Some flowers just seem to have it all……beauty, hardiness,; endurance, uniqueness, and grace.
The Oxblood Lily sets herself apart from the rest of the flowers in a garden…..Fall is her time to shine. I suppose all flowers are unique, but the Oxblood simply stands out among the crowd. Even people who don’t garden notice her.
“We have these ‘red things’ that come up every year that are simply gorgeous”
Every year she arrives out of nowhere. Summer’s unwanted guest symbolizing Fall has begun. The end of the squelching heat. The beginning of the changing seasons.
Some people refer to her as a Naked Lady…..carelessly blooming on her long stem legs before her green clothing arrives. Some also call her the Schoolhouse Lily….often blooming the first day of school.
I simply refer to her as lovely.
I have dug Oxbloods for over 25 years. I have yet to get bored…..which actually says a lot. Each time I see a clump of old Oxbloods, my heart skips a few beats.
True Love.
The most recent dig was bittersweet……pulling these lovely 100 year old bulbs from the parched, torn up earth made me sad. I hate to think our culture values flowers so little, and that heirloom gardens are so easily discarded. Each bulb I pulled from the rubble seemed to whisper a gentle ‘thank you’.
Oxblood Lillies thrive in almost any soil. Most lillies put out miniature bulbs at the base, and continually reproduce each year. Oxbloods survive drought and almost any human error. Oxbloods reward their gardener with a lovely, eye catching blood-red lily at the beginning of Fall…..after the first rainfall. I haven’t found a thing that I don’t love about these bulbs.
What is your garden love? Are you surrounding yourself with flowers that make your heart beat? Have you fallen in love with your garden’s story?
Surround yourself with beauty. Let your heart skip a beat. Breathe in the loveliness. There are flowers, there are heirlooms…..and then there is the Oxblood Lily.