2004-09-18. The Stump Garden with Oxblood Lilies.
This picture lies. I wish the garden really were as cool and inviting as this picture makes it look. But it isn’t. I took this shot of the oxblood lilies about 10 on Saturday morning. It was only in the mid-80s, but very muggy–the kind of summer weather that makes you retreat inside to a cold lemonade. I had just mown the lawn the night before, and with our rain last week it’s greened up. But the telephoto lens compresses the focus, making tha garden seem more compact and comely than it is.
My neighbor’s yard is a mass of lantana right now and I benefit because the butterflies it attracts wander over to my yard. They seem fond of the garlic chives. I have some lantana, too. But I have too much shade to suit it and it rarely blooms.
Category: Garden Essays | 2 Comments »
Oxblood lilies, the soul of Zanthan Gardens. 2004-09-16. Austin, Texas.
Dateline: 2004
If fall is the South’s spring, then oxblood lilies are our daffodils.
About three inches of rain which fell the other day have brought out the oxblood lilies en masse. A few had bloomed earlier when I watered the lawn near them. But those were just teasers. The garlic chives have been blooming since August 12. The hyacinth bean vines are flowering. I think they do best in the fall. The sago palm is putting out new fronds. I’m relieved since this is the first time since I transplanted it into the garden. Mostly I’m working inside the house right now, and just admiring the garden from within.
It’s in the 90s and muggy again this week after some cool dry weather last week. So it doesn’t feel like fall anymore. But we really needed the rain in the city. The last few storm systems to the northwest (which dumped 10 inches around Marble Falls) didn’t bring us any rain.
Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Week by Week in the Garden | 2 Comments »
