A Change In Plans

A common end to a day in the garden here, is a walk around looking things over.  Sometimes a plan for the next day's activity unfolds.  We are so far behind that our plans resembles ER triage. Yesterday such a plan defined itself.  This morning our walk around revealed a crisis that put planned activities on hold.  The giant lily stem biting rodent had paid us a nighttime visit.  Moving potted lilies from their winter quarters to locations in the gardens became job 1 for today.

We were lucky in that the destroyed lily is a variety that we have in abundance.  London Lily is a hardy variety that multiplies here.  Its clear bright yellow flowers bring the summer garden to life.  I would prefer that it have a fragrance so a faint scent is sometimes detected.  Likely what I smell is in reality a wish but I can never decide for sure.

Three gallon pots provide generous winter quarters for our potted lilies.  We had considered leaving some in their pots as we are way behind in caring for this year's garden.  Pandora is the varietal name of this single survivor.  Two others succumbed to a previous rodent attack so saving this beauty was our first job.

A three gallon pot may provide generous growing space for the lily bulb but handling this package is quite a task.  Inverting the pot with hands placed to support the falling dirt ball is step one.  The move to up side down must be carefully done so that the flower buds do not contact anything.  Next, Becky lifts off the pot.  If care at fall planting resulted in a firm soil ball, the entire mass is righted intact. The move from standing to kneeling next to the hole while supporting three gallons of soil and a sizable plant is a serious challenge. We no longer know for sure that our old joints and muscles are going to be equal to the task.

                         

Carefully tamped soil is pushed into the cavity between the potted mass and the edge of the hole.  A generous dose of water helps to settle the soil around the transplant.  Mulch and a stone bearing the varietal name of the plant finish the task.  The size of the soil ball guarantees that this plant will show no transplant shock tomorrow.

Ten pots of lilies were moved into the gardens today.  Three trios and a single are now in place.  We hope to be able to provide frost protection to these plants where they now are planted next spring. Enormous plastic garbage cans have been purchased for this task.  The lilies themselves can foil our plans.  We have learned from experience that there is no direct relationship between the location of the stems this year and where they decide to emerge next year.  With luck all three will be within the diameter of the covering can.  For now, all is almost ready for the flower display that will soon follow.  Several more pots of lilies are still waiting for their move into the garden.

Apparently Rain Makes All the Difference

Yesterday there were dire storm warnings for our area, but in the end all we received was some badly needed rain.  Ed's Hotline lily opened.  It's a lovely white flower with raised red spots and  a delicate fragrance.  A spring ordered bulb, this is its first year here.  We will watch to see if the hint of red in the petals grows stronger as the flower matures.

Salmon Star continues to bloom, but now with some rain the flowers are exquisite, large and sweetly scented.  Two of four plants survived the spring rodent attacks.  We hope that the other two bulbs make an appearance next year.  These have been with us for three years now.  The flower count from a mature bulb  is impressive.

Tiger Woods is  beautiful and fragrant.  These too were spring planted this year.

With bit of rain, Pandora looks perfect in pink and adds her perfume to the garden.  Fall planted last year, only one of three survived the rodent attack.  Two leaves are feeding the second bulb.  The third lost its short stalk to careless mulch spreading.  We expect that all three will be back next year.  The dormant bulbs are waiting for a freeze cycle to signal time for new active growth.

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The Turk's Cap lily that was a gift from Jane is blooming and tall.  It's the first time in several years for this lily to flower.  In past years the plant seemed to put all of its energy into producing small bulbils at every point where leaf and stem meet.

Not only are the flowers responding, but the vegetables are as well.  The broccoli is bursting to life. The yellow squash and zucchini are as well.  Green beans that were stunted by the drought are looking green and beginning to climb their poles.

The coyotes appear to have moved on or at least have moved back to the tall grass.  I don't know how long the effects of the rain will last, but for the first time in quite awhile things are looking better in the garden.