Lily Lovers Look here!

wow limeylisa.. he looks alot taller... still he is beautiful and i love lilyfans horseys too.. ohh lets face it i just love horses!!!i cant help it.. they have such personalitys... and lilyfan... ur kidd, i am envious that he that he is trained for cart!!!! thats what i wanted gremmy to do... i think he would be great at it... i am a little afraid to "ride" , i never used to be , but when i was 18 my sister had me saddle up this mare to ride.. said she was a wonderful trail horse .... well i had no idea she was barn sour... and i took her into the arena and got on her... all of a sudden she started bucken and rearing... i lost the reins and was holding onto her mane... yelling at her to 'hoe" this went on for a good 3 or 4 min... finally when she stopped i got off her (knees shaking of course!) and ever since then i have been a little weary of riding... i need to get over it i know.. and i am sure i will. but i have always wanted him really to be a cart horse.. anyway, my hubby and i have 20 acres and we are sectioning off most of it (for now) for the horses.. it sure saves alot of money on feed .. but mostly to see them running freely, there isnt anything like it!!! there is a website that sells seeds in bulk for alf alfa, and timothy hay..and a bunch of others i cant think of right now, once the pasture is split into two i will have seed scattered over that entire pasture and water it... that way they will always have feed...(: my two boys used to be in a 50ft round pen with a 24x24 corral attatched to that , and that was big enough for chief but when gemmers came and started to grow.. it became small real fast... that horse has torn up two of the 24ft panels.. bent them to half round and pulled the entire 50ft round pen 20 feet.. and when i mean the 'WHOLE' 50ft pen.. i am talken each and every panel ... anyway here is a pic of the boys with the pasture they are in now behind them...(:
lilyfan ... i had just bought the rubrum lily.. i love the look and its nice to know they have a very strong fragrance... thanx for the info on the lilies... (: and ladies, i couldnt help myself, i had to put my Christmas lights up.. and i did take pics... but i dont know if i should send them now or..... wait till i complete the one flowerbox (although in the pic u cant tell its different,) and the window box... or just give ya a sneek peek of it... hmmmm..... (:
chrissy

This message was edited Dec 6, 2003 9:18 AM

ohhh chrissy quit tormenting and give the sneak preview please!
Kidd is pretty remarkable, when we broke him to cart we did it in about 2 hours and he's acted like a pro ever since. Now Scorch is another matter all together. I am hoping to get him broke to drive also, but haven't been able to get a time scheduled when i have help. Kind of important the first few times. You were saying that sometimes gremmy acts dominate. We had Kidd's momma in a pasture with a herd of other mares. Lets call them Candy, Pony, and Libby. Libby being my mare. Pony was dominate over Candy, Candy was dominate over Libby, and Libby was dominate over Pony! Go figure! Also Scorch who is the #3 horse, after spending 2 weeks here at home in my pasture was really buddy buddy with the neighbors horse across the fence. One night we decided to put Zeke (#1) in with him cause we were going riding real early. Scorch attacked Zeke every time he came within 50 feet of the fence cause his buddy was on the other side. Sometime during the night he took a real beating, but was still holding Zeke off in the morning! Back in the normal pasture all Zeke or Kidd have to do is pin an ear and Scorch moves!

Ok, this is a really poor picture and I desperately hope the quality of this lily improves in it's second season. Here it is anyway! Peach Elf a dwarf asiatic.

This is my last lily picture. This is the bed in which most of the lilies I've shared live. Next year they will be blooming all over the yard as I've expanded the gardens a little. This bed is about 30' x 7'.

Very pretty Sue. Gosh darn it, I may have to get back into lilies. They are just too pretty.

llily, what a nice garden you have there. So very bright and cheery!

LimeyLisa Kay

ok...ok..(: well there are going to be several pics so u get the full affect... but let me say this first lilyfan, i LOOOVE UR LILY GARDEN!!!!!!! i want it!!!! it must be a sight in person!!!! do u ever cut any to bring in the house?

