First bloom 2013

Your lilies are as nice as your containers! (Maybe more if that is possible.) Robina is certainly magnificent.
Marcia

Mary and Cathy:
Robina was a huge surprise to me.This is the second year for it.The largest of 4 stems is over 80 inches tall.
Last year was the same.It was just dumb luck that it was planted in the only spot left in that area and turned out so well.
I rarely look at plant heights until last year,now I am more observant.
It was color that is the primary factor.Now I check height too.

In the past two days my lilies have exploded.
Don't mind all of the weeds. ;)

Robertson, they are looking great: pretty and healthy. Has it been exceedingly hot in Alberta this summer?
Marcia

Mine are getting ready to open in about a week. The garden variety orange lilies are open now but the larger ones are not quite there. We are having an absolutely gorgeous summer for us. runs in the 70's to 80's, clear blue skies. Light rain but I still need to water as it isn't sufficient for the plants. Gardenvegies are going nuts. What a summer to be laid up post surgery. I can manage to walk trough the garden picking a weed here and there (of the bazillions there are), making note of poppy colors for fall harvest, taking pictures. Atwhich point I am exhausted and have to go inside. Seems like I am getting more and more tired rather than the opposite. I think it is a result of sitting so much but that is what the doc and husb have insisted on. I have to sneak out to do the little I do. I will be laid up most of the rest of the summer. What a bummer. But I am healthy and it is nothing seirous so no worries there.

Even when you're supposed to be resting up, I think you get a shot of energy when you look at the gardens. It is the time we should not be bending over and any gardening from a seated position.

Even in the worst weather, I like to go out just to take a look at what's growing. Wishing you a strong, speedy recovery.

(Does it ever get hot enough to need air conditioning?)

Marcia

Thanks Marcia. Not really. I just turned on a large box fan to move the air around bit but even without it the air wouldn't be intolerable. Just makes it a little nicer.

I agree on the walking around just looking at what is growing; problem is I can't leave well enough alone. Just have to pick that weed, fertilize one that looks a little puny from last year.

I was just out looking at the pond and was so surprised to see all the babies of various sizes and colors. Anywhere from 1/4" to 1". Probably all gold fish. Would be nice if some of them would make it through the winter. Judging by the variance in size I would think that either they spawn multiple times all summer or some are from last year and did make it through the winter.

It's been pretty nice here. The weather is so bipolar though, it's been ranging from in the 50s to 70s. One day it's nice and sunny then the next it's all gloomy.

Ours has been pretty consistently sunny and above 70.

Nice lilies robertson88.

Mary, keep taking good care of yourself, no bending and picking please. You MUST follow doctors orders.



Here's Oriental Lily Akitiva.

Dizzy, finally not nipped by the dastardly bunnies this year.

O.T. Lily Conca d' Or in 2, 3 and 4

O. Salmon Star

Annette, what a great display!

Many of the lilies from previous years did beautifully. Unfortunately many of the lilies new for this year did not do so well. However, I think I am to blame. Many of these lovely bulbs should have been planted earlier, but it was so unpleasant this spring that they were planted later, and several lily bulbs had already started growing.

On the plus side, we salvaged so many lilies this year from the red lily beetle attack. All of the lilies that have been in 35 gallon tubs are being pulled soon and will find new homes in other containers. The deteriorating containers will go into recycling once the stems dry up some.

I'm a little jealous in a good way for everyone's terrific lilies. Mary, the one thing you'll be able to do is photograph, and I cannot wait to see the rest of the crop from everyone.
Marcia

Lilies are opening finally. Soon as new computer is up and running I will post some pics. Only a few have started just yet.

Hiawatha is very intense red in color this year.

Anastasia is a little softer in semi shade, but blooms very well.

Crystal Blanca is also doing well in semi shade.

After Eight was a nice gift!

Donna, they look lovely. My After Eights look just like Star Gazers but are much shorter. Did I peg that right? One of my favorites!

You absolutely pegged After Eight as a short Stargazer. I actually had it in a pot indoors and then moved it outside. I did the same thing with Crystal Blanca (which is a short Casa Blanca with a shorter stem and a more multi-flowering habit). I found that if I kept them on my south patio I could monitor them better, and as they budded, I moved them outside. I did it with After Eight, Casa Blanca, Crystal Blanca and I am doing it with Sorbonne. It's fun to watch them develop close up, and there is no danger of wicked creatures nipping the buds!

