The Season of the Lily

There is truth in saying “buyer beware”.

The Season of the Oriental Lily has passed for another year.  July is the month of lilies for me.  One of my favorite plants, they mostly take care of themselves.  They are reliable and bloom every year. 

Lilium ‘American Dream’ purchased from White Flower Farm in 2003 grows to 7 feet tall in my front garden. From one bulb I now have about 10 to 15 flower bearing stalks filled with large fragrant blooms in July.  Beautiful true-to-type.

Casablanca may be my favorite.  Heavily fragrant and somehow angelic, I purchased 3 bulbs from Brecks in 2009.      Beautiful true-to-type

I bought some bargain bulbs labeled Casablanca and Stargazer from a vendor at the Philadelphia Flower Show.  This lily labeled Stargazer does not look like any Stargazer I’ve ever seen.    Nice but not true to type.

This Pretty peachy colored lily came in the same batch from the bargain vendor but it is neither Casablanca nor Stargazer.  Beautiful but not true to anything I imagined.

I would not buy inexpensive bulbs from unknown vendors again.  I have a mixed bunch of lilies. Pretty but not what I had planned.

It’s something to think of as you purchase spring flowering bulbs this fall. 

Summer Garden

July is the reward for the work of April, May and June. Hot days make gardening slow work. I tend to follow the shade around the garden. It’s a time when I really appreciate the reliable perennials.

The tall lilies ‘American Dream’ (at top) purchased in 2003 from White Flower Farm bloom every year and only require dead heading. They will be cut to the ground after the first hard frost.

Lavender ‘Grosso’ is planted close to a path. It releases its pungent scent as you bursh against it. It gets cut back once in a while when I get around to it. It’s been there for 7 years.

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ planted in 2005 sends up its red blooms every year without much fuss – unlike its canna bed-mates that need to be dug up every fall and replanted in spring.

Sweet smelling alyssum and snapdragons self sow in the same area every year. The liatris (Liatris spicata 'Purple Spikes’) is beginning to bloom and only requires deadheading. It has been divided and added to other parts of the garden since 2001.

What are your reliable favorites?

Bulb Sale (part 2)

In May, I planted the 12 for $25 bulbs I bought at the Philadelphia Flower Show – 6 Casablanca and 6 Stargazer Lilies. (See May 4 post.)

When I bought the bulbs, I didn’t mark them so “Since Casablanca blooms white, I rationalized that the bulbs would be white.” I planted the white bulbs with the other beautiful Casablanca lilies from Breck’s (3 for about $20).

As you can see the 2 foot lilies are not white next to the 4 foot Casablanca lilies. In fact they barely resemble the Stargazer lilies pictured here at Dave’s Garden dot com. I can’t detect any scent.

This is one time when buying on impulse didn’t work out so well. I can’t wait to see what the other 6 lilies look like when they bloom.

They should be Casablanca. They are now about 1 ½ ft. tall and have a few buds.