Skunk Cabbage

The boggy wetlands of the westcoast are marked by the musk of skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum) in the spring. In the soggy and darker parts of forests and in the shaded estuary sloughs, the tiny yellowy-green flowers cover a spike that is enveloped by a bright yellow bract.

I bought these three plants from a fund-raising Native Plant sale at the Richmond Nature Gardens five years ago. I planted them in the wettest and shadiest part of the garden. A couple of years ago, my kids thought it was best to pick the flowers as soon as they opened so I was never able to enjoy them. And then we had quite a dry period last spring so that the flowers dried out and died off quickly. They are doing well this year.

I laid stones on top of the soil to improve the retention of moisture. Actually, I'm really not sure if the stones work, I was just copying the ecology of where the plants grow in nature and it seems to work.