It's been a while since I've done an actual garden post. There simply isn't much happening here yet... in fact, some areas of the gardens still have drifts to four feet in depth. This is not a huge concern although I do have bus tours of the gardens scheduled for the the 13th and 17th of May. It's simply impossible to do much garden work yet and I do worry that I will run out of time to get ready for these visits. Ideally I would have fresh mulch spread in the gardens by May 1st, but there is no way I can even receive a delivery for some time yet as the utility area is totally unaccessible because of ice and snow... after that finally dissappears, I'll still have to wait for "mud season" to dry up. I have got some of the hellebores cleaned up with old foliage removed. Everything is pointing to an amazing spring unless we get sudden heat which could make it a short season.
For the past week I have been contenting myself with starting annuals under lights in the basement since it is too cold to open the greenhouse yet. I know I said I wasn't going to do this but I just couldn't resist the fragrance of a warm greenhouse full of bloom in May! Additionally I have taken on the project of filling 130 urns at the local cemetery so there is at least some reason to my madness.
I've posted another page on the upper right hand side of my blog... this one concerning my lilies. It is not complete as I added a great many martagons this past fall as well as more orienpets. I was so pleased with the martagon quality that I decided to order more orienpets, asiatics, and LO's from my provider in England. I am anxious for the arrival of 110 new lily bulbs although I'm hoping they hold off on getting here until the soil is workable.
I've included a previous post here on our lily collection which (as noted earlier) is also available in "pages". I'm looking forward to sharing something new one of these days... the good news is that we are getting rain which is melting last night's snow... that's progress at least...
Larry
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| orienpet 'Leslie Woodriff' |
We do enjoy our lilies here at Oak Lawn and there are many additions most years. It has dawned on me that at some point I need to back off... it won't be long and I'll need to do a lot of dividing as some of our orienpet clumps have gotten absolutely huge. THis definitely won't be the year I'm afraid!!
We basically grow four types of lilies in the gardens plus a few miscellaneous varieties.
1. Asiatics: I've had asiatics in the gardens for years but have gotten a bit tired of them so allowed them to diminish of late rather than doing the needed dividing/transplanting. Some of the newer cultivars are catching my fancy however, and I've been adding a few here and there. I'm finding that I much prefer the candleabra types and many are ordered for this season's planting.
2. Oriental lilies: these are to my thinking the most beautiful of the lilies that are hardy here. The problem has been that they need quite regular dividing to thrive for us. I always wait too long to get at it but am going to try and stay on top of that a bit better in the future. There are only a few varieties in the gardens just now as they tend to die out without regular division.
3. Trumpet Lilies: I really need to add more of these. This past fall I divided the progeny of a single bulb into 32 very nice sized bulbs... proof enough that these plants seem to do ok for us. I don't care for the fact that these generally need staking and for that reason our use of them stays reserved.
4. Orienpet lilies: crosses between orientals and trumpets... these are the majority of what I grow and they do fabulously well here with bloom stalks to seven feet and scores of blooms in a clump. The fragrance is pretty special as well.
5. Miscellaneous: I also have a few regales, LA's, and LO's. In fact, I am adding a number of new LO's this season.
Here then is a photo journey of some of the lilies we're growing... I'll start with some close-ups in no particular order and label them as best I'm able since many of the tags are under snow just now and my computer labeling system disappeared with my hard drive crash last spring... I have yet to update it completely. I'll then move to a few long views of lilies in the gardens.
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| Definitely an orienpet, possibly 'Caravan'... struck down in its prime by voles over winter |
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| Also an orienpet |
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| oriental: 'Muscadet' |
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| LO 'Triumphator' (Lilium longiflorum [Easter lily] crossed with oriental) |
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| oriental: 'Dizzy' |
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| oriental: 'Strawberry Shortcake' |
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| trumpet lily |
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| orienpet 'Candy Club' (chlorotic foliage due to excess moisture) |
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| orienpet 'Conca d'Or' |
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| orienpet 'Maywood' |
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| orienpet 'Saltarello' |
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| orienpet 'Red Dutch' |
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| orienpet 'Eudoxia' |
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| orienpet 'Holland Beauty' |
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| asiatic 'Graffiti' |
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| asiatic 'Strawberry Cream' |
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| asiatic 'Burgundy Splash' |
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| orienpet 'Robina' |
There are numerous other lily cultivars in our landscape, the names of which have escaped me over the years. For me the primary reason for growing them is the fragrance that fills the yard during oriental and orienpet season. Newer cultivars of asiatics are showing fragrance as well... there is really nothing like a garden full of lilies on a warm summer's eve... I'll close with photos showing the plants in the landscape... Larry
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