D for Duck Flowers

For years my daughters and I would wait for Spring to take a walk around our pond and search for duck flowers. My husband's grandmother, MomMom, first sent us searching for the duck flowers and showed us how you could float them in water for days.

Having trouble picturing it? First, get rid of the green and maroon colored leaves. The duck's beak is the white piece at the top, attached to his darker head (complete with two beady eyes) and then a puffy pink body which floats on the water. For many years I would pull out a fancy glass bowl and fill it with a couple of inches of water so our duck could paddle around a fancy pond.

These flowers had a brief life at the edge of the pond, shaded by the pine trees. Almost before you blinked they were gone, replaced by massive ferns. I tried transplanting one or two in my garden but it was an epic fail so I was content with my annual search for the duck flowers.

Imagine my surprise when I found out years later that they were orchids! An orchids called Lady Slippers. And apparently, pretty sought after because they were almost impossible to grow on purpose. They were demanding about the type of soil, sunlight and environment that they would call home. I felt honored to have them (almost) in my backyard and that I get to see them every year.

And they'll always be Duck Flowers to me.

Thanks to Erie Bard for the image of the Pink Lady slippers that can be found on Wikicommons HERE.