Tag: lilies

Orders on the way

My Brent and Becky’s order is on its way via Fedex, scheduled delivery Thursday, which includes 15 lily bulbs, 3 calla lilies, 1 astilbe. Forestfarm’s order ships via UPS, arriving Friday, includes 1 Minuet Mountain Laurel and 1 Hosta Eternal Flame. With the front flower beds laid out, I am certain that the astilbe and the hosta will find new homes there. I am banking that the kalmia Minuet will find a place of honor next to the front door.

Meanwhile, I discovered yesterday morning that 1 of the first lilies of the valley has began sending up shoots. This particular rhizome gets barely an hour or two of morning sun, in the front door bed. I have not detected any life from the second rhizome which was planted next to the fence door, where it gets no sun at all.

My Asahi zuru has begun unfurling its leaves. It is a magnificent sight and I can’t wait to see it in its full greenery. I believe it is in a good position next to the patio door which receives about 4-5 hours of morning sun every day. When the summer sun gets too harsh, I will probably relocate it under the canopy of the 2 crepe myrtles next to the fence.

 

I’m still debating growing dianthus, coleus and impatiens from seed. With the impatiens and dianthus, a light lamp would be necessary, whereas the coleus simply needs heat to germinate. Much to ponder.

Yay Lilies

I couldn’t resist. I plan to try my hand at shade planting Asiatic lilies. I shopped online at Brent and Becky’s and picked up 5 each of the following: Navona, Lollypop and Red Alert. I also picked up a 5 pack of the strap-leaf caladium Blushing Bride, which will be added to the front fence bed. I may even reserve one or two bulbs for potting. I could have gone overboard and bought more caladiums, a white strap-leafed variety to be preferred, but I’m not sure where else to put them in the landscape. A new internet source, Classic Caladiums, might persuade me to pick up some White Ruffles.

Lily withdrawals

To think I’ve gone a season without growing my own lilies! The arboretum visit was not enough! It makes me sad that I cannot enjoy the brilliant, oversized blooms any time soon. Ah…if only my cosmos seedlings will start giving me some blooms, I imagine I wouldn’t be so despondent from the lack of lilies.

I’m still scratching my head over the rosemary plant; it still has not stopped browning. I’m also fearful of losing my Coconut Ice lavender…I’ve been studiously ignoring the watering on both of these herb plants to make sure they aren’t suffering from root rot. But with the temperatures broiling outside, I’m not sure how often I should be attending to their water needs…I imagine it’s time to re-pot them and see if amending the soil will improve their chances.

I think the unkillable potato vine is killable. A purple potato vine that shared its new home with a caladium has dropped all its leaves. Not sure if it’s due to overwatering or lack of soil depth. This bears further investigation…

Daylily dreamin’

Dearest Spot,

Thank you for the lilies, my dearest. You do not know how glad I am to see such beauty. This past Sunday I paid a visit to ChopperJim‘s house and he showed me a side yard which lay barren. He once told me I could plant anything I wanted in that garden when he first installed sprinklers. It was a tempting offer at the time, but I knew it would not truly be my own. I await the day when we will find that little patch of heaven-on-earth we call home and plant/grow our own garden. When I first gazed upon the photos you sent me, I grew nostalgic for my own lilies that grew tall and bloomed brilliantly about this time of year. The daylilies would follow suit immediately after and bloom nearly all summer long. I think I favor the red lilies best of all…they drew the bees, birds and butterflies from all over with their bright colors, so I am quite fond of the short red border lilies you have pictured.

We must visit the Arboretum again…you made sure to capture very pleasant memories of our trip there, and of course, I got my lily fix as well. Very soon, my love, this distance will not be such an obstacle to our plans for happy gardening and fantastic dining adventures.

I love you.

5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (1) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (2) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (3) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (4) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (5) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (6) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (7) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (8) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (9) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (10) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (11) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (12) 5/23/2009 Arboretum Flowers (13)