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Toad Lily
Toad lily, Tricyrtis ‘Tojen’ The family of flowers that this hybrid cultivar is from – Tricyrtis – has 18 species. Some of the species are cultivated for their beauty. Looking on the web, at the variety of those cultivars, I think of orchids growing in the garden. They are that beautiful. My cultivars are…
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Fall Shutdown
Autumn is doing its thing. Leaves turning brilliant colors. Spiders with black and orange stripes on their legs, spinning intricate webs. Black walnuts thumping to the ground with loud warning, as they cascade through leaves, high in the forest canopy. And a favorite of mine, maidenhair fern, in the genus, Adiantum, shutting down. Turning straw color, and…
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Sassafras
You know the question, If you were a tree, what tree would you be? My quick answer would be, a sassafras tree. I’ve had a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Virginia, since 1992. During that time I’ve hiked my mountain up and down, getting to know all the things that grow here. I…
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Jack-in-the-pulpit
Anticipation Anticipation makes my world go round. I find something, perhaps a plant, just beginning to emerge in the spring. I return to the infant plant often. Watching and waiting. Looking forward to its grand finale. This is the story of anticipation from beginning to disappointing end, of a Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum. The photograph above, taken in mid…
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Wood Poppy
Brilliant color. A sure hit in my garden. Add the fact that the brilliant color is a native to moist woods, of eastern North America, and it becomes a must have for me. A must have for my garden. This screaming yellow bloom is of Wood Poppy, or Celadine Poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum. The Wood Poppy…
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Cardinal Flower
Hummingbirds love it. So do I. If it was a Corvette Stingray, the color would be called Victory Red. It is a blazing, brilliant, red, not often seen in a native plant. In the picture above, you see a sweat bee, using a leaf as a resting spot on the Cardinal Flower’s, Lobelia cardinalis, landing strip…
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Smooth Sumac
Just a couple weeks ago, some of the bushes along my woodland edges were abuzz with pollinator activity. The flowers of Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra, were the magnet. Butterflies, including this Red-banded Hairstreak, Calycopis cecrops, were part of the crowd. Honey Bees, gathering nectar, to help some bee keeper with his honey supply were also attracted. And so many…
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Blackberry Lily
I like rich, strong, take no prisoners color. In my garden there is one flower that really fills the bill. It is Blackberry Lily, or Leopard Lily, Iris domestica. Here, a candelabra of spent flowers, having a twisted appearance, and buds ready to burst, on the naked stem of the Blackberry Lily. Once open, the…
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Sweetspire
A gift from my son, some years ago, has turned into quite the pollinator magnet. Virginia Sweetspire, or another common name, Tassel-white. Itea virginica. Three small bushes have grown into a lovely mound of cream colored, cascading blooms.These cascading blooms have become tantalizing lures for pollinators in the vicinity of my central Virginia mountain cabin.…