Lily Buds For Breakfast

Each of these pictures feature a different group of Asiatic lilies that have lost their buds.  Together these plants would have put on a stunning display of about five dozen flowers.  That dazzling presentation was just days away.  Now there will be no lily flowers here this year.  Earlier this season, plastic cans of various sizes protected these plants from late freezes or frosts.  The largest cans were needed here and other lilies suffered frost burns since their smaller can covers contacted the tops of the plants.

We have been enjoying this unnamed variety for years.  Purchased from Breck's as an assortment of Oriental lilies, disappointment presented itself the first season.  Only one of the three bulbs were Oriental and it disappeared after the first season.  The two survivors were hardy beyond description.  Many new bulbs grew and survived our attempts to divide them.  We had enough bulbs for five different plantings.  It is time to divide them again after this season. Perhaps a group of six of the largest bulbs will be planted in the center of the stone square in front of the house.  There the group can be protected by a large wire cage.  That plan does present the problem of covering six young plants to protect from frost.  Perhaps four plants would be a more workable solution.

The deer have never before eaten from this garden so close to the road.  Our weeks without rain has impacted their food supply and changed their habits.  If these buds were tasty, raids on our daylilies may soon follow.  Caging in such a densely planted area will damage other plants.  This appears to be a problem without a solution.  With no flowers taking energy from the plants, perhaps the result will be large healthy bulbs.

The good news is that we have enjoyed our second consecutive day of measurable rainfall.  We have been so long without rain that people were walking about outside during the height of the storm.  We all got soaked but that sure felt good.