Ok, i had to find my old disks with the pics of the barn on it, and wouldnt u know it... i didnt have any that i had taken when it was completed!!!! unless its on the one out of like 30 floppys i have that wouldnt open... something must have happened to the disk.. that would be just my luck too.. anyway these are not very good pics but i am posting them because u got to see what i have been living with for two years before u see what i have done to it... ok this pic is of the barn before the dutch door was on it, but its the closer view of the two i found.. so here it is.. and thats my hubby on the roof , roofing it, all bundled up , he almost looks like an ewolk (sp?) from star wars...lol ..this pic was taken dec. 2001...
chrissy

this second pic is with the dutch door on it , i dont know how big this will appear so it may be just as big as the last one... i dont know.. these pics were taken with a camera i bought like 4 years ago so u can see the pixalation , but u get the idea.. i believe this pic was taken in april of 2002...
chrissy

ok now this is the pic with all the trim on the front of it and the window i hung on it... the one picket fence flower box is lower then the other because i decided to make them taller so i wouldnt have to dig as deep for the lily bulbs...
chrissy

and last but not least the barn all dressed up for christmas...(:
chrissy

Cute barn!!

well thank u brugie! it finally looks like a barn now that its trimmed out.. can u see why i had to trim it out , i was just going to hang the window and make raised flower boxes , but can u imagine how retarded that would have looked without the trim... so i had to trim it out...(: in person the barn looks like something out of candyland, or a gingerbread house...lolol...
chrissy

You are right. Without the trim it would not have looked right. It just looks great now and I love it lit up.

yes i love it too and thank u so much for the nice comments.. in the pic the lights around the top peak of the roof and around the door look dim.. thats because it is the kind of lights that start dim and get brighter and brighter .. and twinkle in all sorts of patterns... i had cut some italian cypress branches off of a tree i have out front and accidentally dropped one on one of the flower beds and it looked like natural garland.. so when i get a spare minute i will go cut some more and put it around the frame of the door.. so u wont see the wires from the lights.. i was also thinking of moving the lights to the outside edge of the door trim.. what do u think ??? my sister and i didnt do that originally because i (not her) was being chased by wasps..and i didnt even think of it.. i dont know what it is about those darn things but they LOOOVE to chase me!!! i hate them!!! anyway .. i will put the natural 'garland' around the door frame and on the other flower box.. i have all the wood cut and painted to raise that other flower box but have yet to stick 6 screws in it...sigh.. no time.. there is sooo much going on here all the time its hard to get my stuff done .. but Brugie, can u imagine those boxes with lilies in them.. how pretty its gonna look!!!what else would u suggest i put in them for a lower flower look ? i love beautiful flowers and yummy smelling ones.. although i dont want the smell to 'clash' with the oriental lilies...(: anyway glad u like my little red barn... (: i love it!!! oh i should go out right now and plug my lights in since its starting to get dark!!! (:
chrissy

I turn my lights on the lazy way....bought a couple of timers. LOL!! I'm sure you will come up with just the right flowers to go with the lilies. Can't wait to see pictures next year when the lilies are blooming. Thanks for sharing your cute little barn with us.

chrissy, love your little barn. The lights are such a cheery touch. I'm going to have to get elec. out to my little chicken house, your barn has inspired me!

I don't think I can afford the shipping costs on that garden so I'll just share more pictures next year! I added another 15 feet to the length and I guess it is really 49 feet in length now.

LLk, it does tend to slow down traffic when it looks like that! I love sharing the beauty of God's creation with others, even if they are just passing by!

Brugie, wish I had more pictures to help that bug bite! Might have to find another way to get you bit!

Sue

Hi Llilyfan,
Maybe I can help "feed the need" for a few more of our favorite flowers here. I like lilies with brushmarks, like 'Arena' shown here.
Ron

Here's another, named 'Brushstroke'. Both are dandy, easy to grow, very Iowa hearty Asiatics that I'm sure would look outstanding in any corner of Brugie's garden.

