Long before I aspired to be a preacher, I loved Jack-in-the-Pulpit. One of the first plants I collected from a narby streamside and planted at home was this. I see I still have some in my garden at the Cottage. I think I actually brought this clump from my parent's house a few years ago, so it might be part of those first plants I dug when I was about twelve.
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| Arisaema triphyllum |
In recent years, I have discovered there are many species of Arisaema. A few years ago I ordered this one (below) in the mail, and as I recall, it was not supposed to like this zone very well, so I intended to dig it up each winter. I never have. It still lives... and blooms!
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| Arisaema griffithii? |
I enjoy this exotic critter, so I ordered some seeds this year for other "Jack-in-the-Pulpits": Arisaema consanguineum, A. ciliatum liubaense, and A. flavum. The seeds are planted; wish me luck in raising them to adulthood!
A. griffithii is dwarfed by a healthy clump of Lords and Ladies. See A. g. at the bottom of the photo below? Lords and Ladies (Arum italicum) is another Aroid, Ariods being members of the Araceae family of plants. These are know for their interesting floral structures: a spathe (like a leafy petal) surrounding a spadix (a rod with the little flowers on it).
No blooms yet on the Lords and Ladies. (I'll watch for them, you can be sure.) And at it's feet is another Aroid: a wee patch of Mouse Plant leafing out. No sign of blooms yet, which will be cute little mousey things, even with tails.
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| Arisarum proboscideum |
These are my 'pulpit plants,' a little Aroid collection, which I hope will keep growing and prospering.
Now, I can't resist a few extra shots, a little coda to today's post...
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| Cypripedium reginae - Showy Lady's Slipper |
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| Geranium phaeum |
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| The first rose of 'summer' - Rosa 'Therese Bugnet' |
Nice! So informative. Great photos too. That Geranium phaeum is a real self seeder but I wouldn't be without it, as it is one of the first blooms the bees go crazy for and the color..love that purple black.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the geranium is popping up everywhere! For a few years it was a tiny, struggling thing, crowded out by other plants. I moved it. It likes its new home a lot. Even before the blossoms, the mounds of foliage were wonderful.
DeleteThanks for the photos. I like seeing these plants in clumps in a natural environment rather than in a pot. Maybe I will add some to my shade garden.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit wild where I have these plants... I've let the grass and the moss take over! I have very little shade at the cottage, I'm trying to make the most of it.
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