Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A lily is a lily?

No, there are Day lilies, Asiatic lilies, Oriental lilies, Tiger lilies, Peruvian lilies, Easter lilies, Calla lilies, Lily of the Valley and other flowers we call " lilies" that are not part of the genus Lilium.
The magnificent Oriental lilies that bloom in late summer are some of the most fragrant flowers on earth-- like the white Casa Blancas and red-striped Stargazers that can stop a passerby in their tracks.
Most of these came from a package of bulbs I bought at Costco in February. The garden was bleak when I planted them in the soggy dirt way back then. Now I love the way they (accidentally) bloom against the while dahlias, which I didn't think would even come back after the hard winter.

It's funny-- I got one of the best gardens ever this year without trying all that hard. Thank you, rain. I'm a big believer in hard work, but Nature gets the final word.

2 comments:

  1. I'll never forget that row of Casa Blancas you had along the fence at your old Seattle house!

    ReplyDelete