Native Plants I Love

I'm a big advocate of using native plants in the garden. They are adapted to our climate, have evolved to harmonize with our insect population, and can be just as interesting and beautiful as non-native exotics. Plus you don't have to worry about them jumping the fence, invading the landscape, and choking out everything in their path.

This delicate spring ephemeral is Erythronium americanum (common names: trout lily, dogtooth violet). They are scattered throughout the woods behind my house,where I took these pictures.

Trout lilies grow from corms and send out stolons from them, forming colonies over time if left undisturbed. They grow best in a deciduous woodland environment, with filtered sunlight and humus-rich soil. They are some of the earliest bloomers in the spring, and by the end of the season, flower, foliage and all disappear, remaining dormant until the following spring.