Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery

Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery grows local genotype native plants for habitat plantings.

We are excited to be offering a new species: Long-leaf Bluets (Houstonia longifolia)! This species may be small, typical...
09/17/2026

We are excited to be offering a new species: Long-leaf Bluets (Houstonia longifolia)! This species may be small, typically growing around 6 inches in height, but it's an essential part of local habitats. Once removed from an ecosystem due to manmade disturbance or construction, it has a hard time coming back in on its own. It gets its common name from the long leaves that grow opposite each other along its stem and grows in dry, well-drained soils in sun and part shade. It also occurs in wooded settings in areas where patchy sunlight reaches the forest floor. The flowers bloom in June to August and have four petals, ranging from pale purple to white in color. While visitors (small butterflies, native flies, and small bees) use the flowers, deer typically leave the plant alone.

Walking in a field of wildflowers at this time of year, you will notice that goldenrods aren't the only yellow blooming ...
09/13/2026

Walking in a field of wildflowers at this time of year, you will notice that goldenrods aren't the only yellow blooming species taking the stage. Yellow Crownbeard (Verbesina occidentalis) and Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia) are also currently in full bloom and humming with insect life! These two species often grow in open early succession habitats, especially at sites with rich soils, and spread prolifically by seed where they can form extensive groups.

How do you tell these two species apart?

Leaves: Wingstem has leaves that are longer and narrower, while Yellow Crownbeard's foliage is wide near the middle.

Flowers: While both species have yellow flowers with sporadic petals, Yellow Crownbeard has flat topped blooms, and Wingstem has rounded heads of flowers.

Wingstem grows in a broad range of soil moistures (both wet and dry). Yellow Crownbeard, on the other hand, requires well-drained conditions, growing in upland areas with medium/mesic to dry soil.

It's Eupatorium time of year! Also called Thoroughworts or Bonesets, there are many locally native species in this genus...
08/27/2026

It's Eupatorium time of year! Also called Thoroughworts or Bonesets, there are many locally native species in this genus, and they deserve more attention! They are rarely propagated and available for sale, yet they are essential parts to our local ecosystem and important to include in habitat plantings.

This genus contains 20 species native to Virginia and once held the more well-known Joe Pye Weeds (later moved to their own
genus, Eutrochium). At Hummingbird Hill, we currently carry
seven Eupatorium species.

All of these grow in sun/part shade areas and bloom in late summer and early fall. While in flower, Thoroughworts are covered with insects! Butterflies, moths, bees, flies, wasps, beetles, and more cloak the groups of white, fuzzy-looking flowers. Each species of Thoroughwort grows in a specific type of habitat. While their flowers look similar, they can be most easily identified by their leaf shape.

-Godfrey's Thoroughwort (Eupatorium godfreyanum): 2-3 ft tall, dry to very dry soil
-Hyssop-leaved Thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium): 2-3 ft tall, medium to very dry soil
-Tall Thoroughwort (Eupatorium altissimum): 4-6 ft tall, medium to dry soil, typically in soils over mafic and calcareous rocks
-Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum): 4-5 ft tall, moist to wet soil
-Hairy Thoroughwort (Eupatorium pubescens): 2 ft tall, medium to dry soil
-Round-leaf Thoroughwort (Eupatorium rotundifolium): 2-3 ft tall, dry to wet soil
-Upland Boneset (Eupatorium sessilifolium): 3-4 ft tall, dry to very dry soil, especially in nutrient rich soils and in part shade

The fall planting season is arriving, and we are happy for the recent rains in our area! We have a wide variety of plant...
08/24/2026

The fall planting season is arriving, and we are happy for the recent rains in our area! We have a wide variety of plants available (plugs and quarts) and hope to get them to homes this fall where they can create habitat and help support the local pollinator and wildlife populations. If you have an unused space on your property and you want to create a haven for wildlife, September and October are a great time to plant natives!

We will have plugs available through the first week of October and will continue to offer quarts until the end of October. Appointments to visit our nursery can be made on our website: https://www.hummingbirdhillnatives.com/

Here's a photo of a plug tray that we recently customized for a site with well-drained soils. Species that were included in this tray are listed below and have a variety of heights, colors, and bloom times.
-Slender Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
-Godfrey's Thoroughwort (Eupatorium godfreyanum)
-Small's Ragwort (Packera anonyma)
-Narrow-leaved Tick Trefoil (Desmodium paniculatum)
-Hyssop-leaved Thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium)
-Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
-Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
-Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea)
-Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
-Upland Ironweed (Vernonia glauca)
-Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
-Wrinkle-leaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
-Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor)

If you are interested in your own mixed plug tray for your site, you can find more information here: https://www.hummingbirdhillnatives.com/habitat-corridor-plug-trays1.html

When creating habitat corridor plantings, it is extremely important to ensure that you are only adding species that are ...
08/16/2026

When creating habitat corridor plantings, it is extremely important to ensure that you are only adding species that are truly native to your specific site. This means choosing plants that are native to your county, region, geology/soils, and plant community. During nursery visits, we are happy to answer any questions you may have about if a plant is native to your site, provide information about your site's soil conditions, and offer plant recommendations.

