Colchicum cilicicum Might Be My Favorite

Of the four types of Colchicum blooming in my garden right now, Colchicum cilicicum might be my favorite.  Its color is more vivid than the others (including 'Giant', 'Waterlily' and what I'm guessing is C. byzantinum), and it has multiplied amazingly well since I planted it last year.  Of course our cool, wet, long spring was perfect weather for most bulbs to increase this year. 



The bulbs in my garden have sent out up to 6 or 7 flowers each.  They look best in a large grouping where you don't notice the lack of leaves so much.  The tulip-like leaves grew in spring and died back by midsummer.  When planting colchicums, it's easy to think only of the flowers and forget that the large clumps of leaves will grow in that spot next spring.



The flowers are mostly white when they first poke through the ground and become more colorful as they mature.  Bees like them, and so do my neighbors.  These bulbs aren't as commonly available as the spring bulbs that are filling the garden centers right now.  I've ordered colchicums from White Flower Farm and from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. 



I posted about C. cilicicum bulbs here last fall (including photos of the leaves), but these photos are better.  Colchicums last well as cut flowers, though C. cilicicum would only work in a small bouquet because of its short stems.

  

Colchicums are one of the few plants that are best transplanted while in bloom.  I moved these three bulbs this week and look forward to bunches more blooming here next fall.

The Last Lily of Summer

Lilium speciosum var. rubrum is blooming for the first time in my garden right now.  This is by far the last true lily to bloom, as the Asiatics bloomed in June and the Orientals followed in July. 



It is very fragrant.  I keep expecting it to smelly spicy like Oriental 'Stargazer' lilies, since the coloring reminds me of that cultivar, but the scent is sweeter than that.  More like a bearded iris.  Very yummy!



Although they can grow to 5 feet tall, mine are under 3 feet right now.  The bulbs probably need a few years to reach full size, and this part of the garden needs more compost to help the plants along. 



The blooms are so graceful.  I used to dismiss the downward-facing lilies, but they're definitely growing on me. 



I also have a few of the white version, Lilium speciosum var alba.  The petals on this flower aren't as recurved as the others yet, but I expect they'll keep reaching backward.  I'm very happy to have these new additions to the late summer garden.

Boxwood 'Wee Willie' and the Daylily Purge

Last week I added five of these adorable 'Wee Willie' boxwoods (Buxus sinicar var. insularis) to the west flagstone garden.  They will grow slowly to just two feet tall and wide and keep their green color through the winter (though with my experiences with other boxwoods, I expect they'll look a little washed out during the coldest months, even if they don't turn bronze). 



I was also considering 'Little Rascal' holly shrubs (Ilex 'Mondo'), but my friend at the nursery said I'd need to keep those hollies constantly fertilized to keep them looking healthy.  Plus, they turn purple in the winter instead of staying green and get a little wider, at 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide.  So it was Wee Willie instead. 



I'm excited that these little guys will require almost no maintenance and will provide pretty spots of green all year.   



My daylily addiction recovery program is progressing, though it has been hard to give so many up.  My collecting tendencies are whining about it all.   Yesterday my husband dug up a couple dozen more daylilies and after bagging and labeling them,  I dropped them off at a friend's house.  The total number of daylilies in my yard has been reduced from 72 to 45.  Much more manageable.  This reduction has also left more space for other plants that needed it, like my 'Rozanne' geraniums.  And another 'Coral Supreme' peony that's on order to come this fall.  
The gardens really do look much better with the remaining plants given the space they need and without such a heavy dose of daylily foliage.   'Autumn Wood' (above) was one of the keepers (love its heavenly fragrance and vigorous growth), in three groupings of three each.  I also kept groupings of 'Francine Joiner' and 'Smoky Mountain Autumn' in the front garden because these peach flowers make such a great color combo with the Pink Double Delight coneflowers and lavender 'Rozanne' geraniums that bloom at the same time.  I kept one plant each of several types of pink daylilies because I couldn't bear to give them up entirely (they're tucked into less visible corners or the backyard).  I decided I could probably work 'Big Smile' (pale yellow with pink ruffles) into the backyard color scheme, so several of those plants are sitting in the garage.  Paring back is painful but the results make it worthwhile.