On a cold spring day, I stopped by the woodland collection of the Linda Hall Library on the campus of UMKC. They have a wonderful collection of Trillium's, the foliage's are so diverse,many with marbled leaves that would be intriguing even without the triad blossoms.
Another gem that anyone who sees wishes to possess, is the lovely Anemonella. Most wild forms are typically windflower like, in white or rarely lavender or pink. Some selections have fully double blossoms and immense charm-this is named "Cameo". A dear friend of mine, who had opened a small specialty nursery, had ordered many wonderful things for his clients, and one vendor sent some tiny tubers for him to try. They were labeled, but Greyson didn't know what they were. So, he potted them up in small individual pots to grow on for observation. The tiny sprouting leaves looked like maidenhair ferns, or a little Meadow Rue...thus the" Anemonella Thalictroides". One by one, the Lilliputian plants grew in the cool greenhouse. Some where single and pure white, others where like tiered confections of crystalline sugar. He didn't known that these were hardy woodland plants, they seemed rarefied and other worldly. Some are quite rare, green centered forms, quilled petals, and unusually colored forms. A dappled woodland environment is to their liking, their tiny size makes them even more special. Like all Spring ephemerals, they tend to disapear with the hot weather of Summer, to re-emerge again in the spring of the next year.
