The Trout Lilies have begun to bloom in my shade garden. This time there was no need to head to the woods to take photos of a native wildflower. I might have been better off taking a hike since my furry pests followed me to the garden and proceeded to get in the way.

Did you say Trout? …and don’t call me Lily

Black Jax lost interest quickly but Pretty (fat) Parker wanted to make sure there was nothing to eat. Maybe I should have said Adder’s Tongue instead of Trout Lily when my wife asked what those flowers were. I did manage to get a couple good photos despite the interference. A few lilies were trampled in the process but none were really harmed. BTW Pretty Parker has a number of middle names. Fat, dumb, and cuddly are just the 3 most used. Notice her big eyes – little head and the bear cat rug body. This is a native that came to my garden on it’s own. The surrounding woods are filled with them and they’ve found my garden to be a home away from home.

Erythronium americanum

Anyone who placed money on Trout Lily over Marsh Marigold to be the first to bloom can go to their bookie now to collect the winnings. I’m out big time, I got conned by the budding Marsh dwellers. I really believed they were in the lead.

I really like this plant and not only because it was a work free addition to my garden. How can I not like the mottled leaves and the freckled nodding flower that is one of the first spring bloomers in the yard. A ephemeral woodland plant it will all too soon go dormant for the summer. But by then there will be others to drool over.

• Cat a log , Wildflowers
• Comments(14)

14 Responses

1. cindee Says:
   April 25th, 2009 at 7:12 pm

   Great catch!(-:
   Seriously that is a really pretty flower. (-:

   cindee,
   They are pretty ..and don’t call me Seriously

2. bughunter99 Says:
   April 25th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

   Oh my gosh, I just noticed a plant with leaves exactly like that growning in the grass underneath the horse chestnut. I wonder if that is what this is? Very cool looking plant. My fingers are cross.

   bughunter99,
   It could be. The leaves are pretty distinctive. Lets hope you have some so your fingers can mellow out.

3. peppylady Says:
   April 25th, 2009 at 9:51 pm

   I don’t believe we have them here. We have a wild lily called Tiger lily.
   Which is orange.

   Coffee is on.

   peppylady,
   You’re out of range, no Trout for you. The Tiger Lily is naturalized – it escaped from gardens and liked what it found on the other side of the fence.

4. betchai Says:
   April 25th, 2009 at 10:18 pm

   oh, that is so nice that these pretty flowers found their way to your home, it is such a pretty gift from nature. lovely.
   betchai,

   I’m glad they found their way here too. They didn’t have far to go though.

5. Ratty Says:
   April 25th, 2009 at 11:39 pm

   I can’t help it, but all I kept looking at was the cats.The first one looked like it was stalking the flower. After I finally was done looking at the looks on the cats faces, I noticed a bug on the first flower. I like the flower, but these were entertaining. Cats are fun.

   Ratty,
   Poor flower puts everything it’s got into it only to have some cat upstage the show. That was no bug, that was my lunch.

6. Heather Says:
   April 26th, 2009 at 12:06 am

   Too funny- your cats follow you around like our pygmy goats follow us. Except my goats would eat the trout lily.

   Heather,
   We have kitties on parade following me around the yard all the time. Is there anything a goat won’t eat?

7. Town Mouse Says:
   April 26th, 2009 at 12:11 am

   Very cool! I’ve ignored the cats because I’m allergic to them, but those trout lilies are great! I seem to remember I tried some, but nothing ever came of it. Maybe the wet clay or the very dry summer did them in. So, thanks for the pix!

   Town Mouse,
   It’s too bad your garden doesn’t suit them. They are pretties. ..and so are the cats so just enjoy them on-line.

8. rainfield Says:
   April 26th, 2009 at 4:00 am

   Luckily your Black Jax lost interest quickly, it looks so awful that makes me thinking of the ugly witch.
   She will make soup with all your flowers.

   rainfield,
   Leave my wife out of this or she’ll make soup out of both of us.