You guys are getting me in trouble here. These pictures are just breathtaking. I haven't seen one that I didn't like.

hi guys! well thank u lilyfan!! hope u get electric out there!!! (: hey i got a lily question.. i read somewhere to plant the lily bulbs on their sides so they dont get waterlogged during the rainy season.. what is ur opinion on that.. they say the same for fritillia.... i dont think i planted the fritillia like that , although they are planted on a slope... so maybe that will help the frit. but what about the lilies.. should i plant them on their side???? thanx guys.. got alot of running to do today... ugh!!!
chrissy

Ron, way to go! I think she's getting close! I have Dancing Eyes and everyone LOVES it, but I cannot find the pic. I really like the brushmarks, but then I haven't found one I don't like so far!!

Brugie, a few more pictures and we might have another addict? Too bad I don't have a pic. Maybe someone else out there does. Purple Reign is also a great brushmark. You know I can see lilies peeking around your lantana, leaning on your arbor, and greeting you as you walk on the southside of the house by the drive!

Chrissy, I have all of mine planted upright, if you had soil that had questionable drainage I might do the sideways thing. I did plant my fritts on their sides. They have such a large stalk hole that I didn't want it holding water.

Sure hope we can still get some more photos on this thread. I don't think we have SET the hook on Brugie yet!

Sue

I got the Walkers Lily catalogue in the post today. There are lots of lovely plants in it.

Chrissy--I LOVE your barn! It is just darling! Wish I could see the grand effect in person. Maybe one day! So glad that you put the earlier picture up for our comparison. You're right that it NEEDED the trim.

IowaRon--Brushstroke is beautiful. I have a definate NEED for some Asiatic and Oriental Lilies next summer! LOL

I NEED Spring! LOLOLOL

;~D

LimeyLisa Kay

lilyfan, let me give u some info on my dirt and then u can maybe give me ur expertise on what u think i should do... we have very hard kalichie (sp?)clay..so it is like concrete in the summer and very wet and like very thick mud in the winter... BUT... my neighbor came over with his tractor and mixed a bunch of last years horse manure in with it.. i would say its almost half and half.. if not a little less manure... he dumped a huge pile for me and i covered it with a tarp... now when i get dirt from this pile, it is much darker then it used to be and smells like packaged dirt... it has a a slight texture of peat. it drains nicely.... earlier in the year i planted irises in my clay dirt and i could water it and all the water would sit ontop for a looong time.. then when the water was gone the dirt was still rock hard... but this new mixed stuff doesnt react at all like the clay stuff.. so.. if u were me what would u do with the lilies???? and as far as my frit. i dont think i planted them on their sides... should i hole out around them and try laying them on their sides now??? would it be worth the risk??? i sure would hate to lose them to water sitting in them...

Limeylisa... i love my little red barn too (: ... and glad u like it also... i am trying to animate the lights on the barn that twinkle ... but dont have the time right now..): i wish i could have taken better pics.. but we have a temp. 250 gallon propain tank near it (yuck i know, but its just temperary) and i cant seem to take a frontal view without it being in the way... oh well i guess i should consider myself lucky that i was able to take the pics i did... (: maybe i can take some of lilyfans lilies from her pic above and put them infront of my barn to see what it will look like...lol.. that would be fun!!! (: computers are amazing arent they....(:
chrissy

chrissy, I am so far from an expert that it is a wonder my lilies even grow! However I usually am willing to offer an opinion and then pray it was good advice!! Here's my opinion - it seems like the soil you are describing is better than mine! If I don't keep my beds well mulched, which really does help retain moisture, my beds bake as hard as cement. I would plant them upright and mulch with about 3-4 inches of mulch.

I was reading another thread on here and got to thinking if maybe because your zone is pretty warm all winter, bulbs might mistake it for spring and emerge early, that could be why they carry the bulbs for spring planting. Maybe someone has another theory on this. We had some really warm weather in Nov. after I planted my bulbs and a couple of them came up, Madonna Lilies. I think once they have settled in and gone through a whole growth cycle they acclimate to the climate.
Anyway just an opinion.

