catching flies

I have started a few patches of several varieties of wild ginger, which make a beautiful evergreen ground cover. I started with Asarum europaeum, which is dark green, low to the ground, and has quite unremarkable tiny hidden flowers. Asarum flowers lie nearly face down in the dirt, apparently because they are pollinated by flies and/or beetles.

Last fall I added Asarum speciosum 'Woodlanders Select.' The leaves are much taller with bright green variegation, almost lime-colored. The flowers are a little larger and much more dramatic, though they still take some effort to find and appreciate. They are so bizarre that I had to share. They started off looking rather, shall I say, male. Most have now cracked open and seem alternately ominous and gorgeous, depending on my mood.