9. Joy Says:
   April 26th, 2009 at 7:13 am

   Wow ! .. It came to your garden willingly ? are you sure you didn’t blackmail the poor thing ? it is more your style ! ..
   It is gorgeous .. and I do envy you your little hideaway in the woods .. I would love that .. neighbors right in your face are so ANNOYING !
   Love kitty she is a beauty so stop using her for a beer mat !
   Who could not love that little flower (and kitty too ?) !

   Joy,
   OOPS, I deleted one of your comments by mistake. Or was it? Mentioning hairy aliens isn’t safe. You don’t want to catch their my attention.

   We moved because of the simple fact we had some. Neighbors can bite my hairy alien wisea$$.

   I’d never use Parker as a beer mat. The glass would just roll off. Besides see makes a much better mop.

10. jodi (bloomingwriter) Says:
    April 26th, 2009 at 8:24 am

    They are lovely, John, for sure. I keep thinking I ought to dig up a few from a spot by the Coast Guard radio tower, where they are profuse and wouldn’t be missed, and put them near my spruce trees with the other shade dwelling crew. My trilliums are up but not yet flowering, of course, although I expect the hepatica to bloom this week.

    And Miss Kitty (Pretty Parker) is looking very pleased to be helping you with the garden. Black Jax apparently was off to inventory the rocks or see where you’ve left your good pruners.

    Spring is finding its way to us, with three days of quite-warm weather. I’ve been in Halifax at a lifestyle show, and yesterday afternoon it got quite quiet because so many people suddenly thought, “Hey! What the heck am I doing INDOORS after 6 blankety blank months of winter!” and they all cleared out. I got to leave early because no one showed up for my last talk. Hope to repeat the performance today!

    We know not to be complacent, however. The year I graduated with my Masters, it snowed on graduation day. Around May 9th. About 8 inches. I thought perhaps it was Acadia University weeping frosted tears of sorrow that I wasn’t going to be around to terrorize the place any longer, but no, most of the province got it.

    jodi,
    It’s always a pleasure when you grace my blog with your presence

    I forgot to mention (you probably know) to ‘dig deep’ since the roots can go down a ways. Trillium’s have a way to go – they are budding up but have only just begun.

    I actually think Jax is camera shy. She never sticks around when I have it in my hand. Pretty Parker was a great help she ‘made’ the post.

    I almost envy you. I’m not a public speaker although I’ve consented to talk to the local garden club a couple of times. I refused a chance to be interviewed on public radio this spring. All I could imagine was the deafening silence I’d make. If no one came I’d be happy but still it must have been a bit of a let down to be upstaged by the weather.

    Average date of last frost here is – May 15, so seeing snow in May is no surprise. I might not like it but I’m too lazy to do anything about it.

11. Monica Says:
    April 26th, 2009 at 9:15 am

    I absolutely adore trout lilies, and the cat looks nice int he background, too. I’m thinking of embarrassing myself and both my cats by doing a post on all the nicknames they each have. Their official names are James Oberon* and Fiona Prudence**. (*Named after a local amber ale, not a Shakespeare character; **NOT named after the character in Shrek OR the Beatles song)

    Monica,
    You can’t embarrass a cat, short of shaving it. So go ahead and we’ll see if YOU blush.

12. Tatyana Says:
    April 26th, 2009 at 10:14 am

    Hi WiseAcre! They like your garden if they came on their own!

    Tatyana,
    It’s more of a case of me bringing my garden toward them. I think they rushed in to claim the border and sent a couple of scouts to check out the area I claimed.

13. Grammy Says:
    April 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    I have never seen them. Maybe if I open my eyes and look I may find some in this area. Love the kitty’s investigation too.

    Grammy,
    I’m pretty sure you’re out of their range. Head north to Minnisota and you should find some.

    Nothing like Crash checking out that squirrel though

14. yellowtulips Says:
    May 9th, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    I heard that they are edible. Have you tried eating them? They have just started to bloom here in Southern Georgian Bay.

    yellowtulips,
    I haven’t and know of no one who has tried eating any. It can be mildly emetic – who wants to take the chance of vomiting? But the very young leaves are used as a cooked green and the bulb-like roots boiled and eaten with butter according to my Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants.

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