Closing The Lily Show

These Simplon lilies are the last lily to bloom here.  They have been with us for several years, increasing in both height and in the number of flowers.  Last Fall, I summoned up all of the courage available to me and dug up the precious bulbs.  Three giants were moved to the center of the stone square while the remaining group were replanted where they were.  Four separate stems emerged in the center location and they have done well there.  Their former grandeur of nearly six feet tall remains in the future but we are pleased with the present display.  Overnight rain left the flowers speckled with water droplets.  Simplon's sweet smell fills the calm moist air.

The wire cage separating us from the flowers was a last minute precaution to guard against the marauding woodchuck.  It has abandoned, for the moment, plans to burrow inside of the stone square but I have been repeatedly unsuccessful in closing another den in a nearby sod pile.  This battle is not yet finished.

A combination of pure white and an incredibly sweet scent makes this lily a high point of the entire growing season.  Couple that with the challenges of growing Oriental lilies in our cold climate and success like this is especially sweet.

We have a stack of extra large plastic garbage cans on hand ready to protect when late Spring frosts threaten our lilies.  These were planted with no nearby neighbors so the covering pails will do no damage to adjacent plants.  By leaving these lilies undisturbed, we hope that each year will see taller stems and more numerous flowers in the center of our garden.

This sole survivor is all that remains of our original three Pandora lilies.  A small furry rodent nearly ended them all.  It appeared that she planned to use the cut lily stems and leaves to line her nest.  Nothing cut was eaten but a cozy den was under construction.  I caught her in the act of felling a lily like a logger cuts a tree.  Bird shot in my 22 improved my aim.  She will not be back!  In some ways I miss the coyotes.

The sight and scent of these lilies has us in high gear getting ready for next season's garden.  Now each day in the garden starts with filling a five gallon pail with weeds.  Newly cleaned planting beds need wire cage covers to keep the turkeys that truly own this place from taking dust baths in the smooth loose soil.  The chrysanthemums and asters are just beginning to show bits of color.  There is still much of this year's garden left to enjoy.  Fallen leaves are just beginning to line the lane and our thoughts slip into plans for the next garden.  The wheel just keeps turning.

Lily Winners

Our oriental lilies found this year's weather not to their liking.  Life under the tarp afforded protection from late frosts but moisture extremes left most of the leaves spotted brown.  Entire leaves soon turned completely brown and dropped from the stalks.  What flowers did open were at the top of a naked stem and could not have their picture taken in that sorry looking condition.  We must find a better way to grow these treasures so far north of their native climate zone.

These Simplon lilies are planted in a circle well removed from neighbors.  It was possible to place an inverted plastic trash can over the lilies without crushing nearby plants.  We will redo other planting areas to allow for lily covering in place.  Now, a row of lilies separates flowers and vegetables at the ends of many long rectangular beds.  There is no way to cover a row of lilies without mashing nearby companions.

Each morning now, my first task is to remove the pollen bearing anthers from newly opened flowers. These pure white flowers look better to me if they remain unstained by cinnamon colored pollen. When newly opened, the pollen is still tightly held in place and can be removed without leaving a stain. Later in the day, the anther drops nearly free, the pollen matures and stains follow.  Standing close to the plant removing these stainers, places ones nose in among the flowers.  There is no better way to start a day in the garden.

Salmon Star is our other lily success this year.  New bulbs were ordered because of uncertainty about the appearance of the old bulbs.  Last year's rodent attacks left most of the old plants in a sorry condition. The spring purchased bulbs are just now flowering while the older plants that did survive are past.  

Why the orange pollen leaves no stain is a puzzle.  Replanting this area to allow for covers in place will present some puzzles.  The nearby chrysanthemum may be a treasured mammoth pink.  Moving it after it flowers will be too late in the year for it to establish roots.  Perhaps we should snip off all of the buds and move it now.  We won't see flowers this year but the plant might survive.  Another choice is to leave it in place and simply place the plastic pail on some of the plant.  Transplanting some of the mum could be done in the spring.  That sounds like the best solution.

The Trouble With Lilies

The storm system that pounded Oklahoma is now driving our weather.  Thunder and lightening with torrential downpours and fierce winds were with us.  Our power outage lasted only a few minutes and the tomato plants were twisted about.  The tomatoes have been righted with only one torn stem showing the hammering that they took.  This storm's impact on the lilies will hit tomorrow night.

