I'd forgotten all about it until I was at the Garden centre recently and saw some Lilly bulbs for sale. They're not particularly cheap (at about $5 each) and if it wasn't for my being so impressed with these last year I may not have bought them. There were a number of different ones available and I was having difficulty making up my mind which ones to buy but in the end I decided to buy one of everything so I ended up with about 8 bulbs. It's the most I've ever spent on bulbs before so I was very excited to see how these would turn out.
I got some potting mix at the same time and potted them up as soon as I got them home. Before long they were starting to sprout. I was surprised to see how differently each one looked at this early stage. Now that spring is here they seem to be thriving and I'm starting to get even more excited about how these will turn out.
According to the labels on the packets some of these are expected to flower sooner than others. Some in early Summer (around Christmas), others in late summer (Feb). These are such impressive plants, I feel like I'm already getting my money's worth and they haven't even started flowering yet.
Lillies are very popular where I live as cut flowers and you often see them in Florist shops but I'd never seen them growing naturally until I saw them on the door step that day. It’s so interesting watching them develop. There seems to be something new to observe every few days.
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However, that was nothing compared to the delight of seeing the first flowers appearing in the middle of spring (October 10).
This smaller variety is known as Lilium Asiatic – Gironde
It's such a cute compact little flower. The packet says early summer flowering with an expected height of 60-80cm. This one started flowering when it was only 20cm high.
One thing I was looking forward to doing when the Lillies started flowering was to create some nice photo art of them. No wonder they're so popular as cut flowers and they lend themselves so well to still life arrangements.
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November 22
The next one to open was the one known as Xmas Lilium – White Heaven which has huge white blooms on 2 tall stems about 80cm high. Christmas seems to have arrived a month early this year because it was labelled 'Christmas flowering', but perhaps that's because I've got them sitting in quite a warm spot and I've fooled them into opening early.
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November 24
Only a day or so later the next one to open was Xmas Lilium – Regale. This one is not so spectacular as White Heaven. The stems are very spindley and one stem seems to have completely failed to bloom. They have a reddish tinge on the outside of the blooms.
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November 29
Next to open was Lilium Asiatic – Navonna, a smaller white lilly with 4 flowers on a single stem around 80cm high.
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December 3
Next to open was Lilium Oriental – Zelmira, a stunning Apricot coloured lilly with 4 massive blooms on a single stem around a metre high. This one is particularly impressive and is also scented.
However, that was nothing compared to the delight of seeing the first flowers appearing in the middle of spring (October 10).
This smaller variety is known as Lilium Asiatic – Gironde
It's such a cute compact little flower. The packet says early summer flowering with an expected height of 60-80cm. This one started flowering when it was only 20cm high.
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November 22
The next one to open was the one known as Xmas Lilium – White Heaven which has huge white blooms on 2 tall stems about 80cm high. Christmas seems to have arrived a month early this year because it was labelled 'Christmas flowering', but perhaps that's because I've got them sitting in quite a warm spot and I've fooled them into opening early.
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November 24
Only a day or so later the next one to open was Xmas Lilium – Regale. This one is not so spectacular as White Heaven. The stems are very spindley and one stem seems to have completely failed to bloom. They have a reddish tinge on the outside of the blooms.
November 29
Next to open was Lilium Asiatic – Navonna, a smaller white lilly with 4 flowers on a single stem around 80cm high.
December 3
Next to open was Lilium Oriental – Zelmira, a stunning Apricot coloured lilly with 4 massive blooms on a single stem around a metre high. This one is particularly impressive and is also scented.
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December 13
About a week later came Lilium Oriental – Serrano, a stunning Yellow lilly with 4 massive blooms on a single stem more than a metre high. This is a very impressive lilly.
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December 13
About the same time came Lilium Oriental – Flashpoint, a shorter stemmed lilly with 10 smaller blooms. The blooms have a crimson centre with white edges.
This first attempt at growing lillies was an enjoyable experience. I’ll definitely try that again. Next time I might try growing them in a cooler spot. Perhaps I can get them to flower later. The great thing about bulbs is that they usually multiply each year. Next year I should get twice as many.
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