As an adult, I spent 20 years communing with the woods behind my house, in Richmond, Virginia. After years of documenting it, I still feel like I’m just beginning to discover the secrets it contains. This book is an inventory of the Bliley family woods—an urban property that was mostly native, partly planted and largely left to grow wild.

These pictures were taken over the course of three years, before and during, the clear-cutting of this forest. Common names, taught to me by my neighbors and friends, are used to identify the plants on these pages. I hope that you enjoy these photographs and use them to begin your own exploration of the world around you.