Ahhhhh, the sweet smell of leaf mold! I make mine with the leaves that fall off my two 60+ years old silver maples, but I find that it isn't enough. So, when I see my neighbours putting their bags on the curb, I ask if I can take them. They look at me as though I were some kind of E.T., but they always let me take their leaves. My problem is I don't have enough out-of-the-way room on my lot to have the number of piles I have leaves for. So, I just have one big wire bin (on asphalt, to boot, but it works just as well) and I bag the rest. Surprisingly, leaves are very stable when they are in a plastic bag, so in spring, when last year's batch is just about ready, I just open up a dozen bags and start a new batch. The leaves are in about the same condition as they were in fall. Some leaf juice accumulates at the bottom of the bags, though, so don't store this in places where you don't want any moldy juice spilled. I can't thank leaf mold enough for the terrific job it does in the garden. It is so amazing that I think it is worth raking leaves up in the park for, and even getting rid of a shrub to make room for the wire bin. Bear in mind that there will be numerous little critters in the leaf mold. Mine is full of earthworms (and lots of other cute bugs, such as earwigs and the most incredible creature of all, the dreaded scutigera), and when I use the mold, I always remove as many live worms as possible and throw them back in the bin. They are more useful alive in the bin than dead and rotting in a flower bed. Nothing ever really grew in my uncovered wire bin (and weeds are aplenty around here), so, although I haven't used it as mulch so far, I think it does provide protection from weeds. The texture of leaf mold is such that weeds would have a hard time germinating in it. It is impenetrable. Of course, if you wait three years before using it, it may well be decomposed enough to allow for seed germination. The most efficient natural weed buster I have used is pine needles. An inch of pine needles blocks out absolutely everything, and in my opinion looks much better than the yucky orange wood chips. I actually like the fine texture and the soft, hay yellow colour that brings out the green in plants. It is also excellent against erosion and is the longest lasting natural mulch (3 years). Just don't walk over it as it easily gets compacted.

Naylor Creek (located in Chimacum, WA) is a very highly rated, mostly mail order nursery that specializes in shade lovers. While their reputation has been built primarily on hostas, they offer a huge selection of other shade perennials, including a pretty wide selection of trilliums. They are open to the public and very well worth the drive, but call ahead to make sure they are there - they travel a lot to plant sales and shows. Trilliums grow from rhizomes and are most often sold in spring as planted starts or bare root. Make sure you get propagated and field raised plants and not wild collected - many native trilliums are considered endangered species in the natural environment. IME, they tend to be plants that are in rather high demand and sell out rapidly - the crop at my nursery didn't even last a full week before it was gone - so you might even be a bit late for this season. My own trilliums have been in bloom for about a month. Scroll down on the link until you reach the trillium section :-)) Here is a link that might be useful: Naylor Creek Nursery

Thane I have noticed that my T. grandiflorum do come up with their leaf sheath bent, but only for a very short time, they seem to pull out straight pretty quickly. I have never noticed T. ovatum that close to check,--- interesting. The grands are older and have a much thicker stalk and bigger leaves, the the natives I have are smaller, so maybe they are very fast at coming up straight, or are curved underground only. Will have to remember to check next year. My two patches are very close and I have seedlings now that are probably crosses with many different sizes of flower petals. I have a native patch that I got from a different source and they have very thin narrow petals. Judy

Dear Bluebonsai, I'd be wary of anything that you don't know the provenance of. Some people may be digging this off county land or off private land without permission. The only way I got mine was from (with permission first from the owner) was from a small parcel of land that is zoned for commercial development and will be bullzozed when it's sold. This is why - from a reputable nursery - it's very expensive. It takes a lot of time develop a sustainable colony from which you can harvest roots for sale. I think you are better off getting involved with a group that assists with native plant rescues than purchasing plants off of ebay.