Surprise!

It's early august, which means it's time for the leafless flower stalks of the Surprise Lily (Lycoris squamigera) to make their appearance. Also known as Resurrection Lily, the foliage appears in spring with the bulbs and goes dormant by mid-June. Flowers appear in early August without any foliage, usually (if you're like me) well after you've forgotten they existed in your garden. Lycoris squamigera is easily grown in partial sun from zones (4)5-9 as long as they have moderately well drained soil as they don't want to be too wet in winter. Mine have done beautifully, I add a few more every year as they're slow to spread for me.

There is a good number of other hardy Lycoris species, and for further reading I recommend Jim Waddick's article here: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Lycoris/Garden_Lycoris_and_More.pdf