Tricyrtis 'Gilt Edge'

Tricyrtis 'Gilt Edge' may look like it's from a faraway locale, but it's quite at home almost anywhere. Despite its combination of big, creamy-edged leaves and exquisite spotted pink blooms giving it an exotic look, Tricyrtis 'Gilt Edge' is easy to grow.

This shade- and moisture-loving formosan toad lily is ready to flower for weeks during the dull late summer to early fall season, when the garden is at one of those awkward "in between" stages. And it keeps its lovely green foliage right through the strongest heat of the summer.

Tricyrtis 'Gilt Edge' is showier than most formosan toad lilies, with long, elegant leaves the size of dollar bills, jaggedly edged in a creamy yellow that varies leaf by leaf. Vigorous all season, it stays fresh and clean as though the leaves were newly unfurled at at time in the season when other toad lillies are turning brown.

The blooms may remind you of orchids; just an inch across, they stand out brilliantly, their deep pink petals merrily spotted in deep purple. Expect them to keep coming for several weeks, offering a terrific color show in the garden.

Tricyrtis 'Gilt Edge' thrives in the shade garden where it can receive more sun in the North than in the South. It will colonize if given room, so clear a wide area and get ready to watch this toad lily expand. A good companion to ferns and hostas, it reaches 20 to 24 inches tall and up to 2½ feet wide in moist (not boggy or wet) soil. If you're planting more than one, space them about 2 feet apart to give them room to spread.