Donna, were you the one who hurt your back jumping on cardboard boxes last year. Seems like it was someone who was building a new pond though. Drat. Can't remember.

LOL! Jumping on cardboard boxes? Building a pond?

Not me! Sounds like an interesting person, though.

This year has been quite an adventure because last year, when I was moving, I actually dug up lilies from my house that were in bud, brought them over and planted them, and they bloomed. But they did not bloom this year because they needed to store up more light. I have a bunch of regales that grew and looked like they were going to bloom but aborted. I will have to move them all. But Anastasia bloomed beautifully in the diminished light, and Silk Road bloomed even with exposure to a walnut tree.

When I realized some were not going to bloom in their then current circumstances I dug them up, put them in pots and placed them in a sunny spot. Some of them will actually bloom this year. The rest - I'll have to wait!

You should just give up and put our lilies on wheels. lol. Actually not a bad way to find just the perfect location before committing them to the sol. I have White Butterflies and I really need to move them. I thought they would be okay but they are tucked too far back under a crabapple and backed up to ferns. When they are done blooming up they come. I am trying so hard to get some form to my helter skelter garden but it doesn't come naturally. Otherwise everything would be in a row using a ruler. I am trying to let my inner creative self out. Hah. If only it existed apart from databases and spreadsheets. I will go back and look up who it was. She had a long posting showing how her pond was built by her new house. Darn.

It used to be that I could plant lilies anywhere because I had so much sun. I have the same issues with other things I used to grow, like peonies and lilacs. I've decided to dig up my front parkway so I can have some of the grasses and lilies and peonies I used to have.

On the other hand, it was hot as all get out back there. I had to grow my own shade, so I put in a billion grasses, ornamental trees and shrubs, which I miss. But being able to garden when it's 90 because there is shade makes up for a lot!

My last lily to bloom this season is Orientpet Black Beauty, and it's still going strong this late in the season for the south.

The swallowtail butterfly has been enjoying the blooms.

Phenomenal pictures Annette. The lily is lovely surely, but those pictures with the butterfly are absolutely astounding. Way to go.

Thanks Mary, and how are you feeling? I hope your recovery is coming along nicely.

Annette, what a nice crop. Black Beauty is well named! And I love you swallowtail, too. We have had a number of them this season and far fewer monarchs.
Marcia

The 'Black Beauty' is gorgeous, Annette. The butterflies get a real treat in your garden!

Thanks Marcia and LWG. The butterfly activity has finally picked up here. I haven't seen monarchs here either. I'll have to keep checking for them.

Doing well Annette. Going in today to see if I can get rid of this 'harness' I have had on since surgery. Summer has turned to typical weather --- rain every day. Daughter cleared three beds of weeds and dug some stuff to move but it languishes in the garage. May have to plant in the rain. It has slowed the dahlias up tremendously. I really hoped to see all the new ones before frost.

This doesn't really qualify as 'first bloom' - it's about the last of blooms on the lilies in my garden this year. Ooops! I always forget DG only accepts horizontal photos.

Mary, I'm glad you're doing better. Don't over do it though! Keep taking care of yourself.

LG, any bloom is welcome at this time of the year. I've got a few more that also bloomed recently but I just haven't had the time to post them yet.

Our rainy season is back! This is the coolest, wettest summer I remember since moving to GA in 1996. I'm not complaining, it's great that we have only had to turn our sprinkler system on 3 times so far, which is just amazing considering the years of drout that we've suffered with.

Mary, I have been reading the little notes above about you and I would like to send my good wishes that you slowly and gently get back on your feet. It's so sweet that your daoughter can help. I understand the frustration when things in the garage raise their little voices and call for you, but first please get better!

