With the leaves changing color, I've been thinking about Virginia Creeper, a native species that, while loved by some, is wrongly feared by many people. There are so many reasons to welcome the beautiful, beneficial Virginia Creeper to your property and garden.

Many years ago I was driving with my son and happened upon a majestic native Persimmon tree in full fruit along the side of a busy road in the village of Quinn, in Baltimore County. Turning the car around, I pulled into the driveway of the house where the tree was precariously situated on the steep bank along the road. The house looked abandoned--blinds pulled, overgrown yard, no vehicles in the driveway...

Few native shrubs are as versatile and fragrant as Clethra alnifolia, commonly called Sweet Pepperbush or Summersweet. Introduced into cultivation in the early 1700s by American botanists, Clethra alnifolia was also planted at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson in the 1750s. While the popularity of Clethra alnifolia has steadily grown through the centuries, its reputation is skyrocketing now as more gardeners appreciate it as a pretty, scented, compact, and low-maintenance flo