Lily Gluttony
I got the look tonight. It was delivered by the lady who walks here somethingorother-poo and its given to all of us who have too many lilies in life. You know the look. It combines a stare of disbelief, a roll of the eyes, a covetous sigh, and the growl of sheer, unabashed envy (the growl might have come from the dog). For a few fleeting minutes, I felt a whole lot like Marie Antoinette. But then I got over it. And I fell back into wallowing in my lilies, the hell with the fact that the rest of the world was drooling. Let them eat hemerocallis.
Graffiti
I must say that I richly deserved the look. I was asking for it when I planted all those Tangos by the road. Ive never been one to dabble in out-of-control consumerism per se, but this was a blatant case of conspicuous consumption.
Neighbors are philosophical about most flowers, Ive found. Put your echinaceas along the road and everyone just thinks that youre the neighborhood wild child. But theres something over the top about lilies in general. Its like theyre the orchids of the outdoor world. And Tangos are particularly immodest.
Pup Art
What is it about Tangos, youre wondering? Well, its their galaxy of black speckles in the center. Thats their hallmark. Like the Milky Way in reverse, the shiny black accent serves as a stunning contrast to the petal colors. It pulls your eye to the center like mascara sends your gaze straight to eye contact. Theres a whole group of these beauts created by Mak Breeding in the Netherlands. And I confess, I met several of them in Holland before they were officially released. Some are semi-neon in color. And you guessed it those were the ones that I sprang for. In quantity.
Pup Art
Graffiti is all well and good with its tiger-like configuration of black dots against a school bus yellow field. But my heartthrob is Pup Art (I suspect they meant Pop Art, but the correct spelling was apparently lost in translation from the Dutch). Were talking seething saffron red with shimmering black freckles. It opens later than Graffiti and its the fashion statement thats caused the stir on the street. Especially with the poo crowd.
Because these are Asiatics, they miss the boat on fragrance. And I must say, that swoony fragrance (Im borrowing a phrase from Anna Pavord here, from her new book, Bulb) can be more than slightly overwhelming when your garden is within reach out the window from your office. Granted, I gratefully send the scent of heliotrope wafting inward to mask the odor of girl-slaving-over-computer, but lily aroma would leave me panting and fanning myself on the floor. Thus more sweat.
Royal Sunset
The Tangos arent the only game in town. I also do other Asiatics and they fill a hiccup in the garden that would otherwise be relatively boring. I give a lot of the other perennials a midsummer crewcut hoping for a second flush. Meanwhile, the lilies entertain during the intermission. The trick lies in surrounding them with perennials that work up to their height. And I cant quite gather the height necessary to surround the Trumpets. So that explains why theyre not in residence. I used to have a slew of Orientals, but the chipmunks shared my admiration. Now I surround all my lily bulbs in a nest of oyster shells. It works (so far). But theres another issue thats even more of a problem for lilies.
Anybody else battling lily beetle out there? This is a bright red varmint who makes King Kong seem tame. This culprit never sleeps. They start in earliest spring, occur all summer, they have sex continually, their larvae is smeared wall-to-wall and the grossest mass of black goop, and they require around the clock vigilance. They also decimate fritillarias and Solomon seal. I have to devote half an hour daily to their eradication (I just pick them off and watch with glee as they drown in my handy can of oil, Im organic here).
Another issue with lilies is that theyre purportedly poisonous to cats. I dont say that from personal experience Einstein is such a hellcat that hes kept indoors, safe from cars and coyotes. But the lilies are also safe from him and vice versa.
Black Out
So I guess that you can say these divas are high maintenance. But nobody ever claimed that looking absolutely ravishing is easy. Maybe just maybe thats why the neighbors walk over here to get their lily fix.
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