT:
Our property is 1.3 acres nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge. We have everything from full sun to deep shade, including small spring fed vernal pond. Previous owners planted and mowed grass under the tree canopy and we have been working to restore the natural ecosystem. This will be our third summer here and many plants are just getting started (and showing up) after removing a lot of mature multi-flora rose. Mature trees include Black Oak, White Oak, Tulip Poplar, Maple, Pin Oak, Red Oak, Redbud, and Dogwood. Foundation plantings are 90% native with some dwarf cultivars. I've started a shade adapted meadow in its first year sprouting seeds sowed fall of 2025. Other areas areas include a native plant cottage garden, local ecotype raspberry patch, Blueberry patch, and a downspout rain garden.
PLANTS ON SITE:
Some other fun species I've planted are American Plum, Persimmon, Hazelnut, and Chinquapin trees, Black Chokeberry, Red Chokeberry, and Serviceberry. Many Native perennials including Blue Vervain, 5 varieties of Monarda, four milkweeds and four more varieties still seedlings. There is a fledgling Virginia Bluebell patch and a fledgling Mayapple patch.
PARKING:
Park in the drive way or along the street.
Anna Maria Johnson, Broadway
Anna Maria Johnson, Broadway
LOCATION:
7145 Brocks Gap Rd, Broadway, VA 22815
ABOUT:
We have a hand-built frog pond surrounded by mostly native plants and other native plant gardens in various states of development. We are not purists, but aim to have about 80% of the biomass in native plants. We do have some invasive plants in ongoing management.
PARKING:
Limited - come all the way to the end of the driveway and park on the grass. We share a driveway with another house, so please avoid parking in the brick area (go all the way to the end).
Lora Steiner, Staunton
Lora Steiner, Staunton
LOCATION:
426 Albemarle Ave Staunton, VA 24401
ABOUT:
Come view an ongoing experiment in removing lawn and planting for the wildlife you want while managing the wildlife you don't. I removed 14 types of invasive plants from my .14 acre lot in the middle of Staunton in 2020 -- including about 60 feet of privet hedges -- and have slowly been filling in with native flowers, shrubs, and trees. Staunton's deer pressure is particularly heavy, and rabbits, squirrels, and groundhogs also have thriving communities nearby. Wins so far including seeing hummingbird moth caterpillars each year on the coral honeysuckle and witnessing a cicada killer taking a cicada back to its burrow under a threadleaf coreopsis.
PARKING:
Parking is limited on my street. Please park in the pull off in front of my house if you can. You may wish to park at the bottom of the hill (by the old high school) and walk up if you'd like some cardio.
Maria Bowman, Dayton
Maria Bowman, Dayton
LOCATION:
430 Thompson St. Dayton VA 22821
ABOUT:
We purchased this house/property in the Fall of 2023. At that time there were very few native plants on the property. In the Spring of 2024 through Spring of 2025, I tore out the landscaping (and landscape fabric) in the front/side beds of the front yard adjacent to the house, which mostly consisted of non-native shrubs and trees. The new plantings in that area are predominantly native, incorporating the use of some native cultivars and non-VA but US natives. After doing very “wild” native gardening and introducing many many natives at our last home, my goal in the front of this house was to attempt to do something low-growing/”neat” that would appeal to more traditional gardeners and showcase a variety of colors and textures of natives. Cultivars were chosen, in most cases, to be shorter or more compact (e.g. the low-growing goldenrod). Most shrubs were sourced from Seven Bends nursery (with the exception of the cultivar shrubs), and most plant material was purchased as plugs from The Pollen Nation or Izel Native Plants. Some perennials were grown from seed (some of the little bluestem, some of the penstemon, columbine, mountain mint, lanceleaf coreopsis) or moved from other spots in the yard (violets).
The corner bed under the redbud/magnolias next to the road/alley is a work in progress–the moss phlox was present when we bought the home but is on top of landscape fabric (sigh). I am progressively adding plugs, plants, and groundcover to try and get this area to be native and lower maintenance--while fighting a bermudagrass infestation that had gotten under the landscape fabric.
