New plantings of trout lilies, sharp lobed hepaticas, and several hardy orchids are missing, or at least I can’t yet identify foliage that is just emerging through the cover of leaves. I am quite certain I planted them, though I have little clue where. When relatively small numbers of very small plants are scattered about there is likely to be some confusion, so I should not be accused of having lost a marble or two (this time). I do know where the most recent planting of ladyslipper orchids are, and not unusually, ones planted late are slow coming up the first spring. I’ve dug around a bit, and they’re coming, I think. I suspect the others will soon pop up, also late due to planting in early winter.

I am quite happy with the new planting of Summer snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum, above) in the dry area beneath the Bigleaf magnolia. They’re putting on a show, and if the magnolia’s roots don’t cause too much of a problem the snowflakes should fill in nicely. This is the last area of open ground in the garden to be planted since I could hardly dig a hole for anything larger than a bulb. I did squeeze in a few Oakleaf hydrangeas in autumn so there will be a little something when the snowflakes go dormant in late spring. With a few granite boulders, ferns and barrenworts (Epimedium) the area looks much better, and since these are all plants that tolerate dryness they should settle in and look much better next spring.

In another very dry area beneath a blackgum, lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) was planted, and these are also doing well. This area is much smaller, and regularly used as a pathway, so I’ve tried to be careful where I walk, and finally the lily of the valleys are above ground so I can more easily avoid stomping on them. Lily of the valley can become a nuisance in the wrong spot, but if they grow aggressively in this ground with shallow roots it will be welcomed. Finding the right plant for problem areas often takes a bit of trial and error, and after several failures I’m hoping this near weed will be successful.

Again, I see a mistaken planting. Trilliums are coming up through a clump of sacred lily (Rohdea japonica, above) transplanted to this spot a year ago. The trilliums were dormant at the time, and clearly little damage was done in digging since there are several small newcomers mixed into this hodgepodge. The combination of trillium and rohdea is not ideal, but I have no doubt that one can’t be moved without disturbing the other, so here they’ll stay to work it out on their own.

There are other groups of trilliums (above) popping up that I don’t recall planting, but that’s most likely to be a matter that so much is planted, so often, that even someone with good memory could forget some. I don’t believe all are ones I planted, so some are likely to be seedlings. This is a good thing. I can’t imagine a time when there could be too many, and I’m particularly happy with a recently planted area where emerging Showy orchids (Galearis spectabilis, below, that are not highly showy, but delightful nonetheless) and trilliums are intermingled. These should play well together, and they are found in close proximity in local forests.