It's hard for me to say a plant is a "favorite " of mine because I basically love them all, but Trout lilys are, for sure, near the top of the list. They've been flowering for a little while now in Fern Valley but will continue at least through this weekend.
I've never really tried them in the Adelphi garden, the sandy conditions just seem wrong, but bought a package a few years back from a box store. They turned out to be supersized, Trout lilys on steroids. I assumed they were some complicated hybrid of Asian or European, or African species. A couple years back I was surprised to learn they are in fact a western US species, Erythronium tuolumnense (probably cv. 'Pagoda'). Go figure. I'm developing a fondness for them though they have none of the grace or delicacy so clearly associated with the plant in the picture and, well.....all the other species and cultivars. Still, any Trout lily is a good Trout lily.
I've just discovered these, partially due to Scott, of Rhone Street Gardens, and now you are extolling their virtues. Apparently there's a local specialty nursery that has a good selection, so an acquisition visit is in my future!
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