A Summer of Lilies

When I think of summer flowers, my thoughts begin with the common Day Lily.   I think of big patches of them along roadsides.

When I wanted this photo, I discovered that they were becoming difficult to find.  It appears town highway departments largely mow them down.   This patch was where the mower couldn't reach.

Look closely at a Day Lily.  Sure, it's common but lovely.

When I think of lilies, I recall this Stargazer Lily that the squirrels brought to our garden many years ago.  It was surely a matter of theft from a neighbor's plantings.  It disappeared a few years later.  Squirrel again?

My pursuit of beautiful lilies includes the Herb Garden at the Cornell Botanic Gardens in nearby Ithaca, where the garden design includes complementary colors surrounding the subject flowers.

Another lily that I have found in the Herb Garden areas is the flamboyant Turk's Cap.  It's on steroids!

I picked the Turk's Cap to prepare for a shift to a native lily that can inspire me to drive as much as 1-3/4 hours to see an abundant colony.   I have a fascination with wild plants that thrive without intervention, and in spite of whitetail deer predation.  So, here is a group of Canada Lilies on the banks of the Susquehanna River, that I was shown in 2015.

Look at how they sometimes erupt into a ring of flowers atop the slender stalk.

In other places, the Canada Lily can hide in a stand of tall grasses. 

I've even seen one - just one - that was in the process of opening.  I love it.

I'll admit that the Day Lilies, Star Gazers and even the Turk's Caps were simply vehicles to bring you to my passion for the Canada Lily.

They are so lovely, and so very wild, that I treasure them each time I find them.

Paul