Naked Ladies in the Hollow

Naked Ladies

This was the best year yet for naked ladies (Lycoris squamigera), a long-lived old-fashioned southern bulb that puts up mysterious foliage in spring only to die down and resurrect in late summer with tender pink stalks of lavender tinged amaryllis-like flowers. Let the foliage ripen to yellow before you mow it down and be careful not to cut the flower stalks that come up later. Ours have the advantage of the dark background of the great beech that dominates the garden.

I cut the last of them a week or so ago to save the energy they would have expended on making seed. Fall always vies with Spring for me but I end up preferring autumn for nature’s perfect beauty. I love to see the first scarlet burgundy colors of Nyssa sylvatica, literally “nymph of the forest” ( aka black tupelo, blackgum, pepperidge tree) at the edge of the woods along with Virginia creeper, the clear yellow of goldenrods and the invasive native wingstem.

Marigolds and nasturtiums also capture the fire of the sun. We love to bring late flowers into the house this time of year.

 

 

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