I went to the gardens yesterday and just surveyed the wonderful things that are beginning to happen. It has been a few years of (lovingly) hard work since the gardens at the studio began. They say it takes thirteen years for a garden to become established, and I am well aware of the awkward youthfulness of my gardens. I do have a few native trees that have popped up, along with native ground covers and perennial wildflowers which are good signs of a garden’s health. The lot behind the chicken coop, with the infamous rock path that keeps me busy moving rock herexand there, was my COVID quarantine project of 2020. Things are slowly beginning to come together. It is good to step back and just look at the beauty without your check list of tasks.
As I was walking along the little path, I spotted the first Oxblood Lily that broke through the hard earth after the recent sprinkle of rain. I didn’t think that it had rained enough to wake the Lilies from their slumber,, but lo and behold…..my first Oxblood Lily of the season.. After all my years in gardening, I still don’t understand how a delicate Oxblood Lily can break through it’s environment unharmed, and then present a flower worthy of an English flower competition as if it had never had a day of work in it’s life.
The cycles of a bulb is much like that of a butterfly. A bulb puts forth greenery to live and grow. Next, the bulb has an apparent death as the greenery dies. The bulb will stay dormant and “sleeps” through hibernation. Finally, the beautiful resrrection of all that seemed to be gone appears in a lovely flower.
That, my friends, is why I love the Oxblood Lily.
Every single garden needs a visual reminder that things will be ok….
All that seemed to be lost is not.
Tough seasons in life do, indeed, have an end.
The brown, crisp,, awful feeling of summer will give way to a beautiful, colorful change of season.
Oxblood Lilies have been symbolic for hope since they were first brought to Texas from their German ancestors. Clumps of Oxblood Lilies can still be found throughout the South, showing signs of early homesteads that were once cared for, nurtured and loved.
Let’s face it…..taking time to plant a bulb in hardened soils is a labor of love. Many of these old homesteads had very little water. It was hard living…..and yet, they took the time to plant an Oxblood Lily. These early pioneers knew that beauty was important, reminders of their homelands incredibly meaningful and that an Oxblood Lily was a sure thing. When the heat of summer was overwhelming,, water was running low,, cattle were struggling to find hay, the Oxblood would always find a way to break through the hardened environment and bloom…..I want the kind of hope and faith of those early settlers and my own Danish ancestors.
My first Oxblood is about to bloom. It has already broken through the ground, so the hard part is over. It is time to watch the beauty of nature take over.
If you don’t have Oxblood Lilies in your garden, please don’t wait…..email me and I will give you three for free. That is a $15 value for no strings attached. No need to order anything else. This is my gift to you. Email heirloombulbgirl@gmail.com I truly believe this flower represents everything good in life.
Happy Gardening, my friends! It’s going to be a beautiful day.