Trillium and Fringed Phacelia

Now’s the time to get outside in the western North  Carolina mountains and Tennesse to see one of my favorite spring wildflowers–trilliums.  These beautiful spring ephemerals get their name from their three leaves and three flower petals. They emerge early in the spring before the trees have leafed out, bloom in all of their beauty and enchantment and then disappear until next year. I’ve recently seen them in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and will be looking for them soon along the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can also easily see trilliums and multitudes of other spring  wildflowers at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville.

Whether using the native plants or adapting their design concepts, nature provides numerous examples not only of plant combinations but also arrangements. We can take clues from the masses of white spring wildflowers blanketing the forest floor and the impact gained by massing plants, whether by color or type.

Catesby's Trillium

A single flower can also provide an element of surprise and delight when discovered. Trilliums can take as long as seven years to produce a saleable plant from seed. That’s one reason why they’re rare and expensive in the nursery trade. Illegal harvesting of these plants makes it especially important to buy them from reputable nurseries and not from tailgate markets and other temporary vendors. The Botanical Gardens of Asheville is having their spring nursery sale on May 1 and 2, where you can stock up on native plants (and hopefully, trilliums) while benefiting the Gardens too. I hope to see you there!

Please let me know your favorite places for trilliums, especially from nurseries.

Yellow Trillium

Terri Long Landscape Design, Inc.

Enriching Your Life with Natural Beauty

828.299.2399

Asheville, North Carolina