Thanks Donna. I worked in the garden yesterday after getting clearance from the doc. No lifting other than weeds and the occasional clump of lilies. After about two hours started to feel not so great so just went in and laid down to read. I have a bout a bazillion pictures I have to sort through digitally and get some posted even if terribly late. Laura dug up in error some lilies that hadn't bloomed yet so I am not sure what they were. So I just dug them all up and did some rearranging so now they re in an arc toward the front of the garden rather than buried amongst the 36+" dahlia bushes. Hopefully if I can just stop moving them they will grow to their full height one day. What ever they are. I got some Star Gazers this spring and they bloomed about three days ago. So pretty. I suspect the ones dug up were Star Fighter and Pink Salmon among others. Plus some huge bulbs that I vaguely remember ordering from the LG.

Now don't overdo! You must stop before the "not feeling so great" phase. Taking care of weeds can be very taxing.

However late, I know I'm not alone in wanting to see your pics. I moved a bunch of lilies from my old house (in bright sun) to the new and they bloomed in semi-shade but protested this year. So I have a bunch of lilies that aborted right before they bloomed. Thank heavens I have the stems to guide me, so I have dug up some to put in pots in sunlight so I can replant them in sunny areas.

But some surprised me. Anastasia hit it out of the park in a fairly shady spot. Sorbonne is doing it too, and in fact does not like strong sun. Silk Road actually bloomed in a bed affected by a walnut tree that wiped out every Asiatic lily (only had a few) and made two peonies abort their buds. So the peonies are moving.

It's going to make for an interesting fall. I am moving about 3 dozen lilies, two peonies, and I am getting new peonies to put in parts of the lawn I haven't dug out yet. Roses will wait for spring. And perhaps that is what you should consider doing too!

Take care, Mary.

Donna

You exhaust me just reading. I wandered through the garden in the rain today and pulled bloomed out poppies with tags I hung to tell what color bloom they had. Every year I swear I won't do it. I have enough pods to populate the world. I just staked the plants up against the house stem down and pods up to dry. As they start to get to the seed scattering stage I harvest the seeds. Also harvested a bunch of rhubarb to freeze and turn into jelly; probably get some strawberries to mix in. I hope next year to have my strawberry bed set up so the plants can propagate and I won't have to pay outrageous prices for them. Laura picked some raspberries for me (about a quart) so may just turn them into jelly with the rhubarb also.

I pace what I am going to do. That's what I would like to see you do. And I am a little twisted. New sod was put on my parkway and I intend to cut it up to put in a really big Constance Spry rose I got from Roses Unlimited this spring and put in a pot. The thing is a monster. Their roses really rock.

I finally gave up on a reel mower (too exhausting ) and bought a self-propelled mower. At my old house we paid someone to cut the grass. I was determined to do it myself, but the grass grows like crazy and it was too hard on my back. Unfortunately I only have one back and it was being beaten up with running, weeding, digging and so on. I have no sense of proportion. It's a new garden, and I am trying to do in year two concentrated activity that took at least five years last time. Happily I have found a new massage therapist. My wonderful therapist of six years moved to New Zealand and he can't seem to manage working on me from there.

The loganberries are starting to bloom and for once I am making myself wait until they are ripe. It's one of the treats in the garden.

Mary! Here is the first of your beauties! To be very, very sure, I kept them in pots. So lovely!

Lilium speciosum alba. I did not realize it could have this simple but elegant shape, but I googled it and found a twin.

Mary sent these to me last August when she realized that her season was too short for their bloom, and I popped them into pots, put them in the garage, and watered them with a few ounces of water at the beginning of each month. I used soil conditioner (a product that lowers the ph) and an acid based fertilizer to make sure they would be happy.

Thank you Mary!

This message was edited Aug 11, 2013 2:50 PM

I am so happy they are doing well for you. Course you have done quite well for them. No wonder I couldn't get them past bud stage. I looked also and it would appear they need a few more petals but they are indeed delicate and lovely. Guess that was why I bought them. They were in my garden I think three years before I sent them off to Donna. I am so glad I did.

And a couple of hours later...

I didn't realize that they open almost like conventional lilies and then change shape! This is four hours later - the same flower!

Thank you again for this incredible gift!

Edited to correct excited typos!

This message was edited Aug 12, 2013 5:18 AM

OH I am so pleased. It is beyond lovely. And I am so very happy to have sent them to someone who knew the secret to get them to thrive and bloom. A reward for both of us. :)

Mary, I see you sent perfumed flowers. I can smell them from here!

Hope you are on the mend.
Marcia

Isn't she a darling?