Local blogger Grace Kelly has written her take on the Friends School Plant Sale. Thanks, Grace!

Other bloggers having their say about the sale include Stuccohouse and the Whitely Creek Bed & Breakfast. Thanks for spreading the word!

Years ago, when we first moved into our house and I started gardening, I envied my neighbor’s clump of Trillium grandiflorum which she’d brought back from The Lake. Since I shared the shade and leaves of her oaks, I figured I could grow them too.

I bought one plant, chose what I thought was a good spot and waited. The plant did not thrive. I added two more plants in different spots the following year. They did not thrive.

Some years later I noticed a small clump of healthy trilliums growing out of the bottom of my stone wall. I knew I hadn’t planted them or even thought of cramming a plant into what looked to be an inhospitable site. Squirrels! They’d planted the fruit/seed pods in exactly the right place; I was suitably humbled. (I’ve since learned that the seeds of trilliums are attractive to ants, who help disperse them by leaving seeds in their tunnels, where the seeds germinate, so ants might deserve the credit.)

Now I have many clumps of T. grandiflorum around the garden, and my habit is to plant them amongst good sized rocks, where they seem to thrive.

T. grandiflorum is the most showy trillium, and in my garden it self-seeds. The seedlings don’t look like the parent plant but show a single leaf, somewhat like a lily seedling or a broadish blade of grass; the seedlings do not appear until the second spring after dispersal.

Trillium erectum (left) and Trillium luteum (right). Both images are from the Wikipedia’s entry on Trillium.

T. erectum’s flower is not as large as T. grandiflorum but it is striking, usually dark red, and the plant makes large clumps. It is propagated easily by division and will also seed (although mine hasn’t).

T. luteum has an unusual yellow flower and handsome mottled leaves.

All these trilliums grow in deciduous woods in neutral to somewhat acid soil. Dig in leaf mold when planting. I top dress with compost in the spring and add a light mulch of shredded leaves. Some growers use a liquid 10-30-20 fertilizer to get bigger blooms. This can be done twice a year, as the shoots appear and then as the flowers fade.

These trilliums are available at this year’s Friends School Plant Sale (T. grandiflorum in the Woodland Wild Flowers on page 33, T. erectum and T. luteum in the Garden Perennials, page 21).

Try some, and bring home a bit of The Lake.

Looking for the shopping list form? Here it is. It’s also on the Doing the Sale page.

Downloadable shopping list form (pdf, 12K)

We are always happy to see a new Cranesbill Geranium. This one is named ‘Orkney Cherry’ because it is from the small Scottish island and has bright pink flowers with cerise lines. A bonus is the bronze foliage. 10-12″ (P 244 p. 11)

As if Meadow Rue needed more drama. Black Stockings Meadow Rue (Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’) has long, dark stems contrasting with its cloud of lavender blooms and attractive green foliage. 48-72″ (P 490 p.17)

‘Britt-Marie Crawford’ (36-40″) is the darkest-leaved Ligularia so far, more of a dark chocolate maroon than the purple of Ligularia ‘Desdemona’ but with similar flowers. Some gardeners, not fond of big gold daisies, cut these flowers off and use ‘Britt-Marie Crawford’ purely for its gorgeous foliage, but others welcome the cheerful, sunny blooms in their shade gardens. Ligularia ‘Britt-Marie Crawford’ (P 465 p. 17)

Does the cultivar name ‘Misty Lace’ help to soften the impression of the common name Goatsbeard? The photo shows how much more accurate it is! What doesn’t show is its pretty red stems, cold-hardiness, and heat-tolerance. 30″ (P 321 p.14)

New Zealand Flax, “grassy” but not really a grass, has beautiful stiff leaves almost like Iris leaves except they come in a variety of colors and often stripes. This is ‘Apricot Queen,’ shown with the flowers of an unknown Falling Stars (see three similar Crocosmia p. 41). Unless you bring it inside for the winter, ‘Apricot Queen’ will grow to about 24″ so it is a wonderful size for sunny containers and can be used instead of the more usual Spikes (Dracaena p. 46). (Phormium ‘Apricot Queen’ A 183 p. 42)

This yellow variegated Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa ‘Aureola’ G 030 p. 6) is one of the few grasses that will be happy in shade. 12″. Red Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata ‘Red Baron’ A 237 p. 42) needs full sun, where its leaves will become increasingly red all summer. 18″.
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We did not at first order this annual Liberty Grass (Libertia ‘Goldfinger’ A 318 p. 44) for the sale, but when we visited the growers’ greenhouse ‘Goldfinger’ summoned us over for a closer look with its shiny gold, orange, and green variegation. Also “grassy but not really a grass.” If you wanted to plant it the way English gardeners do, you would pair it with shorter (not taller) flowers mingled in with it (not in front of it.) They like that “flowers hiding in the tall grass” look. 18″.

Flowers optional when you have foliage that’s tickled pink. Joseph’s Coat can always be counted on to give us leaves of many colors, and this new ‘Brazilian Red Hots’ doesn’t even bother to include green, just fuchsia and magenta. 12-18″ (Alternanthera ‘Brazilian Red Hots’ A 314A  p.43)

Another Joseph’s Coat, called ‘Partytime,’ gives us green with splashes of pink and magenta. 18-24″ (Alternanthera ‘Partytime’ A 313  p.43)

‘Midnight Rose’ is a Coral Bells whose burgundy leaves are sprinkled with little pink dots in the spring. For a bold look, put it next to a yellow or chartreuse plant. 10″ (Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose’ P 218  p.10)

First Blush Cushion Spurge (Euphorbia ‘First Blush’) shows its pink edges in spring and fall. Wouldn’t this be pretty with pink spring flowers? 8-12″ (P 651  p.20)

It’s always fun to see what new cultivars those busy plant-breeders have come up with. This annual Coreopsis ‘Limerock Dream’ offers us a new, blended citrus color scheme of apricot and soft gold. 16-22″ (Coreopsis ‘Limerock Dream’ A 141 p. 41)

Fiesta Time Hollyhock is a new compact biennial Hollyhock with large cerise-pink flowers that are ruffled like a Flamenco dancer’s petticoats. It will bloom for you this year. 36″ (Alcea ‘Fiesta Time’ P 357 p. 14)

Unlike the perennial Bee Balm flowers that you are familiar with, Bergamo is an annual and has a stacked spire of Bee Balm-like blooms in two shades of pinky-purple. A 2008 Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner, Bergamo flowers all summer and is mildew-resistant. 19-25″ (Monarda ‘Bergamo’ A 035 p. 39)

Here is a new Cockscomb called Star Trek Rose Pink. We do not know why “Star Trek” (it doesn’t look any more alien than any other Cockscomb!) but the flower is a rose-pink color. 40-48″ ( Celosia ‘Star Trek Rose Pink’ A 094 p. 41)