Heart of the Garden

I think mid-May is the best time to take a wildflower walk in the woods. That’s when I found these, my top five favorite woodland shade lovers…

Wild Geranium

Floppy pink teacup flowers dangle above flimsy light green leaves. These are a beautiful ground cover in shady boggy spots.

Wild Ginger

Don’t confuse this with Garlic mustard (Allaria petiolatais), the ruffly weed that has a similar leaf shape. Wild ginger is more leathery and has a beautiful cascading spreading habit. The roots smell like… ginger. This ground cover is so smurfy it makes me drool instantly.

May Apple

I used to think this was so pedestrian and boring, but now I am so grateful for the honor of seeing a cluster of these in sun-dappled woodland groves. Turtles love them and so do I.

Wild Poppy

I’ll take my poppies however I can get ’em. I had some of these growing in my backyard and thought they were weedy but something about them seemed pleasant and ethereal so I let them be. I saw them in $10 pots (!) at the Brandywine Conservancy Native Plant Sale. This Spring, I am going to see what I can do to help them flourish.

Jack in the Pulpit

These are so special and exciting to encounter in the woods. I found one in my backyard and screamed like a maniac. It was the best thing to happen to me in 6 months. It’s like spotting an elf carrying around a little cauldron of gold bouillon. Sometimes they are leopardy and purple.