I named my business Toadlily Books and am often asked where the name came from.  I am fortunate to have several ancient oak trees in my front yard.  After losing many plants that I thought I could grow, I realized that I can only grow plants marked “full shade,” not sun/shade, not partly shady, but the plants in catalogs that are marked with a filled in dot.  No sun!  I began to discover the world of woodland plants and went to the wonderful nursery in Oglethorpe County, Ga., Goodness Grows, and discovered several new plants.  I bought about three toad lilies, without knowing anything about them.  When they bloomed the following fall, I fell in love with the tiny but beautiful blooms, a little like an exotic blend of lilies and orchids.  (See on the left of my page.)  The toad lilies fell in love with my acidic soil and multiplied like crazy, but they are not invasive, they just propagate without leaving their home town.  Since then I’ve discovered different varieties of toad lilies, but the originals are my faves.

So why name a book business after a plant when I don’t sell gardening books?  (I keep them for myself.)  I thought about Trillium Books (some of those in my yard, too), but was told it sounded too much like a trillion books.  Okay, I don’t want to manifest a trillion books, so I next decided on Toadlily Books.  Often, I hear “totally books” by customers.  Others say, “Is that from the Wind in the Willows?”  But if I’m asked the story behind Toadlily Books, I say, “It’s because they are late bloomers, like me.”  But that’s a whole different story.