A banner year for lilies!!

The genus Lilium is very near and dear to my heart. Ever since I bought a package of clearance bulbs when I was about 11 or 12 years old and flowered a potful of fragrant 'Stargazer' lilies, I was compelled and hooked. It was a plant that simply had it all!  Easy, hardy, colorful, fragrant; it was easy to impress people with them!

Years later, I've acquired quite a collection of lilies and have learned so much about them. I often tell people that you're obsessed with a particular plant when you're breeding them and rescuing embryos in a laboratory to create complex hybrids. This was totally the case with me and lilies.

Our summer here in the Pacific Northwest truly was outstanding for lilies. Some are continuing to put on a show, but my goodness, the middle of July was absolute heaven!! Stems towered just a little higher with more vigor and bloom after fragrant bloom that was simply mesmerizing.

Here are some highlights from earliest to the ones currently still in bloom:

ASIATICS:  Generally, the first of the lilies to flower each summer starting in late May into early July.

The almost black 'Dimesions'

The dainty, but tough 'Ariadne'

and prolific too!

I adore these in arrangements! 'Brushstrokes'

A most unusual cross with an Easter Lily:  Lilium 'Lankon' is a hybrid between the dainty Lilium lankongense from China with Lilium longiflorum, the popular and well known Easter Lily. The Easter Lily is often grown and forced it bloom in April for the holiday, but its normal bloom time in the garden is about July.  These two species are very distantly related and would never cross naturally with one another so through some elaborate laboratory techniques, the union was recognized and a strikingly spotted and unique hybrid was unveiled.

OT's = Orienpets = Oriental x Trumpet Hybrids

More and more people are getting accustomed to seeing these remarkable hybrids nowadays. I can still remember when one bulb would cost about $60.00 and it seemed like the holy grail of lily breeding. Now the market is absolutely FLOODED with these hybrids.

An unintended plant combination with Monarda is 'Shocking'

The most voluptuous stems of 'Anastasia' in a private garden in Bellevue, WA

The stunning 'Conca d'Or' growing very well in a private garden in Bellevue, WA

'Contrast' absolutely vigorous in a private garden in Seattle growing with Thalictrums, Alliums and Hydrangea aspera.

The unique coloration and stunning fragrance of the rare 'Kushi Maya'

'Silk Road' in the background with Sidalcea in front

'Miss Libby'

'Blueberry Crush' absolutely stunning with Phlox 'Blue Paradise'

'Nymph' with a glimpse of Landwave Gardens

Double Freaks of Nature:

Boy, was I excited when the first double-flowered Oriental was introduced into the market just a few days ago. Now there are several out on the market, I still think they're just okay; they're more for the collector, I feel. Requiring heat and regular moisture to make sure the buds open properly, the double Orientals open slowly revealing no sexual parts as they've been morphed into extra tepals. So, there's no messy pollen and the fragrance is still very much that of all other Orientals.

The bizarrely different 'Magic Star'

'Miss Lucy' in an arrangement I assembled with a striking rex begonia leaf.

This truly has been a superb summer in the garden and to have some of my favorite plants perform so well is just icing on the cake. If you could only see these blooms in person and experience the fragrance on some of these, you'll absolutely be amazed as well.


Riz

Scenes of Summer

It's been hard to find time to post something. I'm sorry it's been awhile. I had this ultra-special post I was going to put up, but it got to a point where I was really stressing over it and questioning if I would be sharing too much of my personal life so I scrapped it....for now.

Instead, I'll just show you some images from my garden the past few weeks to give you a sense of my mostly beautiful surroundings.


Early in the morning at Landwave is something truly special that I don't get to experience often enough because I'm such a night owl. Midsummer mornings are like nothing else. Everything is so crisp, quiet, and every plant seems to just glow as the light slowly intensifies.











 Many of you know how fond of lilies I am. This is 'Scheherazade', a 5 year old clump that produces masses of gently fragrant blossoms full of nectar that the birds and the bees absolutely go crazy for and I love the airy Giant Feather Grass (Stipa gigantea) as a focal point in the garden.

















Foliage is equally as important as flowers in the summer border. Here, Rheum 'Ace of Hearts' and Cotinus 'Royal Purple' echo one another with a little Persicaria spike photo-bombing the composition. Back-lit by the setting sun, this composition is quite dramatic.











That little Persicaria is actually a wonderful "weaver" in a bed as it fills in between plants and they bloom continuously and can be kept tidy if you whack 'em back to the base following the first major flush of blooms for a fresh set of foliage and more flowers! Here the soft oranges and blue purples blend well together here. I love how the reverse of the lilies pick p the purple of the Penstemon 'Sour Grapes and the Clematis, which is 'Etoile de Violette', a vigorous viticella type.






