Last Week in June

Not a lot of sun, not a lot of heat, but enough to bring the first of the lilies into bloom.  Even if there were a lot of sun, I'm in the trees, so my lilies have to really work to get themselves going.  These are about 4 feet tall, and each stalk has about ten buds.

The top two are different plants but the same kind: Graffity.  The bottom one might be called Mambo.  (I put plastic tags on each plant with the name written in permanent marker, but all the names disappeared anyway over the winter.)

I buy lily bulbs from a place in Port Townsend, WA, B&D Lilies (http://www.bdlilies.com/lilybulbs.html) and they're kind of pricey ($3-$5/each), but they are real producers.  Different kinds of lilies bloom in different months; there are tall ones and shorter ones; some are scented, others not; many colors and shading.  If you've got 6 hours a day of sun and soil that is reasonably well-drained, they'll be winners.  And they make great cut flowers, too.  So, are you persuaded?  I don't really care whether you have lilies in your garden or not.  I just am awfully pleased with mine so need to talk about them.