Twinleaf's Moment Arrives!

I found it!  I found it!  The Twinleaf flower I was hoping to glimpse during its brief moment of bloom.  The exceptional heat today (yes, it reached 90 degrees on my thermometer) forced one bud to burst into bloom, and I was lucky enough to get to Yaddo today in time to see it.  And get a better photo than I got last year.  And here it is.  Isn't it pretty?  And such an interesting leaf.  Like an angel's wing.

Better take a good look because you probably won't find it growing wild around here.  It's considered "threatened" in New York State, "endangered" in several others.  I'd like to plant it in my garden, but it needs limey soil and mine is pretty neutral.  I'm glad I know where it grows.

Yaddo is a famous artists' retreat at the eastern edge of Saratoga Springs and is most renowned for its sun-lit rose gardens and ornate garden statuary.  But it also has a lovely rock garden, shaded by ancient Norway spruces and devoted to woodland wildflowers, many of which I have never found in the wild.  Virginia Bluebells, Labrador Violet, Squirrel Corn, Crested Iris -- these are just a few of the pretty plants I visit there.  Last fall I  helped myself to seeds from Celandine Poppy and Black Cohosh and scattered them in my own shady garden.  Green sprouts are just coming up out there, and I'm not yet sure what they are.  Let's hope.