Toad Lily
Toad Lilies are bulbs that bloom late in the season, adding a little color during that transition period between summer and autumn here in the Northwest. There are several species and varieties, but from the ones I’ve seen, they’re mostly shades of purple, with up-facing blossoms on stems that are about waist high or a little higher.
This blossom was one of many in a lush clump of Candelabra Toad Lilies, Tricyrtis macropoda, along the path at the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden this afternoon.
I was on my way back to the car at the end of the day when I saw gentle backlight coming through the blossoms and decided I had time for a few more photos since I was already going to be late for dinner. I made several variations on the theme, horizontal with multiple blossoms, horizontal with just a single blossom, and then verticals with one blossom. I liked this one with a tiny spider crawling across a strand of silk, although I have another variation with neither the spider nor the silk. Fortunately it was a dead calm afternoon as the light was fading, the flowers are on tall stalks, and I was working close with a 100mm macro lens.