Monday, May 23, 2011

Red Empress in Bloom

Red Trillium or Wakerobin
(Trillium erectum)

Is it silly to remember a particular wildflower with affection?  Sometimes I wonder, and then I remember her.

This particular red trillium has resided near a bend in the trail for time out of mind, and she gifts us with a single perfect flower every year.   Rising from the warming earth, she spreads three great green ruffled leaves, then puts forth an elegant nodding bud.  As the sun grows stronger, the bud slowly raises its head and unfurls in deep opulent crimson, possibly my favorite color ever.  So great is the bloom and so rich is the color that it can be seen from quite a distance, even on overcast days.

Some years, a deer passes along the trail and consumes the flower.  Some years, a bright wind dances across the old hills and numbers her days, but this we know: this we love, understand and cherish beyond words - even the fallen petals of the red empress are works of art.

6 comments:

Tabor said...

So healthy looking.

christinalfrutiger said...

Beautiful!

Loren said...

This would be hard to forget.

Anonymous said...

So beautiful! I needed your blog today :)

Guy said...

Hi Cate

What a beautiful and elegant flower.

Guy

Anonymous said...

Your feelings for this flower remind me of how I related so deeply to a poem by a friend of Thich Nhat Hanh's.
It is written to a Dahlia.

"Standing quietly by the fence
you smile your wondrous smile
I am speechless and my senses are filled
by the sounds of your beautiful song,
Beginningless and endless.
I bow deeply to you."