Those soft blues carry through to another bed where Phlox 'Blue Paradise' is an absolute stand out and compliment a brand new lily called 'Blueberry Crush' and the wonderful Echinacea 'Hope'.












The dahlias typically begin in August for me, but a few blooming ones caught my eye at the nursery that I had to have so I added them into the main border and they worked so well with the soft pastel tones and texture of the pom pom Allium 'Summer Beauty'. The dahlia is 'Happy Single Wink'.  yeah...I know....ick.











Someday, I hope to have a garden where I can fully appreciate a gorgeous sunset. A view of the water would be amazing, but probably not necessary because I will never be able to afford it, but much like the early morning, it can be quite a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere as you're almost forced to slow down and relax as light becomes scarce.












Cheers,

Riz




 

Plant now for the best summer flowers!! Come to my FREE talk!

I'm trying to be better about tooting my own horn from time to time and I thought this would be a great opportunity to do so:



On Monday, November 21, at 7PM, I will be speaking at the Hardy Plant Society of Washington's fall program at the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle, WA.

My topic: The Lure of Lilium. True lilies have been a strong passion of mine since I was a preteen when my brother and I bought a few bulbs of the very popular oriental hybrid 'Stargazer' and grew and flowered them with ease. Comparable to the more exotic (and expensive) orchids at the time, I was instantly hooked and wanted to learn more about these intriguing plants.


Lilium 'Scheherazade'

From that point, I wanted to grow just about every lily that was out there and my eyes widened considerable when I dived into learning about their classification, reproduction/propagation, and even laboratory techniques in advanced breeding of interspecific hybrids!! Total plant geek, yeah I am!

I've also had the privilege of seeing a handful of wild species when I traveled to China just a few years ago.


Lilium 'Silk Road' - Oriental x Trumpet Hybrid

My talk is aimed towards introducing newbies to this fabulous group of seemingly rare and exotic, but readily available and easy to grow plants; and it's also aimed towards those "know it all" gardeners who say they grow everything as I promise to share something new and exciting for all!!

So if you live around the Seattle area, please come and hear me speak! There will be quite an assortment of lily bulbs from my friend/mentor, Judith Freeman, of The Lily Garden and a few freshly dug selections from my own garden/nursery, Landwave Gardens.


Lilium 'Tiger Babies'

I also love to give away plants during talks so if you come, you've got a chance of going home with something special!

OH, BTW, did I mention...... Admission is FREE!!!!


R

Lilium lust

The lilies are on their final stretch and there have been many surprises in the last two months.

In our late late summer, the lily show began in July with the opening of one of the tried and true lilies out there. This is 'Tiger Babies' blooming with ornamental grasses in the Soest Perennial Display Garden at the UW Botanic Gardens - Center for Urban Horticulture where I work part time.



Then comes two species from China I brought back a few years ago. The first is the elegant and rare Lilium majoense and then the tall, stately Lilium leucanthemum.





Soon after, the "Orienpet" lilies put on a show. Here's the gold with crimson and richly scented 'Shocking' and the voluptuous 'Silk Road' at a client's garden.


'Shocking'


'Silk Road'/'Northern Carillon'

The new mixed bed I'm developing has the spectacular 'Scheherazade' blooming with mixed perennials and glittery grasses in the background.



My clumps of 'Nymph' have slowly dwindled as I love using them profusely for arrangements just like this one at my sister's house for a little reunion with cousins from out of town a few weeks ago.



Orientals are just starting and my collection has dwindled a bit as I used to grow more. The standout right now is 'Tiger Woods' and the rare 'Midnight Star'.



WHOOPS....that's the REAL Tiger Woods.

Here's the lily:




Orienpets overlap with the Orientals and, man, were there surprises:


From top left clockwise: 'My Precious', a sister seedling to the cultivar 'Pizazz', and a rare double-flowered oriental 'Josef'.

So the double orientals are looking their best EVER and I'm wondering if it's been the mild and relatively cooler summer or my new and special friend who's been helping me water more diligently.

The "classic" variety 'Miss Lucy' is towering at 5 feet with long pedicles and flowers that haven't aborted, but are opening slowly and quite beautifully:



Next to "Lucy" is 'Davyd'. Has done absolutely nothing but abort and look horrendous, but here this year, at least it looks like it's trying. LOL!



'Josef' is definitely a surprise as it has opened up pretty well despite still being in a container.



