Some plants seem to wait until the last minute to start blooming. This is the case with the toad lily, a strangely named perennial with a strangely unique flower. The toad lily, in the genus Tricyrtis, is present in the garden all spring and summer but doesn’t start flowering until most gardeners have started putting out mums, kale, asters, and other fall plants. Blooming this late in the year isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just makes toad lilies that much more unique.

      Besides being prized for their exotic-looking flowers, toad lilies are highly valued in the shade garden, being one of the few shade plants that flower in the fall. Though they seem to be growing in popularity, I believe that toad lilies are often overlooked in garden centers in favor of other shade perennials that bloom in the spring and early summer when most people are doing their shopping. Many new varieties are being developed, some with various types of variegated leaves that increase their appeal during spring and summer and can show off the flowers better. One low-growing, variegated variety that is already available is Tricyrtis ‘Lightning Strike’.

     There are about 20 different species of toad lily, all native to Asia. They enjoy moist shady areas in rich organic soil. The flowers are highly variable in their spotted patterns with most being in shades of purple. To me, the flowers look like a cross between a passion flower and an orchid. It’s easy to see why the common name for Tricyrtis in Holland is ‘poor man’s orchid’. No offense to this spectacular flower. I’d highly recommend it for any shade garden.

Posted by Nathan Tschaenn

Lots of flowers have “lily” added to the name: lily-of-the-valley, waterlily, daylily, calla lily, to name a few. It’s understandable – the lily is an archetypal flower, equal to the rose in history and symbolism, with thousands of years of reverence attached to it. Those other “lilies” have plenty of charm, but none of them have the sheer presence of the true lily.