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Behind Blue Ridge Country

CURRENT Behind Blue Ridge Country

September’s Wild Edible: Hackberries

You won’t find enough for a pie, but you’ll enjoy them as a quick pick-me-up.

October’s Mountain Wildflower: Black-eyed Susan

Favoring dry fields, open woods, waste areas and roadsides, the individual blossoms are long-lasting, staying healthy and blooming for nearly a month when conditions are right.

September’s Mountain Wildflower: Yellow-fringed Orchid

Once you spot the yellow-fringed orchids as you struggle up a steep slope while hiking during the heat of a September afternoon, you may wish you had never seen them.

August’s Mountain Wildflower: Cardinal Flower

It’s a plant that perfectly illustrates that the web of life is an amazing thing that seems to have no end to its number of strands.

July’s Mountain Wildflower: Bee Balm

Bee Balm is an inhabitant of moist areas in woodlands and beside streams, ponds and lakes where it is often seen growing close to cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis).

Current Issue

Hackberries are pea-shaped and are great to snack on.

September’s Wild Edible: Hackberries

You won’t find enough for a pie, but you’ll enjoy them as a quick pick-me-up.
4f92dd66-96e8-11ef-991c-12163087a831-10-2024blackeyedsusan--credit-Joe-Cook-and-Monica-Sheppard_1_

October’s Mountain Wildflower: Black-eyed Susan

Favoring dry fields, open woods, waste areas and roadsides, the individual blossoms are long-lasting, staying healthy and blooming for nearly a month when conditions are right.
f858b574-2361-11ef-8aed-12163087a831-9-2024yellowfringedorchid--credit-Joe-Cook

September’s Mountain Wildflower: Yellow-fringed Orchid

Once you spot the yellow-fringed orchids as you struggle up a steep slope while hiking during the heat of a September afternoon, you may wish you had never seen them.
511292cc-2360-11ef-b7a1-12163087a831-8-2024cardinalflower--credit-Joe-Cook-_-Monica-Sheppard

August’s Mountain Wildflower: Cardinal Flower

It’s a plant that perfectly illustrates that the web of life is an amazing thing that seems to have no end to its number of strands.
92d3ec46-2280-11ef-87f7-12163087a831-7-2024beebalm--credit-Joe-Cook

July’s Mountain Wildflower: Bee Balm

Bee Balm is an inhabitant of moist areas in woodlands and beside streams, ponds and lakes where it is often seen growing close to cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis).
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Departments

At Coopers Rock State Forest, new Stargazer cabins invite guests to look up through skylights and telescopes.
Country Roads

Even Closer to Almost Heaven

New Stargazer cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest offer a skyward escape in the mountains of West Virginia.

June 29, 2026
©Duncan Seaman
Country Roads

A Mountain Tradition Turns 90 

Visitors flock to Galax, Virginia, each summer for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, a days-long celebration of Appalachian music.

June 29, 2026
Synchronous Fireflies
Creature Feature

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.

June 29, 2026

CALENDAR OF EVENTS