Loving these balmy late summer days with breakfast on the terrace whilst watching the Morning Glories unfurling in the early sunshine.
However, for the past few weeks it has been lily time in the garden
Lilium Martagon 'album'
Lilium Martagon
Lilium regale
White lilies symbolise purity - a flower that has been admired and painted across the centuries
Sandro Botticelli, The Cestello Annunciation
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - The Annunciation
Trumpet lily - copper king
Lilium Leichtlinii
Lilium Davidii
.......Georgia O'Keeffe
Our lilies have delighted us over the last couple of months, but sadly they are now mostly finished.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - The Annunciation
Not true lilies but members of genus Zantedeschia - happily both Calla and Arum lilies live in our garden without the need to lift them for the winter - they were firm favourites of both....
.......Georgia O'Keeffe
and Diego Revera. This painting is called 'Nude with Calla Lilies', however, the nude is very recognisable as artist Frida Khalo, Diego's wife
What a lovely post about a lovely flower...beautiful lilies.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Warm hug, Titti
Thank you Titti - happy summer days to you♡
DeleteGreat post with beautiful photos
ReplyDeleteThanks Annie - lilies give me so much pleasure
DeleteA great sunny Lily post!!!! The painting of Diego Revera is a favorite, but I also like the paintings of Georgia O´Keeffe. I almost envy you for your Martagon Lilies, I had them before but they disappeared after a few years, I think I have to order them once more they are so lovely and remind me of the Alps where I saw them in the wild.
ReplyDeleteI have found that sometimes lilies disappear and then suddenly reappear a couple of years later!!! I always intend to treat myself to some more lilies that appeal to me, but now the garden is so well stocked I don't get round to it.
DeleteA lovely selection of liliums, Rosemary. I wonder, do you lift them every few years? I planted some in my garden for the first time last year.
ReplyDeleteHello Betty - no I never lift any of the lilies. Apart from the Arum lilies that are in the ground most are in very large glazed terracotta pots which stay out all year round. If you have yours in the ground they should be even happier as there is always the fear that my pots might freeze, but touch wood so far they haven't.
DeleteThanks Rosemary. I will see how they go, come summer. I topped up the bed with compost last week.
DeleteThey should be nice and cosy under the compost blanket.
DeleteBeautiful series.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rick
DeleteBeautiful post. I like that painting of Diego Revera very much.
ReplyDeleteI love that painting too
DeleteYour lilies are glorious Rosemary, and I enjoyed the accompaniment of paintings very much too. Annunciation paintings always appeal to me because they contain so much symbolism. On our first ever visit to London I could not wait to visit the Tate and 'meet' that Rossetti painting, which had always fascinated me. The Rivera painting is beautiful and a unique portrayal of Freida. Thank you for a lovely post.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that you know Diego's other Arum Lily paintings Patricia - baskets full lilies carried by male native Mexicans, and exhuberant arms full carried by the women.
DeleteYes, Rosemary. One of them is 'visiting' Sydney at the moment, in an exhibition at AGNSW which includes paintings by both Diego and Freida. If we were not about to take off overseas, I would fly down to see it.
DeletePerhaps you could visit the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition which opened rescently at the Tate Modern, London - it is on until the end of October.
DeleteDear Rosemary, Your Lilies are sensational, every single one of them. And how charming are your Morning Glories!
ReplyDeleteDear Gina - I am never sure what colour the Morning Glories will be as I have a mixture of seeds - hoping that some of the plants which have yet to flower will bring some different colours.
DeleteWOW! Awesome collection of Lilies Rosemary...
ReplyDeleteI have Day Lilies...and I call the Orange Lilies here "Tiger Lilies"...had a few White and
Pink ones earlier in the Summer...My Tiger Lilies are looking pretty small, as we are burning up over here, and no rain!!Humidex in the 40's!!!
Morning Glories twirling and climbing...no buds yet!
Enjoy the rest of your week...
Cheers!
Linda :o)
Hello Linda - I sometimes call them Tiger lilies and Turks Caps too - sounds very hot with you, may be your Morning Glories are finding it a bit too hot as well.
DeleteHope you will have the company of Miss V over the weekend.
Such a variety! Most of our lilies have finished, but now it's time for the Ginger Lilies. I'm assuming they're really lilies, always white and they smell like gardenias. And they spread like crazy.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if your Ginger Lilies are what I know as Hedychiums - they are very tropical looking.
DeleteYour lilies are beautiful. I would plant any of them! I have day lilies, which didn't do well this year, and agapanthas which I was able to protect from marauding deer. I'd like to have more - lilies, that is!
ReplyDeleteI love all of the blue shades of Agapanthus but for me I need to protect them from the cold. I keep them in a bed next to the house which hopefully keeps them warm during the winter months. Luckily our deer tend to leave them alone.
DeleteHello Rosemary, Congratulations on your most sun-drenched pictures yet. Ohio has lots of wild lilies, including the friendly (and edible) day-lily (although I am not sure this is classed as a true lily). In Taiwan, some kind of huge, overwhelmingly fragrant lily is often sold and placed in taxicabs--since I am allergic to perfume, I sometimes peer into approaching cabs to see if I can spot the giant flowers.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Hello Jim - the biggest true lily that I am aware of is the Giant Himalayan Lily -
DeleteCardiocrinum giganteum which I would love to grow. It is similar to the Lilium regale, but has wine coloured markings within a white trumpet and grows to over 10 feet tall. Sadly it takes about 7 years before the bulb produces flowers and then it dies.
