trilliums | Black Walnut Dispatch

Mount Cuba Center, in Hockessin, Delaware (near Wilmington), has long been on my garden visit bucket list. It is a paradise of native Piedmont plants, and an inspiration for all of us living in “suburban woodlands” here in the mid-Atlantic.

What I learned: the key to a great Woodland Garden is open shade. They had almost all of their big shade trees limbed way up, plus there were a lot of tulip poplars, which don’t have low limbs anyway. There was plenty of bright filtered light for the wildflowers to bloom in abundance.

Enjoy the photos!

You wish the woods in your neighborhood looked like this, instead of being smothered in invasive vines.

Redbud, Fothergilla, Tulip Tree

Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea), Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

a native herbaceous clematis with adorable little nodding white flowers

Amethyst Shooting Stars (Dodecatheon amethystinum) with Quaker Ladies (Houstonia caerulea)

Allegheny Pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens)

Dwarf Iris

A patch of dwarf Iris in blue — so cute

Flame Azalea bloom about to open.

Unfurling fern

Ferns emerging from Purple Phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida) plus some Wood Poppies and Bottlebrush Buckeye in the back.

They also had fauna.

Great combo! Golden Alexanders and Woodland Phlox (I think Phlox divaricata)

I overheard a very intelligent looking lady say this was Interrupted Fern

They have a lilac allee there, left over from the orginial duPont garden plan. Here is my sister taking a whiff. Mmmmm.

I love these raspberry colored primroses by the stream.

A view toward the meadow with Quaker Ladies in the foreground. I want to come back in the late summer to see the meadow in its glory.

Sculpture of a maple samara that actually moves in the wind — neat!

I believe this is a Southern Red Trillium (Trillium sulcatum) floating over a sea of Rue Anenome (Thalictrum thalictroides?)

Trillium grandiflorum Double Loop form

Trillium grandiflorum

Underwood’s Trillium (Trillium underwoodii)

Twisted Trillium (Trillium stamineum)

Trillium grandiflorum – pink form

A patch of trillium, I can’t remember which kind.

The circular formal garden (another remnant from the original duPont house) was planted out with electric blue delphiniums and the most fabulous array of peach, pink, and yellow tulips of different heights. Awesome!

Looking down at the tulips

Yellow Mandarin (Disporum lanuginosum). A unique perennial with delicate little yellowish flowers that hang down….hard to see with the green background.