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Before We Forget July
July is lily month, and before we forget the coolness of that stretch of time, here are some of our amazing lilies this year. And I have to add that we didn't plant any of them, although we have moved them around the yard the last couple of years. This gold lily above started out in one place by the drive. Now we have some back by the lilac, out in front, and in the side yard lily bed as well. Do the birds carry the seeds? No telling, but these last a long time, over a month from when they start to their final bud. Right now this one has two or three flowers left.
A day lily type that is taller than usual, and yellow with an orange blush, was found growing behind the garage after we moved here in 2001. We thought it deserved a better view so we put some in the "new" lily bed next to our neighbor's driveway on the north side of the house. These guys last a long time, too. They start blooming in July after the plain orange day lilies are finished, and they just keep on.
Old fashioned tiger lilies are always striking, and ours just multiply like rabbits. (Come to think of it, we have seen rabbits on that side of the yard.) When we moved in, a few stalks leaned on the fence next to the neighbor's driveway. They must thrive in shade, the deep shade of the maple. We haven't moved them and now the patch is about 5 feet long and a couple of feet wide.
The tigers insist on peeking over the fence into Mr. Guy's yard, but they also help frame a view of ours that we don't often see: from the outside looking in. Bob and Lois, who lived here before us, probably planted all of these flowers. Because lilies live a long time, they are here for us to enjoy and maybe even for whoever follows us here to enjoy as well. Everyone who gardens hopes the next occupant will cherish the plants, although we know they may be moved or sited differently. Everyone has preferences. Sadly, sometimes a long-tended garden is destroyed; the people who bought our old house in Ferguson seemed to like the plants when they bought it, but I can't even bring myself to drive by there any more: the redbud tree is cut down; the roses are gone, the iris are gone, the japonica I transplanted from my parents' yard is gone... the loss is endless. I know I had a similar feeling of loss when I saw that the people who bought my mother's house in Tulsa had removed the three Paul Scarlet climbing rose bushes Norm and I had found in a catalog and planted especially for her. Certainly as gardeners we always hope some of our planting will survive us, but it helps to have a thick skin and not depend on mere landscape for our immortality.
July is lily month, and before we forget the coolness of that stretch of time, here are some of our amazing lilies this year. And I have to add that we didn't plant any of them, although we have moved them around the yard the last couple of years. This gold lily above started out in one place by the drive. Now we have some back by the lilac, out in front, and in the side yard lily bed as well. Do the birds carry the seeds? No telling, but these last a long time, over a month from when they start to their final bud. Right now this one has two or three flowers left.
A day lily type that is taller than usual, and yellow with an orange blush, was found growing behind the garage after we moved here in 2001. We thought it deserved a better view so we put some in the "new" lily bed next to our neighbor's driveway on the north side of the house. These guys last a long time, too. They start blooming in July after the plain orange day lilies are finished, and they just keep on.
Old fashioned tiger lilies are always striking, and ours just multiply like rabbits. (Come to think of it, we have seen rabbits on that side of the yard.) When we moved in, a few stalks leaned on the fence next to the neighbor's driveway. They must thrive in shade, the deep shade of the maple. We haven't moved them and now the patch is about 5 feet long and a couple of feet wide.
The tigers insist on peeking over the fence into Mr. Guy's yard, but they also help frame a view of ours that we don't often see: from the outside looking in. Bob and Lois, who lived here before us, probably planted all of these flowers. Because lilies live a long time, they are here for us to enjoy and maybe even for whoever follows us here to enjoy as well. Everyone who gardens hopes the next occupant will cherish the plants, although we know they may be moved or sited differently. Everyone has preferences. Sadly, sometimes a long-tended garden is destroyed; the people who bought our old house in Ferguson seemed to like the plants when they bought it, but I can't even bring myself to drive by there any more: the redbud tree is cut down; the roses are gone, the iris are gone, the japonica I transplanted from my parents' yard is gone... the loss is endless. I know I had a similar feeling of loss when I saw that the people who bought my mother's house in Tulsa had removed the three Paul Scarlet climbing rose bushes Norm and I had found in a catalog and planted especially for her. Certainly as gardeners we always hope some of our planting will survive us, but it helps to have a thick skin and not depend on mere landscape for our immortality.
1 comment:
I feel a strong attachment to my plant friends also. I can enjoy driving by our house on Pinecrest because many of the baby trees we planted are now grown and still there. I also enjoy the rose bush and lilacs from Aunt Doris. It's nice to think she enjoyed these same flowers. And Uncle George's rose bush too. Of course my favorites are the wax plant and the amaryllis.
Our lilies did not fare well this year. Apparently grasshoppers like them better than any other plant. They ate the entire plant on some of them. They were so pretty it was sad to see them go.
Happy blooms!
K
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