Plant of the Month : Krötenlilie or Toad Lily (Tricyrtis hirta)

This November in this early wet and cold season, this lily still carries a few flowers: sturdy and a bit waxen, they raise their faces through the yellowing leaves of this hardy plant. It is rarely seen in gardens in Germany, although it is an undemanding plant. It needs light shade among shrubs but can stand a drought, too. Its colours vary: when buying one, it is important to see it in flower, buy it in flower, because some varieties have an odd blueish-red shade, like washed-out jeans that have accidentally been put in the same washing cyle together with a bleeding red t-shirt.

I have no idea, why this pretty lily is called toad lily - because of its dots looking like warts? A good reason to try some distorting photoshop-filters ....

Jump!

Plant of the Month : Acanthus

Acanthus mollis sends its spiky flowers up this month. When not in flower, it is a very nondescript plant: the leaves, when they come out of the ground, might easily be mistaken for dandelion leaves and be torn out by some ignorant gardener. Luckily the roots are thick rhizomes and cannot easily be destroyed. If you move this plant,  the old plant will usually come back in the old place from left over root fragments like a true weed. But with flowers, it is an architectural, ornamental, very elegant, classical plant, and the tall bicolor flowers leave a strong impression.

Its leaves have supposedly been inspiration for the capitals of the corinthian columns ... not quite, maybe a different or older species. Its English name is "Bear's breeches" - I have no idea why and couldn't find any explanation on google. 
In German, it is "Wahrer Bärenklau" meaning "bear's foot" - not to be confused with the rather toxic and non related "Gemeiner Bärenklau" (Heracleum spec.) plant. 

There is another species Acanthus spinosus, very similar, but with spiny leaves and flowers.