Taken 15 min. ago. A dwarf (24" tall) oriental lily. I bought this as a potted mother's day plant four years ago, and plopped it in the ground when it was finished. It comes back every year and blooms early, in spite of the fact it's on the north side of the house where it gets no sun until late March.
That's a beautiful lily.
Pretty, and I bet she smells nice, too. Oriental lilies are remarkably reliable as long as they have good drainage.
I won't see a lily like that before July 20th.
I'm with Cathy - July is the earliest lilies for me. Your's is just beautiful. I so very much love lilies. Better than even peonies or dahlias.
I was just thinking I should have left it in the pot so I could bring it in the house, where I could smell it, but if I had it probably would have died. As a rule, lilies don't last long in this climate, but I have a few troupers like 'crimson pixy' ( getting buds), Boogi Woogi, and Triumphator that that are reliable.
Someone sent me Crimson Pixy last year and it was one of the first to bloom. Pretty lily, short.
Lilies are my favorite. I carried Star Gazers in my wedding bouquet more than 30 years ago and used to get a bouquet on our anniversary, Unfortunately the fragrance was so strong that we would have to put them out on the patio or deck and enjoy them from afar. Outdoors they are heavenly. When we moved here, the former owner left a few in the garden, and we have been supplementing ever since. I have dug up lilies to move to another garden, forgotten them outside (without soil) in our Connecticut winters, and they still bloomed!
I think Triumphator is an Orienpet and a tall plant. And Boogi Woogi is just gorgeous, too. I wanted to order it but the company that sold it got bad reviews in the Garden Watchdog, and I'm getting tired to not great service. As I have said before, the nicer the catalog, the worse the reputation.
The Asiatics bloom much earlier, but as of today, no liliums are showing their stuff. I think it is going to be an unusual growing season.
Marcia
Looks great.Congrats
I don't know about first bloom but I am so blown away by The Lily Garden's (www.thelilygarden.com) generosity I could just burst. I have ordered from them several times and they are always nice to send at least one bonus (usually more) but this is over the top. I ordered 3 Brushstroke and got 7! Ordered 3 tiger Babies and got 5. Ordered one Tiramisu and got two!! Plus 2 Miss Libby as a bonus. I am just so excited. I got them about 5 minutes ago and they will be in pots in about 30 waiting to go outside. Oh where to plant???? Where to plant??
WOW Oberon. I have TigerBabies from Judith, about 4 years .You are going to love them.
I can always count on my lilies and peonies to deliver a great show no matter what the rest of the garden does. I don't mind investing more in them because the payback is great year after year. I favor the orienpets normally but went for some of the shorter ones as filler in the mid and front ranks.
Oh, Mary, I love Brushstroke. I got it from The Lily Garden.
It looks great with the companion.
I ordered it so long ago that I had forgotten what it looked like. I am growing some short delphiniums and your picture gave me a perfect setting for them. What is the grassy stuff amongst the flowers? Iris?
Mary, your speciosum alba are popping up beautifully. I have them in a big pot on my south facing patio. It finally occurred to me that I actually have the right conditions to make lilies bloom in the house (duh). So far, speciosum alba, speciosum Uchida, and Casa Blanca have homes there. It's mesmerizing, watching them sprout. And no worries about creatures, although I have not lost a single lily to critters (carefully placed daffs).
Of course, at some point the scent may become overwhelming.
I am so happy. I just loved the pictures of the alba bloom and better they bloom for someone if not for me.
It's been cool and very rainy here (over 9" of rain since last Sunday - see the creek roaring in the background!), but this morning I noticed the first of my lilies has opened. These short border lilies are scattered around this shady bed, among other, taller lilies, hosta, ligularia, allium, rudbeckia and foxglove. The first to open, the blooms don't usually last very long.
While the peonies seem to be doing well and right on time, still lots of lilies with tiny buds if at all (only on the asiatics, of course).
Leawood, I think you have a special communication your flowers, especially with the tulips and with those lilies. They are lovely.
We've got lots of healthy lilies growing, but last year there were 6 triumphators; this year only one. What's that about - chipmunks? In the same garden as the peonies and rose bushes.
Well, I do talk to my plants now and then, but only in the kindest and most complimentary tone, so as to not offend them.
