Blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) is actually an iris.
It has just begun to bloom now in my garden. I acquired Belamcanda from a native plant sale at our local library then waited several years for any show.
The first year there were just a couple green leaves spiking up, tall and thin. Luckily I saved the tag or they would have been pulled as weeds.
The spent flower curls upon itself like Christmas candy.
It stands erect like a toy soldier protecting the maturing seed pod below.
Gracefully growing several stems, each two-three feet high, the Blackberry lily now produces about a dozen delicate two-inch blooms.
Eventually the fruit pods explode and the plant's namesakes appear, deep black "berries" that cling well into the winter before finally dropping off for propagation, completing the life cycle.
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