Be Still My Heart…..

Orienpet Lily

……the Orienpets are beginning to bloom!  One of my favorite flowers, they’re a cross between Trumpet & Oriental lilies combining the best of both.  If you’re unfamiliar with these, visualize a cross between Easter Lilies & Stargazers.

First day of bloom!

Alluring fragrance and large blooms on very tall sturdy stems, Orienpets are a bit more expensive than other lilies, but well worth the money.  I’ve purchased most of my recent lily additons from The Lily Garden and have been very happy with the bulbs and service.  Their catalog this year is, as usual breathtaking.

Greet the Morning Sun

Hummingbirds love lilies and should you choose to plant them, prepare to forge your way through the swarm of hummers to get close.  The hummers in my neighborhood seem to swarm the most around my red lilies.  The Asians in particular, but we’re talking about Orienpets today…

Aroma of Orienpet permeates the garden & wafts into my house.  I judiciously cut a few bouquets to bring in, as they last longer when left on the plant.  My bouquets over the years have grown smaller for this reason.

Morning Glow

My favorite Orienpets are ‘Starburst Sensation’, ‘Anastasia’, ‘Arabesque’, Silk Road & Caravan, not necessarily in that order.  I also have & love ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Scheherazade’, ‘Georgette’, ‘Leslie Woodriff’, and a few others whose names I’ve lost.

Yellow!

My lily beds have changed from those first put in as I learned more and more about planting & caring for lilies.  My first plantings went straight into the ground without properly amending the soil or protecting the bulbs.  I did mine the rocks out.  I didn’t mark where I had planted them, so never knew how many I lost due to lack of water, rodents, deer, or other maladies that can plague a novice gardener.

Come Closer

My family & I enjoyed those that grew and bloomed until one year none of my lilies came up.  Where WERE they?  My tulips had also not come up that spring.  After investigating amidst much despair and angst at having lost all my lilies and tulips I learned moles and voles were abundant that year & had probably eaten every bulb within a 20 mile radius.

Look Away

As a birthday gift, my wonderful husband replaced ALL my bulbs!  I was ready to do battle and protect my new bulbs from harms way, including any future mole and vole invasions.  At the hardware store I purchased 20 yards of hardware cloth.  I cut it, bent it, and sewed sides onto it using wire, turning it into several giant wire baskets that were lowered into the ground I’d hollowed out.  The baskets were filled with amended soil from all the best spots in my garden at the time.  Finally, some of those unearthed rocks were placed around the perimeters keeping the newly raised beds intact.

Big Fat Buds

When fall arrived and my 300 new bulbs along with it, I was ready to plant.  Yes, I said 300 bulbs.  Lilies and tulips.  By now you must know I’m a collector & cannot buy just a dozen of anything!  And I was replacing what had taken a few years to collect.  And it was a gift!!

Cavernous

I love all the seasons of my garden, but when the lilies begin to bloom I’m in heaven.  From the Asians to the Orienpets & Orientals.  In fact, anything calling itself lily soon becomes a favored flower in my garden.  Daylilies, Foxtail lilies, Toad lilies, Candy lilies, Lily of the Valley, Pineapple lilies, Magic lilies, Calla lilies,  …. Which ones have I forgotten???

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time…….

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