As for chipmunks (we call them ground squirrels here - I think it's illegal to harm a 'chipmunk' in Kansas), I greatly reduced the problem of rabbits and ground squirrels in my garden by getting two cats. My garden sentries prowl the garden from late afternoon to early morning, keeping the varmint population at a minimum. Their range extends beyond my lot to the creekbed behind my property and a couple of adjacent houses. Ruby is the better hunter, but Jake is very territorial. He often hangs around when I'm working in the garden and sits on the curb making growling sounds when neighbors walk by with their dog on a leash (I guess he recognizes the leash is his 'protection', so he can act tough).
In general it is the planted bulbs. The chipmunks see soft soil and dig up the bulb, presumably to eat. Very frustrating, not to mention messy looking.
Sorry to hear that the squirrels do that to your bulbs.Yes,don't get me wrong the squirrel do dig in the ground to hide their acorns.Thats is the only time that they dig.Thats just in their natural to dig,because they hide their food.Sure i know it makes people mad that the squirrels dig what you have planted.
This message was edited May 31, 2013 7:27 PM
If you have any Milorganite, sprinkling a bit over newly turned soil will deter them. They hate it. I have a few chipmunks in my yard and if I remember to do this they leave plants in pots and in the ground alone.
Squirrels dislike freshly ground black pepper. I picked up a cheap pepper mill at the thrift store and make a few turns over bulbs I plant or soil I turn, and it stops them. But the pepper must be fresh - hence the grinder. And I have a ton of squirrels.
I just did these two things for a bunch of new plants, and all of them were left alone. Otherwise, I have the annoying pot and ground digging. So treating with these two substances is my last step after planting anything new.
Calling all lily growers.
I am looking for a really tall white lily to go with Friso.
Any one with a suggestion?
A couple of years ago I bought a few Aurelian Trumpet lilies 'Albo' (white with a yellow throat) that each July reach over 6 feet and bloom like crazy. I see The Lily Garden (www.thelilygarden.com) has a couple white varieties - 'Ice Follies' and 'White Henryi'. Good luck!
Thanks I will check out Albo and Ice Follies.I have Henrii and LOVE it.
Leawood, White Henryi is a very special lily. It is a trumpet, and has incredible saying power, as many relatively antique lilies have. Also, it will bloom in the shade. I find that most pictures in catalogs don't do it justice. It has not bloomed here as of yet, but here are some images of mine.
Indestructible! Beautiful! Scented!
DonnaMack: I agree. Mine survived the awful spring of '12 it only reached 4 feet but I expect to see it tall again.
I want to add some trumpets to my sun garden, so I need to order 'Henryi', Donna - you always know what works BEST!
Have you tried Pink Perfection?Its tall
You absolutely do. But you better hurry.
Because of the popularity of orienpets, trumpets are going out of commerce. I have three - can you imagine - THREE that are almost impossible to find. They are strong, so I have had them for many years.
Amethyst Temple is related to Pink Perfection, but less beetroot in color. Pink Perfection is often sold as Amethyst Temple, but they are different lilies, as you can see. I got it in 2001 from White Flower Farm. They just sold it; I don't know who the supplier was. I bought Rosepoint Lace from White Flower Farm at the same time.
As the second pic shows, height varies. That was when I discovered that it needs a bit more winter protection than most trumpets. The tall ones got mulched.
Then there is Emerald Temple. I got it from B&D Lilies. Very prolific, strong and scented. Upfacing and outfacing, and I think freaking gorgeous. But these lilies are subtle compared to the somewhat blaring colors of the orienpets. The grass was Morning Light, gorgeous but would cut into the lilies, so I used tomatoe tape to pull them away from the grasses. They require no staking.
In the last picture it is blooming in a pot I used to hold it over until I could get it to my new house. It didn't miss a beat!
Silver Sunburst. I got it from Old House Garden. Scott was the only one who had it, and he has lost his last supplier. This one is a true dynamo. Incredibly vigorous. You will never lose one. In the second picture, it had been dug out of the ground, put in the back seat of a car and driven 32 miles. It didn't care!
And here they were last spring.
If you want utter reliability in a lily despite neglect, but you also want scent, trumpets are the way to go!
I love those green backs on petals.Moonlight Strain has the green too.
Your second pic of the building is charming.
Asiatic short Peach Pixie
We've got a number of buds, but with the cool weather, they are taking their time.
This is Spank a lily from BuggyCrazy OOOOPS wrong ID.The lily is Starven.
This message was edited Jun 16, 2013 4:41 AM
