The Lily - lilium

This year I replanted my two asiatic lilies in pots in order to be able to move them from one sunny spot to another. This has worked out well and now that they've done their job I can take them out of the limelight.

The first two pictures are of lily that bloomed later but was much richer in color than the first. My trusty "Flower Expert" tells me this is the Lilium 'Imperial Crimson'. This lily is particularly fragrant...but don't get too close since those showy anthers love to paint their orange pollen on anything that comes near.

Much earlier than these are my hardy "tiger lilies", that's what I call them anyway - both yellow and orange. They grow year after year and I keep those in the ground.

“The Lily"

L ong in stem, the lily grows, Behold them in the field.

I n purest white, like driven snows Their beauty will not yield.

L ovelier than Solomon, Or so it's been revealed.

Y ears shall not, them, see undone Those lilies of the field.

"I am a lily of the valleys." Song of Songs 2:1

Hydrangeas

The top photo is a close-up of a bloom on the above hydrangea bush. Hydrangeas are wonderful for filling up large spaces in the garden providing color variations as the blooms develop, interest and for providing great cutting flowers. It's best to wait, I've discovered, and let the flower mature before cutting or else it doesn't last more than a few days in a bouquet. Later on just before the first frost I cut huge bouquets, set them in vases with water until the water evaporates. As the hydrangeas dry I peel off the unsightly leaves exposing only beautiful dried flowers.

The blue hydrangeas are from a bush just a few yards away from the purple one. I'm told that the acidity of the soil determines the color. I've got six hydrangea bushes growing in various parts of the garden ranging from green/blue, blue, pink and purple and combinations of these colors.