Trillium Week to Bloom at the New England Wildflower Society

Photo by Paul Kohler on Flickr/Creative Commons

As far as local flower celebrations during May go, the Arnold Arboretum’s Lilac Sunday comes to mind. But if your Mother’s Day brunch plans are getting in the way of smelling some sweet floral aromas, there’s a whole week of petal-filled events starting on Monday, May 9.

The New England Wildflower Society is hosting the first Trillium Week at its Garden in the Woods in Framingham. From May 9 through 15, visitors will have the chance to celebrate all things trilliums during the plants’ peak bloom.

Trilliums are a small, delicate flower identified by their signature combination of three petals and three leaves. Native to North America, they’re prized by horticulturalists and amateur gardeners alike. The coolest part? They change color.

“Trillium grandiflorum have fascinating relationships with insects,” says Mark Richardson, the Garden’s horticultural director. “Once the flower has been pollinated, the petals turn from white to pink to tell pollinators, ‘I’m all set—move on.'”

During Trillium Week, 21 different species of trilliums will be on view at Garden in the Woods, surrounded by hundreds of other spring ephemerals.

“There are four native New England species—Trillium cernuum, T. erectum, T. grandiflorum, and T. undulatum,” says Richardson. “All grow best in the shade of a forest, where they bloom in early spring before trees leaf out.”

Garden in the Woods is the oldest native plant botanical garden in New England, so naturally its trillium collection is the most extensive one in the region.

Aside from wandering through the Garden’s enchanting woodland gardens, visitors are invited to take part in Trillium Week events. There will be lectures on trillium propagation and care, guided tours of the Garden, trillium story and play time for children, as well as the opportunity to purchase your own trilliums from the Garden’s nursery beds. The Garden offers about a half dozen different species of the tiny white flower.

You can see the complete list of events here.

Trillium Week, May 9 through 15, Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, newenglandwild.org.