Trumpets

I never met a lily I didn't like, and I guess my favorite lily is whatever happens to be blooming at the moment.  The cut Golden Splendor Trumpet gives off intoxicating puffs of fragrance at night, a little reward for insomnia. Golden Splendor fragrance is described by the lily sellers as a combination of gardenia, jasmine and tuberose.

Cut trumpets last for many days in a vase.  Compared to the persnickety Oriental lilies that bloom in August, the trumpets are happy in the same garden spot for years; they never freeze, fade, get bugs, mildew or diseases. They multiply slowly but steadily. Trumpets don't need to be staked and don't care if you fertilize or not.  What can you say about such easy perfection in July?

Golden Splendor

The white Trumpets always bloom first, and I think the variety is called Regale. It is a Chinese native with funnel shaped flowers, a yellow throat and dark pink outer coating.

Regale

We have about a dozen of these top heavy stalks blooming, but I don't usually cut them for the house. Almost too much flower if you know what I mean, unless you're hosting a big wedding or funeral!  So I look at them outside and think I don't deserve such a magnificent flower for practically no effort at all. 

And then, there's my favorite of favorites-- the cantaloupe African Queen.

African Queen