Consider the lilies - indeed! Your lilies are beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the paintings you included as well. I have one calla lily that was given to me this year and I hope it does well over the winter. While out walking I see lots of them in gardens nearby. I think, like Pondside, I need more!
ReplyDeleteI am sure that your Calla lily should survive well for you - just make sure that it is in a reasonably sheltered spot and you will reap the rewards from it.
DeleteA wonderful post Rosemary. I have always loved lilies and yours are superb.
ReplyDeleteI have always felt that there was something rather exotic about lilies - glad that you enjoyed seeing them too Susan
DeleteSuch beautiful flowers and photos. I adore lilies. However I always cut off those orange pieces off the stamens. Gosh, they leave the worst stains on everything they come in contact with. I am so envious of your beautiful garden. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhen I have lilies indoors then I always remove the stamens too - last week I must have brushed by one of the lilies in the garden whilst weeding and noticed that I had a yellow streak across my hair.
DeleteHello Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteYour garden is spectacular. The lilies I could look at all day and I am sure the scent is intoxicating.
Continued joy as we approach the weekend
Helen xx
Hello Helen - I have always loved lilies and they bring a touch of exoticism into the garden.
DeleteLovely to hear from you and hope you are well♡
Rosemary, what beautiful lilies you have in your garden! I like very much your garden, your photos and I really enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a gardener but I follow the wildflowers in the west part of North Carolina.
Your lilies: Lilium Leichtlinii and Lilium Davidii are similar to our state flower - Carolina lily.
You have mentioned also the Turk's Cap Lily - it is a magnificent flower which we find in our mountains every July. This year the Turk’s Cap Lilies were extremely beautiful and blooming in abundance.
Our nature is beautiful - and no matter whether it is a small garden or a trail somewhere in the mountains.
With warm greetings, Halina
Dear Halina - thank you for your visit and kind comment. I have always loved having lilies in the garden, but love it when I find one growing in the wild. Last month I found a pink Martagon lily in the Austrian Alps and a few years ago whilst in Spain, a Pyrenean lily.
DeleteLove the fact that you have a beautiful lily for your Avatar.
Lovely flowers. It's just as well you live in the dry part of the UK as it's back to webbed feet and near freezing rain up here. Nothing balmy about it on my terrace as I've had the heating on last night and minus one in the Highland glens :o)
ReplyDeleteWe must only be separated by about 300 miles, but our weather systems are so strangely different - I had noticed that it had been freezing in the glens. I was feeling nostalgic for Scotland as I watched "Highlands" - Scotland's Wild Heart last night on BBC2, but don't despair hot weather may be lurking around the corner for you - with luck, an Indian Summer.
DeleteBy the way, I am never too sure whether I am commenting to Alex or Bob!!!
Dearest Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteYou have quite a lovely variety of lilies in your garden and they thrive under your climatic conditions!
We have a few varieties and it's always a struggle for keeping everything alive here.
Lovely photos and also those with the paintings.
Hugs,
Mariette
Dear Mariette - I love lilies as you can probably guess, and it is very fortunate that they also happen to love living in our garden too. Each year they fill me joy at the prospect of their summer flowering.
DeleteYou will have a truly magnificent camera eye and the camera arm.
ReplyDeleteI bought two calla tuber and I planted them in a pot on my balcony in the beginning of summer. No they are not at all the same beautiful as yours. I got only three flowers and different time.
I like also the your lilies.
Hugs
I would suggest that you take care of your balcony Calla lilies by wrapping them in some horticultural fleece over the winter months to keep them warm, or else take them indoors. If they are in a good sized pot over time they will become much bigger and produce more flowers for you - good luck♡
DeleteOh, wonderful! I struggle to grow them (mice) but there is one inherited clump of Turk's cap lily which manages to survive. I cut the last spent stalks off yesterday. It is sad.
ReplyDeleteMany of my lilies are in super large terracotta pots Jessica - may be it helps to protect them from the mice!!!
DeleteSuch beauty in your garden Rosemary and what a joy to have breakfast on the terrace amongst all that beauty. Summer is lovely. :) Here in the south of Sweden the rain has been pouring down these past days so there hasn't been any outdoor meals lately. But the rain will stop sometime and then I'll be heading out. Maybe in wellies though... ;)
ReplyDeleteTake care sweet Rosemary and have a lovely weekend.♥
Charlie
xx
Dear Charlie - we could really do with some rain, the garden pots and the lawn are drying up, but I shall continue to water them with a hose. Sending some sunshine in your direction which I am sure will soon be with you.
DeleteTake care, and have a lovely Sunday with your family♡
What a joy have such a beautiful variety in your garden. I hope that your nice weather continues.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is best to make the most of it as the summer season rolls on so quickly
DeleteYou do have a wonderful collection of lilies. I have tried to grow some this year in a pot and although there are plenty of blooms they are still a while off flowering. How do you get your morning glory to grow. I have been attract so often to their colour and have tried them so many times and failed. The slugs and snails seem to always eat them. Sarah x
ReplyDeleteHello Sarah - I grow my Morning Glories from seed which I sow during May. I don't put them into the ground but in large terracotta pots because as you mention they are very vulnerable, and I also put something in the pot for them to climb up. However, it is necessary to watch them carefully as several of mine usually end up having their stalks chewed off by some unknown critters. If you sow several seeds then hopefully sufficient of them will survive to bring you their lovely flowers.
DeleteAlternatively you can sow them earlier in the green house and take them out when they are established - about 14 inches high, then put in large pots.