Toad Lilies are Lovely, and That's No Hoax

The genus Tricyrtis, commonly called Toad Lilies, supposedly acquired its unfortunate name as part of a famous hoax, but the beautiful flowers deserve better.

The story goes that Manuel Elizalde, Filipino Minister of Culture during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, claimed that he had discovered the Tasaday tribe, a group of stone age hunters surviving on the island of Mindanao. In truth, the tribe was quite modern, but Elizalde persuaded them to play their part for the sake of ecotourism. They even duped National Geographic. The magazine featured the Tasaday in an article in 1972, titled "The Last Tribes of Mindanao." Eventually the tale was debunked, and in 1986, a 20/20 special highlighted the hoax in a documentary, "The Tribe that Never Was."

The stone age tribe reportedly depended on toads as their main source of protein. They crushed a certain plant and rubbed their bodies with its sticky juice, which attracted the toads, who then were easily caught in the gummy substance. None of this was true, but the poor plant came to be called Toad Lily, and the name persists to this day.

Native to Asia, toad lilies will grow in US hardiness zones 4-8. This perennial has many cultivars, growing from 1-3 feet tall and wide. An excellent source of nectar for wildlife, they begin to flower in late summer to early fall and may bloom all the way into November.
Their orchid-like blooms are small but numerous, often speckled in shades of red or purple, sometimes solid white or yellow. The lance shaped leaves resemble Solomon's Seal and are sometimes mottled or variegated. 

Tricrytis will grow in shade to partial shade in moist, rich, well-drained soil containing lots of organic matter. Good companion plants are woodland plants that prosper in similar conditions, including hostas, ferns, hardy begonias, and hellebores. 

One may propagate toad lilies by seeds or by lifting and dividing the bulbs at the base of the plant.

One warning: Although toad lilies are not bothered by many pests, deer and rabbits love this plant. I don't have deer, but last year a rabbit chewed mine down to nubs, right before they bloomed! So far, Mr. Bunny has not returned this year. Snails and slugs may also snack on the leaves. 

Toad Lilies are beautiful woodland plants. Mine are planted close to a path so that I can appreciate their small flowers as I walk by. One may also enjoy the blooms by cutting stems and bringing inside.

Falling!

I was outside today, and I needed a hard hat. Acorns were falling all around me. Overnight thousands have carpeted the front lawn. They crunch under my feet as I walk, and I have never seen so many. My yard man (husband) certainly has a lot of clean-up to do!

Leaf fall has barely begun, but I know that is coming, as autumn colors are beginning to show. I have enjoyed the golden glow in the afternoons. Often I don't try to identify specific plants, but rather I visualize the molten washes of color flowing together to created an impressionistic landscape.

We haven't reached the peak of fall colors yet, but here are some recent photos to show what we have.

Around the front garden:

In the woodland:

The deep green leaves of Southern Magnolia contrast nicely with the golden fall foliage of a redbud.

Those are mushrooms in the next to last row. The one on the left is a geastrum, also known as an earthstar.

A few scenes from the Lady Garden:

A lot of flowers are blooming madly, even as leaves are turning. Some are leftovers from summer and some are specific to fall; they all love the cool nights and warm days we are having. Toad Lily, Tricyrtis hirta, in the woodland garden

Butterfly rose, Rosa mutabilis, has been blooming off and on since spring.

Fall mums, zinnias, and a salmon colored carpet rose blend with fall foliage.

Finally, here is an old wrought iron table, recently refurbished. The top had rusted out, so I hunted for a new one. I found a piece of scrap Italian travertine at a local marble works. They cut it into a circle and polished it for me. I put it on the newly painted base, and voila! New table! The cobblestone birdhouse is a project I completed a few years ago.

Have a great week, and please watch out for acorns or other objects falling from above.  Deborah