Flowering for the last several week is the South American (Argentina, Uruguay) iris family member, Cypella (Phallocallis) herbertii. The narrow foliage is almost invisible, so this gem can be tucked into any sunny spot for a splash of summer color. We have grown this for over three decades, and it never fails to perform. Hardiness
The summer surprise lily season kicks into full gear around July 15, so it’s time to share those who graced us with their presence from July 15-July 31. Because we grow over 1,100 cultivars of lycoris, we have an abundance in flower every day from early July until early October. Flowering time for each stem
Summer Surprise Lilies – Part I Read More »
The flowering season has begun in mid-July for the Angolan native, Crinum fimbriatulum. This distinctive plant produces flower spikes just over 4′ tall, giving it an imposing presence in the sun garden. The dramatic white flowers with red stripes, was named for the slight fringing on the flower petals, although I would certainly have selected
Angolan Fringed Crinum Read More »
Putting on a show this month is the poorly endowed rain lily, Habranthus brachyandrus. Native to Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, this showy bulb starts its flowering season in mid-June (NC), and continues through September. Three days after each rain a new crop of flowers emerges. The specific epithet brachyandrus lets the world know that it
Embarrassed Rain Lily Read More »
It’s hard to resist humming the Village People’s 1979 disco tune, In the Navy, every year when the amazing Agapanthus ‘Navy Blue’ comes into full bloom. From our kitchen window, it’s certainly looking quite stunning in the summer garden. Although a single flower head isn’t as large as some other cultivars, the mere show power
Flowering now is the amazing Hymenocallis azteciana, from Northern Mexico. The wide glacous foliage, which doesn’t emerge until June, is enough reason to grow this dazzling spider lily, but the clumps are also topped with 3′ tall spikes of narrow-petalled white flowers, which open each evening. Our form is from an original collection in Jalisco,
Spider Lily of the Aztecs Read More »
Several of our new crinum seedlings are looking quite nice after our recent rain, so we wanted to share the beauty. Building up enough numbers to share takes years, so none of these are available yet. Most are winter hardy from Zone 7a and south, but a few should be fine into Zone 6. Enjoy.
I hate to be a tease, but… Read More »
The North American (Durango, Mexico) native, Hymenocallis durangoensis, has been absolutely spectacular this month in the garden, where we grow it in full sun, in average to moist soils. Sadly, this spider lily never sells very well, so we keep having to dump our surplus nursery stock at years end. We’re just stubborn enough to
While the peak season for crinum lilies is May-July, there’s always quite a few blooms in late summer and even into early fall, before our first frost turns the foliage and remaining flowers into green slime. Here are a couple of clones that stood out in the garden this week. The first is Crinum ‘Bright
We’re just wrappping up the midseason of the Lycoris (Surprise Lily) flowering season, that runs from August 11-August 25. This typically wraps up the last of the spring-foliage species and hybrids, and takes us through the middle part of the fall-leaved species and hybrids. Lycoris aurea is one of the most tender of the Lycoris
Midsummer Surprises Read More »
