March Of The Mayapples

There is a huge colony of Mayapple massed at the border and headed this way. Not that it matters. There are two more colonies inside the borders of the garden becoming.

It would not surprise me if each huge drift of Mayapple is a single plant, a giant clone, connected by the pencil thick fibrous rhizomes underground. The single leaf stalk of each colony comes up in total synchronization. The colonies inside the border do the same thing, but they are on a different schedule by a few days. When I hear people say they want or have planted this native perennial, I think beware. Aggressive is an understatement.

Mayapple belongs here. I will garden through and around them.

Where Mayapple is, other smaller things that depend on the spring sun of a leafless forest may not be seen or may be shaded out. There is Mayapple to spare. There is only one small patch of double Bloodroot at the moment.

The late blooming daffodils are late this year. They are the only ones having a decent showing even if they are being stingy with the blooms.

Dicentra cucullaria is having an excellent year. It has marched its way through the garden too. It is nice to have plants you can completely ignore, that need no tending and only asked to be admired.

The daffodils are needing a treatment for the daffodil bulb fly. It will have to be done or they could begin to dwindle in numbers faster than the gardener can multiply them. There was a time when the daffodils asked only to be admired.

The Mayapples have risen. A new season has begun.