Just crop that lily bed of mine and impose it over your barn, instant satifaction!!
Sue

well i FINALLY got the two small beds planted!!!! i cant believe how many good sized lily bulbs fit in each one at 6" apart... on the black beauty and dizzy lily packets it says it gets to 120" tall, they get 10ft?????? does the whole plant die down after their season??? prob. a stupid question...and how deep do u guys plant ur lilies... some places say 4 to 5 inches others say 6 inches... oh and guys, my first tiger lily baby bulbet sprouted FINALLY!!! i have been watching these babies since i planted them (indoors) Nov.2nd!!! (: and lilyfan.. i bought regal, and pink perfection in oct (i think) at home depot when they were selling all the tulips and daffs... the lady at the nursery told me they dont carry them till spring because they will freeze.. and her nursery is like 4 miles from me, i dont know what she is talking about freezing... we very, very rarely frost at all ... infact our frost here only lasts in the early morning hours and is gone by the time the sunshine hits the ground! so i dont know what she is talking about.. and this year we havent even had that yet.. i dunno maybe thats when they get their best deals thru the dutch dealers...??? who knows... (: i got the lights animated last night on my barn pic but am trying different ways of animating them.. u got anymore pics of ur lily bed lilyfan??? did u take any pics in sections??? let me know (: as far as my dirt..the stuff the neighbor mixed for me is much better then my regular dirt... it really feels like a peat mix... but i did plant black beauty on its side and a couple others that the scales were more open and looked like they would hold water... the tighter ones i planted upright.. plus remember the beds are partway under the eve of the roof.. so when it rains its gonna get water from the roof.. so i though its better to be safe then sorry... but what about my fritillia?? should i dig those up and turn them on their sides?? alot of my little daffs are already up to about 3 or 4 inches... and the big king alfred bulbs look like they have blooms comming up!!! hmmm i wonder if they will bloom from now through spring.. i havent had daffs since 1997 and i remember them blooming for months.... and they multiplied like crazy!!! now i am going to have to go out to that what used to be a Rose garden and week it... its looking bad.. anyway let me know about the lilies and fritillia bulbs.. oh and ur pics of ur bed...(:
chrissy

lilyfan, here is my 'Dancing Eyes'

echoes: I love that setting with the baby's breath growing around and through the blossoms. Dancing Eyes is such a lovely lily. Thanks for sharing with us.

chrissy: if the fritts have been in the ground for very long (2 wks or more) I really don't think I would move them. I would be afraid of damaging the new roots that are growing. It really does sound like your soil will drain okay to avoid rot. One thing in your favor is that you don't get those bone chilling cold spells that we have here. Last night it was 9 degrees and we have had quite a lot of rain in the last week. Those are not real good combinations if your soil doesn't drain well. Let me know what you decide to do.

well lilyfany.. i will leave them... they have been in the bulb bed since i posted my bulb bed that my sister and i made...that was right before halloween... so i will leave them,... we have had little rain so far although it hailed today and rained.. it was 42 degrees at 3 or 4 o'clock today.. thanx for the advice...(:
chrissy

Some gardeners don't care for doubles, but I love my 'Aphrodite's

Hi Echoes,
I absolutely love your picture of 'Aphrodite'. What a stunning clump you have. How mature is that planting? Ours bloomed for the first time in 2003. Can't wait to grow it to the size of yours.
Thanks for sharing!
IowaRon

That bunch was in it's second or third season. I dug them up and moved them around this year. There are more pics of them in the database.
Lilies are inexpensive, easy to grow, and make such a show for so little effort, I can't think any gardener wouldn't want some.

echoes, that is a lovely clump of lilies, and they will probably be on my must have list for next fall. As I told iowaron, I do like the unusual. When people stop by and tour the beds those unusual flowers tend to catch the eye and really get peoples attention. Thanks for sharing yours with us.

