Dearest’s New/Old Love

As if  by magic, stalks appear mid-summer in my garden. These stalks are topped with deep pink buds that begin to separate and as they open, their color changes to a lovely, translucent pink.

The dramatic appearance of these lovely ladies, I think have leant reason to some of its names: Resurrection Lily, Naked Lady, Surprise Lily, and Magic Lily.

These flowers are Lycoris squamigera – a member of the Amaryllis family. These lovely flowers develop their green leaves during the spring, these leaves die back and late summer the beautiful blooms will appear.

These lilies were here when we moved in and it is my guess that they were initially planted a very long time ago by a previous owner – of whom I have been the pleased to be the newest caretaker of so many vintage cottage plants.

Surprise Lilies are thought to have originated in Japan and brought to the states in the late 1800’s.

These hardy bulbs are very easy to grown and blend well in the summertime with other long, wide leaved plants as their foliage had died back months before.  As these plants are bulbs, they multiply and are easily divided every three to five years – to some extent naturalizing in the garden bed.

These bulbs are easy to grow and can be ordered or better yet, shared from other friendly gardeners.

Growing Tips:

• Surprise Lilies grow best in full sun and can be grown in light shade
• These bulbs grow best in well-drained soil, but are hearty enough for clay or sandy soil
• plant the bulbs from two to six inches deep. The colder your climage, the deeper you should plant.
• plant bulbs about six inches apart.
• lightly mulch over the soil
• a word of caution – these flowers may be slightly toxic to animals and children –

Now! Onto Dearest’s New/Old Love

For years, this old 53 Chevrolet truck had been sitting in a spot at my Father-in-Law’s farm. Dearest and I would walk by it – I knew he loved it and would like to have it to restore. Last weekend he and his brother brought it home. Now, Dearest is dreaming of paint colors, parts and all the things he wishes to do to restore this sweet, old truck. We believe the original color was the blue you see here and there.

Overall, this beautiful old truck is in good shape. This will be a longterm project – that’s o.k. This will be one that he will enjoy – I think the fun part is that we can already see it renewed.

One more thing. I have been waiting all summer for this Variegated Geranium to bloom! Finally there are three stalks and I see a hint of what color the bloom will be –

I do so love Geraniums! Garden surprises, a work from the heart and long awaited results – these are a few things that we’re celebrating today at A Delightsome Life.