Monday, August 2, 2010

Black Beauty

BlackBeauty2

Well....the first of my lilies has finally bloomed! I've been wanting lilies in the garden since I first started tearing up the old lawn and planting the garden last summer. I had to wait until I had most of it done to decide where to put them, exactly. I wanted them to be a focal point, but to also blend in with everything around them. I'm not sure if I've sited them particularly well, but time will tell, as they multiply and the plants around them mature and fill in. The species I decided on for my fist lily was, fittingly enough 'Black Beauty'. I say fittingly as it was the first cloned lily, developed in the 50's by Leslie Woodriff. It's supposed to be tough-as-nails and very vigorous, two qualities I love. I've always been partial to the "turks-cap" type of lilies, the ones with recurved petals. I've always thought they looked to exotic and dramatic. Growing up in Nebraska, the only lilies we had in our garden were Tiger Lilies, which I loved so much. I thought their form was appealing and was entranced by their dark, pollen-stained stamens. 'Black Beauty' has the loveliest, dark maroon petals which are outlines in white. The throat is dark with small, darker bumps, which give it a freckled appearance. I'm in love with the flowers, and my only regret is that it isn't particularly fragrant. Still, I can't wait to see it grow over the years!

2 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous lily! I love lilies too, I had to remove ll the ones from my garden when we lived in Massachusetts, because of the lily leaf beetle. But now that I'm here in the PNW (no lily leaf beetles here, yay!), I can have them again. We think alike, my plan was to get most of the bones and perennials into my new garden, and then figure out where to put the lilies.

    I love the plain old Stargazer best, but I might just have to get that Black Beauty too, that dark maroon is one of my all-time favorite colors in the garden.

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  2. Thanks Alison...it's a shame about the lily beetles...that would break my heart to tear out lilies :-( I'm with you on Stargazer...I'm totally getting some for next year, you just can't beat them for that AMAZING fragrance. I'm saving a little spot for them right by the front walkway so I can enjoy them whenever I walk by!

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