Little Ultrarunning, Just Flowers

[photos by Gary: click to enlarge, ESC to return]

Well, the bride's Yellow Lady's Slippers are thriving.  This plant is about 3 years old, planted in 2009.  In the springs of 2010 and 2011 it had only a single stem and a single bloom. 

Now this spring the plant has exploded, pushing out 3 stems with a total of 4 flowers as seen above.  Unfortunately the yellow washes out a bit in the image above (damn that autofocus/autoexposure!). But below is the money shot, a close-up of one of the blooms:

Meanwhile, out back in the water garden, we're seeing our first water lilies:

I guess there is an Ultrarunning connection after all.  Back in 1998 when I ran the Massanutten 100 miler in VA, I was fortunate to see what is becoming a rarity in the wild: Pink Lady's Slippers.  This species--a cousin to the yellow--does not lend itself well to domestic propagation, otherwise I'd have one.

Yellow Lady Slipper

Just in time for Mother's Day, the Yellow Lady Slipper flower that I purchased last spring burst forth its flower.  The bride was quite pleased, as was I.

Although the overall plant and its flower are fairly petite, it still was a stunning morning sight when I paused along my south flower bed after coming back from a windy run this weekend. 

I saw numerous Lady Slippers along the trails of the Massanutten 100 Miler; in fact, that is one of the vivid, enduring memories I have of that run back in 1998.