Red Empress Unfolding

Red Trillium or Wakerobin

 (Trillium erectum)

It is always astonishing how quickly the highlands turn green when days begin to warm up in early May.  A few days ago, the hills and fields were mottled brown from here to there, and there was hardly a green shoot to be seen.  Now, here we are on the cusp of flowering, and there are little green sprouts coming up everywhere.

 

The red empress is the reigning monarch of the Lanark Highlands, and she is the northern wildflower most likely to get me down on my creaking knees at this time of the year.  There I was yesterday sprawled among the tattered leaves, peering into the leafy emerald shade at a single bud of deep rich crimson, deliciously curved and too gorgeous for words.

Spring has arrived late this year, and the red empress is almost alone in her protected cove at the moment - her red and white sisters are still only tightly furled leaves, and they are taking their own sweet time in opening.  Within a few days, there will be trilliums everywhere.