Sylva Native Nursery

09/21/2023

Our restored meadow in home farm platted/ patented 1787 as Lovely Plains. Perhaps it has been a grassland since then. When we purchased in 2006 it was covered with Japanese honeysuckle, Multiflora rose, Asiatic bush honeysuckle and autumn olive. After years of persistent work and some seeding it has returned. Butterfly w**d, Scuttellaria, Incana, Virginia rose,Penstemon digitalis, have already flowered when the grasses were lower.
Now the Big and little bluestem, Indian grass and some naturalized Purple top are in their glory.

10/02/2022

10/02/2022

It finally happened. This past week the Maryland Biodiversity Project received the first records for Joro Spider (Trichonephila clavata). Engineermd1 (iNat handle) documented the first Joro in Howard County on September 14, and Jim Wilkinson documented another sighting in Columbia on September 24.

Joro Spiders are indigenous to Asia. In 2014 they were first recorded in Georgia. Since then they have spread throughout the Southeast. iNaturalist has records for Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and now Maryland. Like our native Yellow Garden Spider (females of both species are around the same size), the Joro Spider is NOT a threat to humans or pets. We should also stress that just because we now have Maryland records, this doesn't mean that Joro's are established. This is very important to remember.

If you see one of these distinctive spiders, please take a photo, and post on iNaturalist.

Photo of female Joro Spider by Jim Wilkinson.

10/01/2022

08/15/2021

Late summer native wildflowers keep the season going

07/08/2021

07/06/2021

Flowering shrubs for summer interest… Buttonbush, Bottlebrush Buckeye, Flowering Raspberry and Hydrangea arborea end

11/01/2020

Today’s golden colors... clockwise Spicebush,Redbud, Yellowwood, PawPaw😁

10/10/2020

Warm October temps have many late spring/early summer flowers putting on a repeat show..... like this Zizea