Checking in on the Trilliums: Fall Color?

In this photo taken July 17, this Trillium is still looking pretty perky for mid-July and another recent spate of punishing heat and heavy rains ... This specimen is slightly to the right of the two depicted below, and has nicely nestled itself among the Leatherwood ferns, ivy and Maidenhairs.

Fernymoss recently decided to revisit the Trilliums, which were the subject of a post I wrote back in May, and he came back with some decidedly interesting results ... the subject of tonight's post. As you can see, they've changed quite a bit in the ensuing months, but are weathering the recent storms and scorching temperatures fairly well, all things considered. I'm sure most gardeners who have Trilliums really don't expect much from them (if anything) at this point of high summer, or even that they'd still be hanging out somewhat green in the garden. But that's just what ours are doing, still looking very attractive though in a very different way from the way they appear in the spring.
I have to admit that lately, my efforts have been mostly focused on finishing up and weeding the front boulder beds, as well as my herb/tomato/pepper garden behind the house so I haven't really ventured up close to see how the Trilliums have been doing since they quit blooming. (As proof of how distracted I've been lately, I could have just looked out the dining room windows and seen these!) I don't think we've noticed this gradual depigmentation before (or else we just missed it), but they are sure going through some fascinating permutations, no? (Make sure you click through to the larger version to really appreciate that feathery veining they now have.) Of course, it's a sure sign that these plants are winding down for the year, but given that they have stuck around this long (and so green until recently), it looks like they had a good growing season and we hope they'll reward us by bringing even more friends or offspring with them next spring.
This last shot really reveals a lot of detail about their growing situation and the neighbors who share their space ... in the foreground at left, you can see one of the Toad LIlies planted nearby, on the top right is more Toad Lily along with the Leatherwood Fern... If you look closely way down under the plant, you can see the ivy, violets and even moss that makes up the floor of this planting situation. One thing we really like about the apparent symbiosis between the Leatherwood Fern and the Trilliums is that when the Trilliums are taking over the show, the Leatherwood is still emerging and unfurling its fronds, so there's plenty of room for all of them to shine in their own moments. Then in the parts of the season where the Trilliums could really use the shady protection, the Leatherwood serves as a handy canopy to keep them from too much sun.

I'd like to say that we had this all planned out years ago, but it's purely a happy and beneficial quirk of planting. We may have had that idea in mind, but when we go about planting in our Woodland areas, we're mostly concerned about the soil moisture, light conditions and such, and we just thought they'd probably make great companion plants to the ferns. Looks like the hunch has worked out, and we're quite pleased at how it seems to be working out for all of them!

Photos by Fernymoss, taken on July 17, 2008.

We set a record rainfall for the date on Sunday, with all the storms that moved through, some dramatic, others less so, but a lot of rain came down throughout the day and the night. As a result, there's more flooding happening again in lower areas of the city (nowhere near us, happily), but it should just be temporary and nothing like what we experienced in June. Still, this has been an unusually rainy July here, and as with July storms, they've been pretty dramatic of late (see the video I posted a while back). The garden is looking a bit beaten down, but should recover soon, I think. The good thing is that we haven't had any substantial hail at all this year, so I suppose I just cursed myself and that will be next, lol. Nonetheless, the growing goes on here at Casa IVG. I'll have to post again soon on that "Punkin-Zilla" patch we have going back in the veggie end of things ... those plants are sure on a mission, growing right out of the compost! Uh oh ... but then maybe we'll be able to set up a pumpkin stand out front in the fall and sell them, LOL.

Great Flowers Come in Threes: Trillium!

Trillium is a plant we only acquired a mere two years ago, when we found out that we had been under the mistaken impression that they were extremely rare ... Then we saw them for sale at one of our favorite early spring garden haunts and we snapped all two of them up without even thinking.

So out they went amongst the other shade lovers in our Woodland Garden, nestled among the maidenhair ferns and leatherwoods, not far from the toad lilies. Last year we were fortunate enough to find one more (same place) along with a tiny jack in the pulpit, which is now blooming not far from this clump. Initially, we fretted quite a bit at how they'd do in our woodland planting, but the first year they didn't bloom, but held their own till the hotter months of the summer before disappearing. Last year, even with all the horrible spring cold, they came back vigorously and rewarded us with blooms!

This year we've apparently hit the jackpot ... because not only did the original ones re-emerge happy as can be, but they brought a couple of new ones along to join the family! Now we're not fretting anymore, just thrilled and encouraged by how well they've taken up residence with some of their ferny neighbors, toad lilies and hellebores ... so we're hopeful that they'll keep multiplying in future years and develop a nice drift of them eventually, much as I imagine they do in the wild.

I'm still learning the basics about Trillium though I do know that there are 40-50 species, most of which are North American natives, and that in most states where they grow in the wild it's illegal to pick or take them from the wild. That's a good thing, because a Trillium once picked is basically a dead Trillium, and if the plant does manage to survive such an affront, it may take years to recover. Fortunately though, nurseries are now propagating them from seed and offering them to the public, which thankfully is how we got ours. I've read that nursery bred specimens are notoriously unreliable as to what species you're actually getting ... at this point we don't care much about that, because we're just contented to have a happy grouping growing for us. We'd like to get one of the Trillium erectum or 'Red Wake Robin' species but haven't found one yet. The red one is (aside from the color) of special interest to us because it's one of the Pedeceled Trilliums, meaning that the flower appears on a slim stem above the leaves. Ours is Trillium luteum as far as I can determine, one of the other group of bloomers known as Sessile Trilliums because their flowers emerge directly from the center of the plant. One of the things we find the coolest about this Sessile species is that it emerges practically ready to bloom ... once the plant has unfurled its leaves the bud is clearly prominent and takes a couple of weeks to open fully. The differences in lighting in these shots (one sunny day, one very cloudy) really show how the light can affect their appearance ... the first one was the very cloudy day late in the afternoon when there was a tiny bit of sun trying to break through, whereas the other two were taken earlier on a fairly sunny day ....

One more thing (so Olivia doesn't have to remind me!) ... The Great White Trillium is the Official State Flower of the Province of Ontario ... lucky Canadians (once again)!

Photos taken by Fernymoss on 26 April, (shots two and three) and 13 May, 2008 (first shot).

UPDATE: It's a good thing my credit cards are downstairs right now, because I did a bit more clicking around and this company, American Meadows, has the 'Red Wake Robin' for sale! Though I expect we'll probably be ordering some soon ....!