Gotta Love the Lilies!

Last fall I decided to replace the bed of Stargazer Lilies with Oriental Lily Josephine. The Stargazers had become weak and no longer produced. As first season lily bulbs go, the Josephine blooms are very large, showy and fragrant. They are not as fragrant as Stargazers but I'm not disappointed at all. Next year they should be stunning.

This is a nice closeup of Josephine. Simply beautiful.

Last fall I thought I was planting Golden Stargazer lilies. When they were about 6 inches, I thought the leaves looked a little strange. When they reached 3 feet, I realized they weren't Goldens. Turns out they are African Queen Trumpet Lilies. The color is bold and rich. They are lightly fragrant but not as sweet as Oriental lilies.

Another group of African Queen Trumpet Lilies. The stems required staking but that's probably because this is their first season in the garden. What a nice surprise.

This is a freshly hatched group of Golden Stargazer lilies. The blooms are very large, very fragrant and the stems are usually quite strong. They do require staking after a few years because they can reach 6 or 7 feet and have up to 10 flowers per stem. With our monsoon rain storms, they can topple over from being so top heavy with blooms.

This is a closeup of a newly opened Golden Stargazer.

Scarlet Canna Indica bloomed beautifully this year. In the background you see red Jacob Cline bee balm. Sorry about the glowing red color. For some reason I cannot get my camera to adjust properly to photographing red in the sun. This also happens to red emperor tulips.

Our Mardi Gras roses are starting thier second cycle. They bloom three times a year; late spring, summer and fall with dormant periods in between.

An unknown pink rose we planted about two years ago.

This is a Alcea rosea 'Chater's Red' Double hollyhock that hung on from last season. Normally a biennial, this must be its 3rd year. It only grew about a foot tall but the booms are 2 inches.

Bee Balm, Black Eye Susan and Purple Phlox peeking through in the back.

Filipendula rubra is a favorite of mine. I've been trying to get it established for 5 years. It appears I have finally found a location it likes. The flowers are pink, fluffy and lightly fragrant. It prefers moist soil and will not tolerate dry conditions. Keep it out of afternoon sun because it will burn.

A closeup of Filipendula rubra.

A trio of Liberty Hosta flower spikes. These are still a bit small but they can reach about 2 feet tall.

A Golden Jubilee Hyssop flower with a stoned bumble bee. Hyssop must be like LSD for bumble bees. They eat and eat and eat and then hang on for dear life.