What do we use to determine if a plant is native?
One source is the county-level information on the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora: www.vaplantatlas.org. This site is a comprehensive and trustworthy source on the distribution of plants found in the state. We encourage everyone to use this as a source and to not only look at the county information provided but to also keep in mind the other notes listed for each species (region where the plant occurs, frequency in the region, and the habitat where it grows). In addition, when recommending plants for a given site, we draw on our own field experience (particularly about plant associations), geological maps, the Flora of Virginia, and the DCR's list of plant communities.

To make this information more accessible during nursery visits, we also have signs for each species we offer at the nursery. These include a description of the plant and a map of the species' range in Virginia, as well as information about their sun and soil requirements.

This habitat corridor in Greene County is vibrant with the blooms of Early Goldenrod at this time of year! If you are in...
08/01/2026

This habitat corridor in Greene County is vibrant with the blooms of Early Goldenrod at this time of year! If you are in a natural area and see a goldenrod flowering now, it's most likely this species. While there are over 40 different species of goldenrods that occur throughout Virginia, most other ones aren't blooming yet. Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea) tends to thrive in well-drained, sunny sites and typically grows 3-4 ft tall. Fortunately, it is a myth that goldenrods cause allergies.

Some of the other species that are growing in this habitat corridor include Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Yarrow (Achillea borealis), Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor), Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare), and Purpletop (Tridens flavus).

Silvery Checkerspots are small orange and black butterflies that you may see visiting your native plants! These butterfl...
07/21/2026

Silvery Checkerspots are small orange and black butterflies that you may see visiting your native plants! These butterflies are out from late spring through fall in the eastern US and have a wingspan of around 1.5 to 2 inches. They have a quick flight pattern, typically staying low to the ground and around plants while flying. We tend to especially see them visiting the flowers of Slender Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) and Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum) for nectar.

The females lay eggs in clusters on the underside of leaves of their host plant. Their black colored caterpillars feed on the foliage of several native plant species that we offer, including Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima), Green-headed Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata), Yellow Crownbeard (Verbesina occidentalis), and Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia).

The word pollinator brings to mind an image of butterflies and bees in the sunlight, flying among flowers. However, when...
07/11/2026

The word pollinator brings to mind an image of butterflies and bees in the sunlight, flying among flowers. However, when the sun goes down, there is a whole new assortment of insects that take
the night shift. In fact, a third of all plant families have pollinators that visit at night. These nocturnal pollinators include moths, beetles, flies, ants, some bees and crickets, and in warmer climates of the world, bats.

Some species of natives have evolved to specifically draw in nighttime visitors. Plants that seek nocturnal pollinators may open in the evening to lure in insects during the dark hours. Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) is one example. This suitably named plant has scented yellow flowers that open at dusk and remain open throughout the night and into the morning. Among pollinators, moths make up a large portion of the insects that visit its flowers at night.

A large number of plants have also adapted to have light-colored blossoms – colors like white, pale pink and purple, yellow, or cream. The moonlight reflects more easily on these colors, making them pop in the night and allowing them to be more likely seen by nocturnal pollinators. Virgin's Bower (Clematis virginiana) and Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) both have light-colored flowers and attract many nocturnal visitors.

We are excited to be offering American Germander (Teucrium canadense) this year! A member of the mint family, American G...
06/25/2026

We are excited to be offering American Germander (Teucrium canadense) this year! A member of the mint family, American Germander grows 3-4 feet tall and hosts spikes of tubed light pink to purple flowers. We are enjoying seeing our potted plants of this species bloom right now at the nursery. Many bumble bees, hummingbirds, and hummingbird moths have been coming to its flowers while we are at the nursery. Like all of the plants that we offer, the American Germander we grow is propagated from ethically collected local wild seed, and these genetics make it a resilient species for local plantings. American Germander does well in full sun or part shade and grows naturally in rich soils that are medium, moist, or wet. The plants spread over time to form colonies and are deer resistant.

In recent years, Eastern Box Turtle populations have declined due to habitat loss and other factors. Because they are sl...
06/12/2026

In recent years, Eastern Box Turtle populations have declined due to habitat loss and other factors. Because they are slow to mature and have a low reproduction rate, Eastern Box Turtles are more susceptible to population declines than many other types of wildlife. Designating areas as habitat corridors in both urban and rural settings can help to make a large impact for them. These corridors offer a protected and usable environment where turtles can attain shelter, food, and a place to fulfill their life cycle. Even if they are small, they can make a big difference as places where turtles can find refuge. Any unused portions of lawns are a great place to start encouraging native volunteers and adding native plants.

When Eastern Box Turtles are young, they depend on a diet high in protein, feeding upon species like snails, slugs, spiders, and millipedes. As they grow older, berries and other plant matter become a more prominent part of their diet. Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) and Long-leaf Ground Cherry (Physalis longifolia) fruit ripen close to the ground where Eastern Box Turtles can easily reach them. In woodland settings, the scarlet berries of Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) are used.

Encouraging native volunteers like Common Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), Pennsylvania Blackberry (Rubus pensilvanicus), and Black Raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) is helpful for turtles too. When the berries of these taller species fall to the ground, Eastern Box Turtles include them in their diet. Fruit that drops from trees and shrubs is also widely scavenged. Some of these species include Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Paw Paw (Asimina triloba), Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Red Mulberry (Morus rubra), Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), and American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis).

Address

4190 Free Union Road
Charlottesville, VA
22901

Telephone

(434) 202-9362

Website

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