The Nature of the Place

An environmental history of the northern Virginia piedmont, the book explores the impacts of human activity from Indians through crop farming to contemporary vineyards, gardening and horse farms. It describes the chestnut blight and recent attempts to bring back this major native tree, as well as numerous other blights, pests and invasives that together have changed the makeup of the forests and fields. It documents the fall and steep rise of the deer population and discusses other recent changes in wildlife populations. Sketches of local plants illustrate each chapter. The author is a retired English professor with a home in the piedmont.