The Virginia Department of Forestry has produced two very handy guides to common trees and shrubs. You can read them online or download them below.

For wildflowers, an organization called Wildflowersearch has produced numerous free app-based guides to wildflowers in various states. In fact, the apps and the website includes much more besides wildflowers: shrubs, trees, vines, cacti, grasses, ferns, mosses, lichens, and even seaweed.

Besides the phone apps–which can be used in the field since they do not require an internet connection–the organization’s website allows you to search for plants throughout the United States and Canada from your laptop or desktop computer. Here, for example is a small portion of the results for Galax, Virginia during the third week of April: