Made for the shade

This toad lily, Tricyrtis hirta 'Tojen', is a trouper. It sits in the toughest bed in the garden: north side, dank shade, indubitably zone 4 (in my combo zone 4/5 garden), with lots of sterile subsoil underfoot, and is subjected in winter to the near-daily insult of chemical icemelt from the concrete walkway that rings the bed. Its glossy, healthy green foliage bears no hint of the fact that I've watered it only about once a month during this rainless summer. 'Tojen' started blooming in mid-August, and opens more and more of its delicate orchid-like blossoms every day, which drop discreetly off their stems without deadheading. I had to fight off the bumblebees to snap this photo.

Comments

[Jeanne]

Thanks for the recommendation. I've got a northern-exposure bed between house and concrete path, too, that so far has only grown sword ferns and clivia. I'll try this!