...and while we tap our feet waiting for spring...

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/562/

i got it from here.

I've found the perfect companions for some of these lilies! The Oso Easy series of roses, I'm hoping to get Oso Easy Peachy Cream, Oso Easy Strawberry Crush, and Oso Easy Paprika. They only get 2-2 1/2' tall and would look so nice around the stalks of tall lilies.

http://plant-quest.blogspot.com/2007/04/california-pack-trials-pleasant-suprise.html

Just imagine how this Strawberry Crush will look with tall OTs!

http://www.springmeadownursery.com/osoeasy_sc.htm

gemini, your gardens should be stunning. All this talk of your additions throughout the winter has me wanting a lot of pictures from your gardens this summer. The roses will be a beautiful accent.

Those oso roses are oso beautiful! Wow, they sound like a miracle. How much do they cost?

i feel a co-op coming on. lol.

Co-op? Co-op? Did someone say, "co-op?"

Stop that!!

huh...co-op?? I'm in...oh yeah...what's it for? hee hee.

mama....your worms can't hold a candle to my worms. I've made the decision- at least one 32 gallon garbage can on wheels goes with dirt and worms to wherever I move, even if/when it's 3000 miles.

I'm still making beds and planning plantings, even while I plan a gigantic move away in July. Neal, I'm really glad you're keeping some of the lilies. I really wanted to see the lavender joy here...but...next purple house, I guess, wherever that is.

well my dear lady we'll just have to have a worm off. i can only measure and you'll just have to take my word for it. does that worry you? lol. you know texas always makes 'em bigger. you know that.

I don't think it will happen this year, but the plan is to paint my house purple too! With green shudders and window boxes.

dang neal, that's cool. viva la difference!!!

Are you serious?

now don't put a damper on neal's plans. i, for one, feel we have a serious shortage of colored houses in this country. lol.

Oh, yeah, I'm serious! Kind of a dusty lilac shade, with some aubergine touches in the trim. I'm going for a Victorian ginger bread house look. I have no neighbors within view, so I'm free to be as quirky with it as I want, LOL.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=purple+house&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Some of those are quite striking! I think it depends on the style of the house and the neighborhood it's located in. Sounds like yours is ideal for that kind of color. Now, be careful that it won't clash with any lilies!

I'd say "Go for it!", Neal.

Except a purple house just doesn't go with lilies.

Oh Wow! Thanks Andy! Those are some great inspiration.

This house has dormer windows that will lend themselves well to the look. We've got to tear off the front porch and redo that first, hoping that will happen this year.

Aaaahhh, Ric, you know lilies go with EVERYTHING! LOL

What do you mean, "a purple house just doesn't go with lilies"??? I think it gives a great background for lilies of all colors. Woo hoo! Those houses are gorgeous. They call them "Painted Ladies." You go, gemini!

A purple house goes beautifully with lilies! Mine is purple! The green touches sound great - if I were staying, I'd planned to do some stenciling - but, next house. Or cargo van, whichever.

I plant all kinds of bushy perennials around my lily feet. Daylilies bush out alot from their central core & work well blooming together.

Here is Stargazer Oriental with short phlox by the fence.

Here is Shocking OT planted with Rocket City daylily to cover it's feet, but you can also see a lovley blue globe centurea behind it and dark pink beebalm to one side.Why limit yourselves to annuals? All you need is a 6 inch circle for a lily!

Nice combos, Wanda! I'm afraid some of my lilies have been overgrown by daylilies.

I think this will be the year I grow my bush beans around my lilies. Do you all think that will look OK? I'm running out of food space.

Why not? Sounds like a useful combination.

Yes, useful but not very colorful.... but on the practical side, if I plant the beans in the flower garden in front of the lilies, I then should have room for an extra tomato plant or two in my dinky vegetable garden. Well, come to think of it I have pansies all along the front edge of this lily garden. Maybe I'll add some colorful salvias along with the pansies. Then behind those will be the taller green beans, then the even taller lilies. Hmmmm... sounds like a plan!

Beautiful pics Wanda!...as always ;-) Do you know the name of that phlox? Love the color and height!

pard, I like the idea of using bush beans- very cottagy. There's a thread going in the Cottage Gardening forum on incorporating veggies with ornamentals.

The Stargazer was short last summer due to a cold spring. The phlox grows 36 inches and is called Starfire. My favorite & tallest 4 foot + phlox is the old one out of Grandma's garden.

leftwood, what is that purple stalked stuff? not lilies?

mama, those are lilies :-)

Yes, those are Lilium davidii. The small purple leaves don't develop into normal leaves until higher up the stalk. It's a natural adaptation for growing among low shrubs and other herbaceous material: no need to spend energy growing low leaves that will get shade out by other plants.

this lily must be an oriental, right?

Not at all. Lilium davidii is a downfacing asiatic. Orientals have much wider leaves.

well then i must have it. lol.

Thanks Neal for helping me find this thread. I've got a lot of reading to do before I can jump in and comment. Ima lurking tho.

I plan to create a new garden in my backyard that will include the lilies that I've gotten/will get from participating in 2 different co-ops.

Ultimately, it will have a mix of many things from daylilies to cannas.

Donna

My lily planting mania began today! I'd just gone out to do garden work when the Fed Ex man arrived with the bulbs from 4paws-bleek co op. So it turned out to be a really fun garden day! It felt so good to get my hands in the soil.

I have an island bed in cool pinks, blues, purples, lavenders, cool reds/crimsons, and lots of white, and it became home to Lollypop, Mt.Duckling, Montezuma, and Sorbonne. There are several roses, hollyhocks, peonies, various types of iris, dianthus, and some blooming shrubs in there already (and several things I can't think of off the top of my head). That bed is right there looking at me when I open the front door! I'm excited to see it all "plumped up" this summer. Oh, and there are clumps of tall phlox in that bed too- I love phlox with Oriental lilies, great contrast in form and nice together in a vase too.

Donna, you'll be able to grow some fun tender perennials with yours! Is your soil sandy like so much of Florida?

I certainly do have a lot of tender perennials!! And yes, they will go into the sand box with the lilies!! As will a few rose bushes. Just a hodge podge of things!!

Donna

you guys are sooo lucky I got my bulbs from egardens to day also and they are living in the fridge for the next few weeks I hope they live some even have sprouts !!!this is my first year with them so keep your fingers crossedLOL
Gloria