POSTED BY CALEB – To me, lilies are the heart and soul of midsummer. Their heady perfumes, their rich colors, their enormous blossoms – all combine to bring a gracious presence much needed at this time of year when my garden is beginning to look rather shop-worn. Even better, Japanese beetles don’t eat them. That, surely, is cause for celebration!
I planted a few small Black Beauty lily bulbs last fall. They're rewarding me with lovely flowers. Can't wait until the bulbs bulk up and make gi-normous stems and multitudes of those butterfly blossoms.
When country people talk about "tiger lilies", they're usually talking about tawny daylilies, Hemerocallis fulva. So I was thrilled a few weeks ago when, on a walk down our country road, I discovered a patch of true tiger lilies, Lilium lancifolium, growing in a deserted yard.
Here's a more glamorous photo of the tiger lilies. I stopped counting stems at 50 - there had to be somewhere close to 70 flowering stalks in this wonderful patch of lilies. If I had the chance, I'd buy the property for the lilies alone.
This is Orania, the only oriental-trumpet hybrid lily I've had ongoing success with in my woodland garden. The photo, however, was not taken in my garden. This specimen was growing in the bulb gardens at Missouri Botanical Garden.
Here's another image of spectacular lilies in the bulb gardens at Missouri Botanical Garden. I think it's one of the "American" series. Whatever it is, it's breathtaking!
Next summer, go back to that lot with the tiger lilies and grab the little black bulbils which can be found at the joint of the leaf and stalk and plant them right away. You’ll have a huge patch before you know it! They grow rampant when those little bulbils fall on good soil.