The First Lily of 2014

Lillies do okay here, not great.  They're fun, though, for as long as they last.
I've had Anagallis monellii a few times.  Now called Lysimachia monelli, it's a perennial or annual, depending on what you read.  It lives a year, sometimes two, sometimes six months here.  Supposedly it reseeds, but I've not been so lucky as to get that.  But the blue!  Love blue!
 photo 6-2-2014-8165_zps79cbf0fd.jpg 
'Laguna' is starting to sprout new growth.  Hurry, before you sunburn.
 photo 6-2-2014-8159_zps88c13d2f.jpg
The pumpkins have appeared:
 photo 6-2-2014-8178_zps251bf139.jpg
More Dahlias are begining.
 photo 6-2-2014-8151_zps6ce15daa.jpg
I unceremoniously dumped the spent 'Blue Glow' Agave carcass in the green bin last week, without even a photo. The bloom stalk it managed to produce after all the roots had vanished produced a big mass of flowers, but that was its last hurrah.  Replaced with an Aloe ferox that desperately needed out of its pot, watched over by a trio of  'Blue Glow's approaching their prime.   
 photo 6-2-2014-8196_zpsfcf1f21a.jpg
Not to mourn, though.  The seedlings are slowly growing, a millimeter at a time.  The bulbils are rooted.  Agaves do not die.  They transform themselves into multiple miniature versions of their old selves. 
 photo 6-2-2014-8184_zps1aa3d8ce.jpg
Through it all, the roses bloom and bloom.
 photo 6-2-2014-8162_zpsd9ad7758.jpg 
Now, back to work. 

Comments

  1. I love the blue of the Anagellis monelli and I am always impressed by your succulents, like here the ´Blue Glow´ gave.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your Blue Glow babies. It's fun to watch the grow.

    None of the three Asiatic lilies I planted last year came back. I guess our winter was too dry ?!?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All I know is you have to water them (light to moderate) even when they are dormant.

      Delete
  3. Those 'Blue Glow' Agave really do look like they're watching over the Aloe. Do you know the name of the pink lily? It looks a lot like the one I have, which is also in bloom. I got mine as a gift with a mail order purchase but, if it had been given a name, I didn't record it. Mine has zero scent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got that pink lily at the SCP garden show back in '09 from two Dutch ladies who had two big sacks of lillies on a table. The lily bulbs were $2 each. The ladies seemed to be selling them to help pay for their Southern California vacation. They told me they were 'Casablanca', which obviously they are not. Yes, not one iota of fragrance.

      The Agaves looming over the Aloe reminded me of the Rockwell painting that sold recently, 'The Rookie', with the veteran players eyeing the new kid arrived in the locker room.

      Delete
  4. I had Casa Blanca lilies that thrived and increased in numbers for years, then suddenly disappeared. I'm starting over this year and they're about knee-high on their way (I hope) to 6' plus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here, about 3', if I'm lucky. Mine disappeared too.

      Delete
  5. Anagallis is divine! I grew a pot of them last summer and they were gorgeous all season in their beautiful coat of blue. I'm so intrigued with your baby agaves... love them. Lilies, a love hate relationship I'm afraid. They used to be the best, easiest blast of color in the gardens and now are a maintenance nightmare with the horrible Asiatic Lily Beetle... and so it goes with gardening. If something doesn't work, do something else

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very wise words--if it doesn't work, do something else. Yes, yes! :^)

      Delete
  6. Hooray for your first lily! Mine won't be blooming for a few weeks yet. I love lilies but because of botrytis the ones in my beds don't look as spectacular as they used to so am now trying growing them in containers instead. Love your agave quote about them never dying - Started singing "The Circle of Life!"

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Always interested in your thoughts.

Any comments containing a link to a commercial site with the intent to promote that site will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.