Can't Touch This!

G finally helped me to set up the camera on son's computer so that now I can share pictures with the world at large. I thought I would start off by sharing my all time favorite flower as well as a new addition to my daylily collection.

Some say that the rose is the queen of the garden but I beg to differ. For me that reining royalty will always be the oriental lily. They are much easier to grow than roses (not nearly as disease prone) and no average rose will ever be able to touch the fragrance of an O. Lily. When I see blooms like this I can almost hear the lily saying to the rose... 'Can't touch this!'

My favorite O. Lily is Stargazer. They are truly easy to grow. They simply require good soil, good drainage, and full sun. For just a few hours of soil prep time and you're rewarded with years of this kind of beauty coupled with house filling aroma. I have one 6 bloom stem (only 3 blooms currently open) sitting on my coffee table and the whole living room, dining room and kitchen smell wonderful. A small warning: if you're at all allergic you may want to save your aroma appreciation for the outdoors or on an open porch.

The next flower I would like to share with you is a new addition to my daylily collection. I was told it was called 'Double Roadside' but as you can see she's not a double, she's a triple. When I bought it, it wasn't in bloom so you can imagine my suprize and pleasure to find out that I not only got what I paid for but a little extra.

Daylilies are easier to grow than O. Lily. They tolerate a not more neglect and are very drought tolerant. They are so hardy that they have taken over many of the ditches around here. Some consider the common roadside lily to be almost as bad as some invasive weeds but personally I find the sight of a ditch full of gold to be a very pleasing summer time event.