Well, if you had to pick a theme flower for this month’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day it would the lilies. Despite the dry weather we have been experiencing, they are exploding all over the yard, especially the hybrids between orientals and trumpets (aka orienpets). They are tall, fragrant, floriferous, and individually stunning.
In the house they make quite a display too.
Here are some others of the lily orienpet persuasion.
Of course, even the old-fashioned orientals are pretty spectacular.
And then a new one added to collection this year is Lilium henryii hybrid.
There are course still many annuals and some of the standard perennials, but one of the species that has asked for special recognition is the Crocosmia. These wonderful bulbs from the iris family are durable, productive and beautiful, year after year.
Another new plant for us is the popular anemone ‘Wild Swan’.
It is especially characterized by the purple markings on the back of the petals.
In the greenhouse we have several noteworthy arrivals. First a very unusual Pineapple Lily.
This is only found in the wild between 7000′ and 8000′ in South Africa. At some point I might experiment with growing it outside.
Also from South Africa is member of the Amaryllis family, Cyrtanthus elatus x montanus.
A little Cyclamen is flowering from seed planted in 2013.
And a welcome returnee is this rain lily.
One of the fun things for me is finding the unusual animals that populate the yard, if you take the time to notice them. Last week it was this wonderful dime-sized spider that caught my eye.
I must buy more lilies – yours are stunning!
What a lovely collection – and those lilies in such abundance.
Wonderful to see.
Wow, the lilies are great! That’s quite a vase as well but I’m not as keen on the cyclamen and anemone…. They bring to mind autumn and I don’t even want to consider that possibility for another two or three months.