The Magic of Trilliums
Sunday, April 29, 2018 at 10:45PM Half of my woodland garden came into being because of a patch of trilliums. 
Eight years ago I discovered trilliums growing near a "dog trot" trampled through the weeds in an area adjacent to the woodland garden. Well, now. Trilliums are pretty special. Before the year was over, I had widened the trail into a real path so that I could easily access those trilliums. I connected the path to the main woodland garden and started adding ferns, native azaleas, Japanese maples, camellias, and all sorts of other woodland plants to the space. Eventually I created a new sitting area and had an enormous "sitting rock" hauled in as a focal point. All because of a patch of trilliums...
Trilliums are rhizomatous, deciduous perennials native to North America. 
They grow in deep to partial shade in well-drained, loamy soil high in organic matter. There are over 30 different species. They all have a whorl of three leaves from which arises a solitary, three-petaled flower. The leaves and flower colors will vary by species. They are often described as spring ephemerals, meaning that they come up each spring, then quickly bloom and produce seed. By mid-summer the leaves have withered, and only the unseen underground parts remain. The seeds produce small fruits that attract ants. The ants help to spread the trillium seeds by carrying the fruits to their nest. They eat the fruits but discard the seeds as trash. If the soil is suitable, the seed will germinate.
Trillium cuneatum, also called Toadshade, the wood lily or Sweet Betsy, grows wild on my property.
This trillium is native to the southeastern US. I love its maroon flowers, as well as its variegated leaves and striking maroon stems. However, trillium "leaves" are actually bracts supporting the flower, and the "stem" is actually an extension of the horizontal, underground rhizome.
One should never pick trilliums. Some trilliums are endangered, and picking may be illegal. If the leaf-like bracts are picked, the trillium is unable to produce food for next year, and it will die. Always purchase nursery-raised trilliums from reputable garden shops. They should never be dug from the wild.
I think the best way to enjoy trilliums is use them as an excuse to take a nature walk with friends and relatives and to photograph them!
You may also enjoy reading my older post about how I began this part of my woodland garden: A New Woodland Path
Reader Comments (16)
Love Trilliums! They don't do well in our garden and I so wish they did!
How lovely to have this occurring naturally and able to connect them to an even lovelier woodland garden. I planted a few but need to weed and amend the soil a bit to help them move about more. Many different trillium are native to our area but threatened with development.
These are some of the prettiest plants on the long list of plants I can't grow in my climate. Your photos are lovely!
ohmy, I am squealing with delight seeing your pictures! I love trilliums, yours are simply amazing :D
These are one of my favorite spring ephemerals. We are in Michigan and we have a lot of them on our property especially Trillium grandiflorum. we also have the same time as you and then we also have Trillium luteum and Trillium Erectum. I wish I could add some pics. Ours are just starting to bloom now. Some other favorite spring ephemerals that we have are Round lobed and Sharp lobed hepatica, bloodroot and trout lily. Do you have those? Love all your posts.
I have just planted a couple in the little woodland here, I'm looking forward to them flowering hopefully next year
A woodland walk created due to trilliums how fantastic can it get. I miss the trilliums we had when we were in Aberdeen.
Hi Deb, I love this post and the story of how you came to love Trillium. I've intended to put some in my woodland garden. Perhaps this will be the year!
Hi everyone!
Thank you for your comments! Each is important to me. Sara, you asked about some spring ephemerals. Yes, I have both round and sharp-lobed hepatica, bloodroot, and trout lily. Or I did. For some reason none of my hepatica appeared this year. Most sad, as I loved it. I can't believe all of them ( I had several) are really gone for good.
Best wishes to all!
Deb
I love the idea that a whole area of your lovely woodland came about because of the discovery of the Trilliums. We gardeners are amazing in the lengths we'll go to indulge our habit!
Oh, what treasures you have there, Deb! Toadshed is so handsome!
Oh Deb, your trillium photos are terrific. One of my favorite wildflowers. Mine are just now blooming. It seemed like it took them a long time to open this year after popping up. Cheers and Happy May.
how wonderful to have these growing wild. They are indeed magical.That photo you took from below with the light shining through the leaves looks like a scene from Alice in Wonderland.
You are lucky to have such beautiful native plants. I love the look of them. But they are very expensive here and won't grow in my dry sandy soil. I hope your hepatica's will return.
Yes! They are awesome! And I just found one in my garden for the first time yesterday. It was growing in the middle of the lawn grass! Totally unexpected. So, since it was on my own property and I didn't want the hubby to mow it over, I transplanted it to a spot nearby where he doesn't mow. Beautiful plants!
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