Why I Oughta...

Back in 2020, I discovered Toad Lilies and set about trying to plant a few of them in my woodland garden in the far back .  Like a lot of other things, these were shared by Erin the Impatient Gardener, who shared them in her own garden.   Come Spring 2021, I planted a few small containers of them in a little drift in the southwest corner of our lot .  The variety that planted are called Gilt Edge Japanese Toad Lillies and they were IMMEDIATELY destroyed by the (dang!) rabbits .    That's when I installed some rings of Chicken Wire to protect them.  I've left those rings in place for three-plus years now and because of that (I think), well....we *still* have Toad Lillies.  Not a lot of them.  But, they're still here. I posted the VERY SAME photos last year - about a year ago.    Here, below, are a couple of photos showing the remaining Toad Lillies.  These get ZERO supplemental water, so they're just doing their thing on their own.   With a little water, maybe these wi

A few years back, after getting to know them via Erin the Impatient Gardener, I planted three Gilt Edge Toad Lilies back by the firepit .  Three of them.  That first year, they did great .  They were about to bloom (I think), when the dang rabbits found them.  And gnawed them right off .  The second growing season (2022), the rabbits, once again, found them.  And ate 'em up .  That's when I put up some Chicken Wire rings.  I left them in place all-year-around. And today?  I have two Toad lilies.  Or...maybe this is just ONE plant that has two stems.  They're awfully close to be two different plants, right?  I'm not sure.  See below for a few photos showing these survivors in their chicken wire protection ring: I've said a few times that I should add more of these and I stand by that.  But, I think I need to see if these can get into a place where they're more rabbit-resistant.  Either by being more productive or less tender.  

Last year, I planed my first three Toad Lilies.  Gilt Edge variety .   I didn't think much about them last year, but they seemed to do just fine.  Then... the dang rabbits started to eat them .  This year, they seem to have come back. Mostly.  There are three clumps of them.  Not all the same size.   First...the photo at the top shows one of those 'clumps'.  And some of that rabbit damage that is back this year.  Jerks. Below, you can see all three clumps - if you look hard.  Stretched out from top to bottom with the 'best clump' being at the top.  The second 'best' at the bottom.  And some small, emerging tips in the middle. Ground cover is one of the big needs in my garden and something that I'm pretty sure will be a key focus in 2023.  I'd like to buy more of these and plant them in different spots to fill in some gaps.  I'll need to protect them this Summer and Fall from the dang rabbits, but that should be doable with chicken wire.  

Documenting a bit of pest damage to our Toad Lilies in late Summer/early Fall here with what I think is a rabbit gnawing on these perennials.  See below, for a photo of one of the three Toad Lilies that I planted this year.  This is the one that is closest to the fence and has suffered the most damage.  It is down to a single stalk with one good-sized leaf.  I mentioned in August that we didn't see any flowers on these this year as they were chewed right off by rabbits (I'm guessing) while we were on vacation .  In that post, I talked about having to put up some pest fencing - and I thought that would be a "next year" task.  But, with one of these suffering and me seeing a lot of rabbits around our garden, the time is now to put that fencing up.   I grabbed a little bit of chicken wire and wrapped them in a ring - with the goal of keeping these alive during their last few weeks.  I put the two on the right in one ring.  And the most-damaged one (on the left) in a ring

The last time, I posted on our toad lilies that I planted this Spring was earlier this month when I shared some photos of the buds that were about to burst and show flowers for the first time in our yard.  Fast forward to today and when I was out in back, I noticed that ALL of the flowers were gone.  Cut right off below where the buds were located.  I say 'cut', but what I really think I mean is 'chewed' right off.  By whom?  I'm guessing rabbits.   I planted these in late Spring . See below for a photo showing how these toad lilies were clipped/chewed right off.   This means that we didn't get ANY flowers from these.  Or at least, I didn't SEE them.   Note to my future self:  protect the toad lilies with some pest-fencing next year.  Maybe with some poultry wire to ring these up?  Seems like the critters like the buds and not the leaves.

Nine months ago, when our yard and garden had gone dormant, I posted a 'plant dreaming' post about Toad Lilies that Erin, the Impatient Gardener had introduced me to via her Instagram handle.  "You should know Toad Lilies" she wrote.    I included a mention of Toad Lilies in my 2021 to-do list (#18) and came across them earlier this Spring at Hinsdale Nursery.   In early June, I had three of them on hand and planted them in the far back - behind the new fire pit area .  I've watered them in a little bit, but I'll say that they seem to be doing just fine without being baby'd.  Here, below, are a couple of photos of the trio.  First, you can see the variegated edge on all of them is really bright and clear.  Love that.  What's interesting is that the photo at Hinsdale Nursery shows a white edge , whereas ours are much more lime green.   I spaced these three out in a little cluster as I understand they'll sort of naturally colonize.   Below is anoth

Last November, I posted a 'plant dreaming' post about Japanese Toad Lilies that I came across for the first time (i.e. new to me) via Erin the Impatient Gardener's Instagram handle.  Here's that post where she talked about growing Toad Lilies and said: "You should know and grow Toad Lilies. "  Ever since that post, these have been on my radar.  In fact, I mentioned them as part of #18 on this year's to-do list when I talked about the continued expansion of Japanese-inspired gardening .  So, when I saw them being sold at Hinsdale Nursery this Spring, I knew I had to buy some of them for our yard.   Here, below, is the listing at Hinsdale Nursery - for 'Gilt Edge' Japanese Toad Lily - Tricyrtis fomosana 'Gilt Edge': They're 'shade-loving' and will 'naturalize'.  Love both of those things. Here, below, are the three 1# nursery pots as they began to break dormancy recently: ...And here's a look at the plant tag that came

I grabbed this screenshot a while back from Erin the Impatient Gardener's instagram handle when she was doing a late Summer/early Fall walkabout.    One thing to note (for me):  I find it hard to find and follow gardeners that are near our zone (We're in Zone 5b) and that's a BIG reason why I follow the Impatient Gardener so closely:  she's in southern Wisconsin and deals with many of the same things we deal with here in the Chicago suburbs.   But...back to the screenshot of her Instagram story: the copy she overlaid to her image says it all (for me):  "You should know and grow toad lilies." I took this screenshot because, frankly, at the time I knew NOTHING about Toad Lilies.  That was...Until now.  After hearing Erin talk about these, I went to the Google machine and was introduced to these Japanese perennial plants.  From the Wisconsin Master Gardener : These perennial herbaceous plants, native to Asia (from the Himalayas to Japan and the Philippines), are