Natural gardens

Some time in the mountains this weekend, and a hike near Craggy Gardens, along the Blue Ridge Parkway today reminded me of the grounding of natural places and natural gardens. A lovely beech gap forest, just unfurling leaves, and sporting understory woodland wildflowers (Trillium erectum, Mainthemum, Twisted leaf, with many more to come) was a delightful place to be on a sunny cool day after a long day of rain yesterday. It's a joy to walk in a place with its native vegetation intact, without the transgressions of many weedy and invasive species that dot our developed landscapes.

A gift, to be sure.