chrissy, right now 42 sounds tropical! The farm ponds have froze over and it gets right cold at night. Did see a heron today, guess he was ice fishing!

tropical??!!!!! ohh my goodness... then lilyfan u woul dprob laugh at me seeing me completely bundled up at 42 degrees... with ear muffs on and gloves...lol.. i wont work outside if its that cold ... it takes me too long to warm back up... well i have yet to get my window box built.. i have been taking care of my trees that have borers.. i just got my other 6 stargazers i bought on ebay.. i bought them for .99 each... and they look great.. all very heathly looking.. the guy had them in cold storage.. should i put them in my fridge till i can plant them? i dont want them to mold.... my fridge is 40 degrees.. is that too cold? i have 4 more comming from another seller.. two muscadet lilies and 2 more rubrum lilies.. since those two picket fence beds are all full i was thinking of making round ones that start where the others end and wraps around the corners of the barn, of course made like the picket fence on either side.. i think it would look nice with the rounded beds on either end.. whatcha guys think?
chrissy

chrissy, up here in the colder regions we do store our bulbs in the refrigerator if we can't plant them right away. But then in the fall it is only going to get colder and they don't tend to 'wake up' when we plant them. In your zone I'm not sure what would be best. Anyone from cici77's zone that can help her out?

I think your plans sound lovely. That is similar to what I'm doing with my potting house. Still have a long way to go.

Chrissy, I,m so glad to see you have the 'fever'. I don't have Muscadet yet. Was looking at it this fall but had already gone way over what I was going to spend and had to draw the line somewhere!

I don't think you would care for my job if you are bundled up at 42! I do the lawn mowing and the SNOW REMOVAL for our senior/handicapped housing. Last snow it took 6 1/2 hours! It does take awhile to get some parts warm afterward!

We had snow all weekend here but it melted yesterday. It is snowing again now and so I guess Mother Nature wants her little blanket out again! Wouldn't mind one good snow that would stay only on the green parts and not on the roads! That rarely, if ever, happens!

;~D

LimeyLisa Kay

wow lilyfan.. ur right i would die if i had ur job...lol.. we had 35 to 40 mph winds with 60 mph gusts that just wouldnt stop for 3 days straight and the wind was bitter cold... i hate it.. the santa annas are just out of control!!! the worst we had out here was gusts of 122mph... and although they were gusts they were continues... and now here it is at 6:14am and its actually pretty warm this morning.. it's 54 degrees.. thats good for this time in the morning.. usually its 38 or 40...and the wind has stopped!!!! ahhhhh... anyway lilyfan i just put the bulbs in the little outside fridge... with the wind there was no way i could build anything for those bulbs.. i wonder if i can plant them in peat pots untill i can get them in a bed , then once its made i can just plant the whole pot... hmmmm.. and by the way this "fever" i have almost got me introuble yesterday... i went to the grocery store and i was buying my holiday cheer in the booze section, and i kept smelling this wonderful perfumie smell.. almost like gardenia.. but not quite that same smell.. they were selling potted lilies.. they were all white... and omg!!! the smell.. they wanted 14.95 and there were about 3 lily plants in this pot.. i almost bought it... i really wanted it.. but thank god i didnt cuz i think hubby would have thrown me out on my bumb out in the wind...he doesnt know mostly what i buy till the bank statements come in, then he will mention the paypals and the payments to the nurserys... and not like he would miss the money.. i think its just when he actually "sees" what i spend, sometimes makes him sweat!!!lolo.. but u wait till spring.. he is gonna be in awe when all the flowers bloom... i keep telling him i was working outside all day and he sees the raised bed and the barn.. but he never 'sees' what i have planted... so i think he is gonna be in shock...lol.. but he will love it.. well has everyone gotten their Christmas shopping done yet??? i have only two more gifts to get... (: gift getting was actually very easy for me this year.. i cant believe it!!! oh and lilyfan we finally got the pasture done and those horses are walken around with mouthfuls of food.. to where they have 3 inches of food hanging out of there mouth on each side....lol.. its great! anyway i have a ton to do this morning.. but i'll check back in later today...(:
chrissy

chrissy, sounds like I would rather have the cold than all that wind! We do get 50 mph winds here but not that often. The temps have been fairly moderate of late and been in the 40's most days. Even my ice luminary has melted!