'Chrys' might be the same or similar to a new intro out right now called 'Polar Star'. It opened very nicely last year in a container, but the one in the ground is slowly doing its thing!



Then there's this HOT MESS of a lily. Interesting? Sure! Looks like throw-up? Uh huh. But fragrant? Of course! Why did you grow this? Shut up. Now, I can't even remember it's name. The interesting thing about this flower are the present anthers with pollen!!



One of my most highly anticipated purchases earlier this spring was a package of 'Magic Star'. It almost looks like a double-flowered 'Tiger Woods' or 'Dizzy' and when you've grown lilies for a long time and you see the photo, your jaws drop and you say, "WOW"! So I purchased two dessicated bulbs from a local nursery, potted them up so they can "recover" and root before planting them out in the garden.






So yeah....meh.....it's interesting and all and kind of cool looking, but very inconsistent when opening. Could it get better as it matures much like 'Miss Lucy' did? We'll see.


All lily'd out??!! Hhahahahh

Cheers,

Riz

CHELSEA 2011 REPORT - Part Four: The Main Marquee

Ok, time for another post of Chelsea Flower Show Highlights.

One of the most spectacular aspects of Chelsea is the incredible floral and horticultural displays inside the main marquee.

Talk about FLOWER SHOW, OMFG, it was remarkable. Some of the stands were small than I had envisioned, but to see the array of displays and the meticulous detail exhibitors showcase in their stands is really first rate.

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The crowds were insane! Even during press day and then the first members day, the show grounds and the marquee were jammed packed full of enthusiastic plant lovers trying to catch a glimpse of every display. It was wall-to-wall old lady after old lady sprinkled in a mix of men: supportive husbands, hardcore plantsmen, gay couples and even young children which I always seem to look out for.

Speaking of children, one of the highlights of the marquee for me wasn't a botanical display, but a pair of young garden enthusiast who I enjoyed chatting with as they shared information about the display they helped put together. I asked them questions about what their favorite plants were and to get a response like, "Oh, how could I choose. I love them all! THE GERBERAS! I'd have to say the Gerbera daisies because they add so much colour" the young 8 year old boy stated. What 8-year old freakin' knows what a gerbera is?!!! It was awesome!


Bulbs were in full display and are well represented in Chelsea:


I've become fonder and fonder of Flowering Onions (Allium) and the assortment on display was remarkable.


Daffodils in late May are an extraordinary sight and getting these varieties to flower all at the same time is no easy feat!


Tulips as well; getting these to flower all at the same time is exceedingly difficult, but when you do it each year, you've got it down, but often nature can easily throw a curve-ball at you and something you had originally wanted to showcase calls for a change in plans:

So, this remarkable tulip is called 'Wow'. No, seriously, that's what it's called simply because when anyone sees it, they think "HOLY MOTHER OF....., WHAT IS THAT??!"


You just can't help but think about just how bizarre and exotic this is! Sadly the quality of the flowers and stems weren't up to the quality of the overall exhibit so they nixed these and I had to ask the exhibitor to sneak behind the prep area to snap a photo!

A flower show experience would not be complete without me getting to see and experience the wonderful world of Lilium and, boy, was I in for a treat:

Lilies have always had a place in a show like this and for good reason. The extravagant flowers are eye-catching and the fragrance of many of them just draws you in and makes you fall in love with them. Again, a huge challenge to get them to flower all at the same time, these arrangements showcases mostly cut flowers varieties which are long lasting both in the vase and out in the garden. And another display really showcases the diversity of Lilies and how far they've come in just the last few years in recent developments in breeding for new and exciting varieties.

This display was remarkable in that it represented lilies that normally would bloom at different times during the summer. From early Asiatics to the late-blooming Orientals (varieties like the common 'Stargazer' or 'Casablanca' to the hybrids between them. It was outstanding!

Introduced last year and certainly still making waves is a lily that I'm DYING to get on this side of the pond based on the raves and reviews I've heard about this most special hybrid:

Let me introduce Lilium 'Kushi Maya':


Bred from the rare and exotic Lilium nepelense, this hybrid combines the coloration and bloom placement of the species with the flower size and vigor of a modern day hybrid (in this case, an oriental x trumpet cross). The scent is enchanting and absolutely remarkable and I'm dying to secure a few bulbs this fall.


I have never seen carnivorous plants the way I admired them at Chelsea because they were quite prominent and each display was simply outrageous!


Nepenthes and other exotics were in full display.


As are pitcher plants and fly traps!


And, again, no detail is overlooked! Not a strand of moss missplaced!

Ok, overwhelmed yet?? I'll stop for now and give you some time to process this...haaha


Cheers,

R