The monster storm from the south has been blocking cold air from the north.  The hot system will pass by opening the door for the mountains of cold air that have piled up.  We can expect three nights of freezing overnight temperatures beginning tomorrow.

The lilies have loved all of the rain and the warm air growing daily.  Some will no longer fit under the buckets that have protected them from earlier frosts.  The orange spotted lilies shown above will fit under the new trash can but the leaves will contact the sides of the can.  Flower buds should be safe but the leaves in contact with the sides of the can may burn if the temperatures are low.

Our two surviving Farolito bulbs are confined to one pot.  This lily has buds now.  If common sense held any sway here we would get rid of this lily as it blooms way too early.  This pot will be lifted again and spend the next three cold nights in the basement.  That may not sound so bad but the three gallon pot is filled with water saturated soil.  This old man will have some trouble pulling this pot from the ground by its rim.  I wonder what combination of colorful words will fill the air with the attempt.

These Simplon lilies have exceeded their catalog description in height by a factor of two.  Last year they exceeded six feet tall.  The original three bulbs now number six mature bulbs with many daughter bulbs potted up in the sod house.  The new can will not cover  all six plants.  It would have if the plants had grown straight up from where I placed the bulbs last fall but that did not happen.  Some combination of two shorter buckets may provide the necessary frost protection.  If we can get safely past this next period of frost, these six plants will produce more than one hundred huge pure white sweetly scented flowers over a period of several days.

Thirty-three pots of lilies fill the sod house.  These plants are still short enough to cover in place with a tarp.  The browned leaf tips are scars from an earlier frost experience.  New leaves have grown out above the damaged leaves and by the time the flowers appear no one will notice the low brown leaf tips.  We always remove the plants from the pots when we set out the lilies in the garden trying to preserve the structure of the clump.  This year I expect that we will have more than one clump fall apart as it is shaken from an inverted pot.  More colorful phrasing is expected.

Twenty different varieties of lilies too tender to grow here cannot be justified by any logical explanation.  We really should grow fewer, but a new variety purchased this spring is just now breaking the surface in its pot.  What combination of color and scent will this new arrival tease us with this summer?  Therein lies the problem.  Lilies are simply much too beautiful and sweetly scented to not exist here.  We will have to face this year the overwhelming numbers of daughter bulbs that will appear.  How many lilies is too many?

Wet Lilies, Photos by Amy

Lilies, so beautiful from a distance, take on a whole new look when we take a closer view.  Details missed at from afar make an intriguing photo study.

Tiny bugs,  textured white petals and water droplets catch the eye.

Stargazer lilies have more than fragrance and color. Their petals are covered with little dark pink spikes.

The reproductive parts of the stargazer  are right up front for easy access.

This green day lily is wet enough to be  translucent in  some places.

Way down deep in the throat of the lily, an unknown bug is making a visit.

Near or far, lilies add so much fragrance, color and beauty to the garden.  Just like the gardeners, the lilies are happy to be wet with rain.

Grand Finale

This new month brings an end to lily flowers but what a finish it is.  Three Simplon Liliy bulbs were purchased in 2009.  Three had become two and each remaining plant now has two strong stems indicating that division is needed this fall.  Various sources describe a maximum height of 1 M for this variety.  Ours are nearly 2 M tall and the four stems carry fifty buds.  The brown pollen bearing anthers are removed when the flowers first open.  Mother liked her Easter Lilies pure white so this activity provides quiet moment of remembrance while enveloped in a sweet cloud of scent.  That provides a special start to another day in the garden.

 
Stargazer was our first lily.  We did not know that protection from late spring frost was a requirement if a lily was to survive here.  Our learning curve is slow so in time three plants became one sad runt.  The poor excuse of a bulb was moved to the edge of the garden but it was not forgotten.  Last fall one respectable bulb was potted up and placed in the lily sod house.  It escaped the rodent attack.  This old friend has made quite a comeback.  It will now receive proper care.  With any luck, we may find some new bulbs when we prepare this one for winter.

These Hotline lilies opened pure white with tiny red spots.  Like the trillium, the white matures to a lovely pink.  These are in there first year here.  They are a definite keeper.

Plans are developing for fall management of our lily bulbs.  Despite the problems with the rodents, we are going to give the lily sod house another run.  The interior base wall will be edged with dimension lumber.  A clean sharp edge will provide no cover for nesting mothers.  We have a granular repellent that will be kept fresh around the emerging stems.  Spring traps will also be in place.  Daily vigilance will prompt further action at the first sign of trouble.  This lily season may be ending but we are already preparing for next year.