I think I might be tempted to just put the bulbs in the ground rather than peat pots, unless they can hold a fair amount of soil. You definitely want roots to grow and have room, course I'm coming at this from the cold midwest viewpoint.

I really don't have too much trouble avoiding potted lilies. I enjoy the expectation and the growth process that goes with all my own home grown bulbs. The potted ones just don't have the same appeal for me. I do like to note the colors and fragrances of the blooming plants and then I have a much better idea how they'll fit in my garden! Sounds good doesn't it. Normally if I have an open spot I plunk something in it and check it out when it blooms to see if it 'fits'.

Glad to hear you have your pasture done and that the horses are happy. I'm not going to tell mine about it cause they'll want to move to Calif.

Sue

hi lilyfan... i dont care to pot them either.. i just want them to grow roots before/incase we get colder weather in jan and feb. unfortunatly i have to put them in a raised bed becasue our dirt gets waterlogged and kills the more water sensitive bulbs.. so it had to be in a raised bed... and i have to build it yet... ): and wouldnt u know it .. yesterday it was beautiful out in the moring.. and as soon as i opened my big mouth about how the wind had stopped it picked up again!!! it wasnt horribly windy just irritating..we get our winds from nov up to sometimes feb.. but not on a constant level... when we do get them they will last 3 days non-stop... then peter out to lower winds for a few days after that,.. but they are quite irritating, because u have to plan on what garden furniture is gonna go where so it doesnt get destroyed from the wind incase it kicks up in the middle of the night... also all our younge trees have to be staked with steroid type stakes...lol.. and some of the trees while young tend to bend the direction the strong winds come from.. if we get the winds fromthe east u know its gonna be strong,.. all the rest of the year the wind comes from the west.. and thats a nice breeze which is sooooo welcomed in the summer.. we may get one or two days a year with absolutly no breeze.. which i prefer the breeze it carries the smell of the flowers right to ya.. i planted my bulb bed with all my smell nice flowers west of where wwe BBQ so i can smell them while we are out there.. unfortunatey i planted the lilies right next to the BBQ area but to the east... i figure though they have a very strong fragrance and we will smell them anyway...(:, as for the horses..gremmy that stinker!!! he opened the cowboy gate (that hubby didnt put a lock on like i told him to) and i looked out my bedroom window and saw my two boys walking up my neighbors driveway!!!!! it took us about 10 minutes to get them back after they went running all over the place, but did get them back in...lol.. what a morning yesterday!!! inoticed gremmys hoof prints in the dirt in my sitting area.. right where all the beds are....lol.. bad horsie!! bad!!! hubby went in and put the locks on all the gates... and gremmy watching him started to play with the barb wire with his mouth like it was a guitar...lol.. he is a trouble maker!!! anyway ... that was my day yesterday.. what does today have instore for me today??? hopefully building my beds for my lilies!!!! wish me luck!
chrissy

Speaking of fragrant lilies, this is a Auratum platyphyllum, AKA "Golden rayed Lily of Japan".

Classification: Lilium Species (USDA Zones 5-9, colder climates w/winter mulch.)

(Breeding Origin: Japan) Large flowers up to 10 or 12 inches in size, waxy-white, with gold bands. These are generations removed from the more difficult species, and may be grown as any Oriental Hybrid lily. Provide well-drained soil and light afternoon shade in hot climates. Most have a variable number of red or brown speckles, but some may be totally unspotted - there are several clones in the mix. Slightly up or downfacing, fragrant blooms. 4 to 6 Feet. July/August bloom.

Hi Iowaron,
I have sent you two emails in regard to the Iowa Round-up next Spring and have not heard back from you. Did you not receive them? Please let me know if you are interested.
arlene