Lilies are some of my all-time favorite plants.* When I lived in Philadelphia, many people grew lilies in their garden, usually the old-fashioned "tiger" lilies, in splashy colors. But to me, a "real" lily is one that has fragrance to spare.
In season, I would drive by this one house in a historic neighborhood, stalking its lilies, waiting for their bloom. These were trumpet lilies, and planted along their driveway, they grew to eight feet tall, hanging huge blossoms from the ends, in a ice-cream parlor collection of colors. Not the most elegant of plants, but how I loved them.
Then when I lived in Denver, my friend lived in an apartment complex whose entrance had lilies. They were probably 'Casablanca' lilies, glistening white blossoms about eight inches across, in huge numbers on six foot plants. What a fragrance. I wallowed in them, hesitating before entering the building, but being late as usual and knowing that our pending hike would just get hotter as the day went on, I had to move on.
But I think my first exposure to lilies were those silly "Easter lilies" that we bought at the grocery store for the holiday. Forced into bloom early, they nevertheless smelled great, and as I child, I had no funeral associations that some people have with lilies.
I was thrilled with the thought of growing lilies in my first yard, my garden here in Albuquerque. That first year, the winds snapped the stems of the asiatic lily I planted. Then again the next year. Then the rabbits ate what was left and they didn't come back. Several years ago, I bought enormous "exhibition-sized" bulbs of Lilium regale, supposedly one of the easiest lilies to grow. I enriched the soil, planted where the bulbs would be shaded, but the tops would be in sun, watered carefully, and waited ... as only one bulb grew, and produced a single flower which fried in the hot sun almost before it opened. Four years later, and I still get one flower, although the other bulb has since put out a few growths. Maybe the Albuquerque botanic gardens can grow great (asiatic) lilies, but too bad for my yard.
*You of course realize that I say that about 20 or 30 other genera of plants. At least.
Plant envy.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I understand your lament.
So many things I want to grow and can't. And every now and then, I manage to kill the 'substitures' I grow instead.
I should blog the demise of my albuca ("Arizona Snowdrops")
Yes, it is very beatiful lily and smells so good. I have tigers lilys, but white ones not yet. My garden is a small:)
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