In the back yard on the left side of the house next to the fence is a small meadow-in-progress that was previously mulch, landscape fabric, non-native succulents (still there) and a few rose bushes. This is now an evolving combination of plugs and plants grown from seed, gifted from family’s properties, plus seeds that have been tossed out to see what takes (mostly from Prairie Moon). The beds along the back patio and sides of the house only recently had the landscape fabric removed and I’m working on transplanting things or adding seeds this season.
PLANTS ON SITE:
Likely to be in bloom at the time of the tour (or finishing up) are:
Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis)
Purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata)
Threadleaf coreopsis 'Zagreb' (Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb')
Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
Oakleaf hydrangea 'Pee Wee' (Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee')
Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata)
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Shrubby St. John's Wort (Hypericum prolificum)
Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Eastern bee balm (Monarda bradburiana)
Lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)
Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa)
Fire pink (Silene virginica)
Full plant list available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zFwVhqfxEGEK1mYtY_pmURt0aEz2n0r87y1jh7rlfVA/edit?gid=0#gid=0
PARKING:
Park on Thompson St. in front of the house. Please feel free to explore the front and back yard (through the small gate on the left side of the house). The property owners may or may not be present the whole time of the tour.
Katy Melton Simpson, Dayton
Katy Melton Simpson, Dayton
LOCATION:
455 Thompson St, Dayton, VA 22821
ABOUT:
We moved to this property in September 2024. When we moved, I brought over 300 individual plants representing around 140 different native species, and have planted most of those (and many more!) since then. I've built and planted 6 beds as well as multiple smaller areas on our 0.7ac property. We've removed 3 large Callery Pears and have a few invasives we're still working on removing. I have many different species of trees, shrubs, forbs, vines, and graminoids.
PLANTS ON SITE:
Google sheet with 200+ plant species on site. Note that while some listed plants are small populations, some are only a single plant, some are dormant, and many are not currently in flower. Blooming now: Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Pale Beardtongue (Penstemon pallidus), Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum), Bradbury's Monarda (Monarda bradburiana) - mid-east native, Narrow-leaved Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium), Spiderwort (Tradescantia), and Butterfly weed and others are budding.
PARKING:
Park in front of the house or in the yard along Walnut Lane (be careful of the small trees!). Please do not block any neighboring driveways.
Patience Kamau, Rockingham
Patience Kamau, Rockingham
LOCATION:
690 Wingtip Way, Rockingham, VA 22801
ABOUT:
My home is located in a new development; I moved in here three years ago and had great interest in transforming a barren, soulless looking backyard into a haven for both birds, insects and other pollinators, and myself. The backyard, designed by Wilder Landscapes, is young and has young plants at various stages of establishment, as well as a section being prepared for additional plants. It gives me an immense amount of joy to watch the landscape transform into a space with soul and caring for the plants is a great source of grounding in a world that feels incredibly tumultuous. It has been an absolute delight to do this work and if what has/is happened in this once desolate backyard can inspire someone in some way, then our planet and the life she supports will be the happier for it. If I happen not to be home, people can feel free to tour on their own. Welcome!
PLANTS ON SITE:
Herbaceous plants include both common and creeping Thyme, as well as Rosemary. Woody plants include Serviceberry trees, Redbuds, Northern Shrub Honeysuckle, Arrow wood Viburnum and Aromatic Sumac. Foundational herbaceous species include Common Yarrow, Nodding Onion, Pussytoes, Butterfy Milkweed, Whorled Milkweed, SideOats Grama, Whole Tickseed, Purple Lovegrass, Blazing Star, Smooth Beardtongue, etc.
PARKING:
Park on Thompson St. in front of the house. Please feel free to explore the front and back yard (through the small gate on the left side of the house). The property owners may or may not be present the whole time of the tour.
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