Very beautiful,you're a very lucky gardener!

I've never seen one in bloom in the wild - just a leaf seen on a walk with the Wildlands Trust. They look healthy and happy - cherish them!

Claire

How exciting - what a nice surprise! Much better than an azalea, in my book.

Aren't those little surprises what keep us all excited in this pursuit? Your title was so compelling, malorn, I had to take a look... it could have been an interesting vole, but turned out to be even better. Those are lovely!

A week or so ago I went back to a spot where I thought I was going to have to replace a failed clematis, and found not just a healthy plant, but several blooms starting to form, with the vines starting to wend their way through a climbing hydrangea. Not quite the same as your discovery, but totally unexpected, and now I'm going out every day to see how the "dead" plant is doing. Both seem to be doing wonderfully!

Sometimes it's hard to explain to others the little joys you get from this often frustrating pursuit... thanks for sharing!!! :-)

I also have a great find this year.
While chasing this guy

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who seems absolutely not been affraid of me, but rather interested in my newly planted viburnum, I look down to find something to throw at him and found this

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Now I know where 'I grow' trilliums and will be looking for them next spring.

Seems your careful lack of attention to trillium culture has paid off, ego!

What are you not going to try to grow next? ;-)

Awesome little plant, isn't it? From the symmetry point of view, it's amazing (sorry... the scientist in me coming out) three major leaves at 60 deg. to one another, then another set perfectly rotated by 30 degrees.... then the petals - again, perfectly rotated by another thirty degrees, then the stamens, once again... perfect three-fold symmetry. It's astounding how that happens.

Gorgeous photos, by the way!

We found Lady Slippers on our property last year; we've been here 19 years and that was the first we had seen of them. It IS really neat when we get a surprise like that!

Beautiful, George. And I am glad to learn I am not the only one who chases deer. They only seem mildly annoyed by my yelling and arm-flapping, but they do amble off.

Malorn what a terrific surprise. When we first moved to our property it was loaded with lady slippers and over the last number of years they sadly have all but disappeared. They really are extremely fussy about being disturbed. Does anyone have any info on these plants?

I want to go comb my woods now! I'd love either lady's slippers or trillium! I know I can find ticks. Ugh!

Great find. I saw some on our property a few years ago but haven't seen them since. They must have some type of cycle when they come up and not..??..

As for dear chasing you are definately not alone. At our house who ever spots them first gets to run after them. Luckily I live on 4 acres and don't have neighbors close by :)

We put a "deer fence" around the back and left about a 2 ft gap at the bottom so our cats can get in and out. Well so far it has kept the deer out!! but a baby bear has made its way under it and destroyed my shepards hook and took off with my feeder and a fat raccoon keeps coming up and pulling out my verigated impaitiens out of their planting box. Arrggg!!

Maybe this long weekend I will troll around the yard and see if any beauties are sticking their heads up. Thanks for the picture.

I know what you mean. I used to see lady slippers along the roadside when walking the dog. (rural wooded road). Haven't seen them there for 2 years. It was a real treat. And the ones I saw where just like malorns.

I have 2 clematis that I planted in the fall that did not show up this spring. I am hesitant to re-use their spots knowing that they sometimes reappear next year like happened to moleman.