Tiny Lily Update, Can You Tell Them Apart Without the Flowers?

I'm finally learning the difference between the different lily types in Chris' collection. They all sound similar so luckily I made a map a while ago that shows me what is where. Here is a status report on the emerging lilies:

Lily 'Tiny Invader'

Lily 'Tiny Pearl'

Lily 'After Eight'

Lily 'Tiny Shadow'

Recap: Best Blooms Summer 2016

I have a ton of photos from early spring before anything was really happening, and then as soon as things really started blooming my blogging slowed down. Here is a recap of summer bloom photos that I neglected to post.

Siberian iris

Lily 'After Eight'

Erigeron speciosus 'Darkest of All'

Hosta 'Frozen Margarita'

Siberian iris

Lily 'After Eight'

Salvia sylvestris 'Little Night'

Purple coneflower 'Magnus'

Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum'

Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’

Lily 'Tiny Invader'

Lily 'Tiny Pearl' (front) and 'Tiny Invader' (back)

Lily 'Tiny Shadow'

Those Effing Rabbits!! Decapitated Dusseldorf Pride

I'm seeing red, I'm steaming right now! I feel powerless against them, and yet I'm forced to slowly watch them devour my garden bit by bit. Every morning I wake up and enjoy a cup of coffee outside in the cool spring air and I inspect my garden, only to find teeth marks and decapitated flowers. I think it's all just the same rabbit. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I blame my neighbors for not planting anything. Nothing! My back yard is a beacon of deliciousness. Can you blame the rabbits? They would be happy to come from all corners of the neighborhood to feast on my tasty variety of offerings - when what is the alternative? Overgrown juniper bushes and crooked solar powered LED lights? I probably sound like a huge garden snob right now but I don't care, I'm a target.

Rabbits decapitated every last flower on my Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride'

My EverLast^™ Lavender Lace Dianthus 'KLEDG13146' wasn't safe, they systematically stripped every flower from 3 plants side by side, working their way down the row.

Now it's personal, you don't mess with the perfect radial symmetry of my 'Tiny Pearl' lily

Lilium 'Tiny Pearl' Seed Pods

My Lilium 'Tiny Pearl' is way past blooming and has mature seed pods on the dried up stalks. They split open and rattle if you touch the stems. Tiny thin seeds fly out of the dried pods. I thought, "wow wouldn't it be cool to grow some more from seed?" Well, after finding this video, I realized that might not be so easy. 

Oriental lilies can take weeks to germinate, and then months in the fridge to get ready for next season. No thanks! I'd rather buy them for $2 in September when they're just slightly out of season but growing just fine. 

New Additions: After Eight Oriental Lily and Japanese Painted Fern

This happens all the time, I went out to get something very specific (bluegrass seed to re-seed over what my dad thinks is just the annual rye from a mixed bag) and I came home with 2 new plants: a Japanese Painted Fern [Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum'] for the OTHER shade garden (the bamboo side), and an oriental lily called After Eight [Lilium 'After Eight'] that I thought Chris would like since he loves his Lilium 'Tiny Pearl' that he picked out.

Lilium 'After Eight'

'After Eight' on the left and 'Tiny Pearl' on the right

Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum'

Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum' - young and not very 'painted' just yet

I saw a Japanese Painted Fern at work in the full shade bed behind a residence hall, and I've been eyeing it online for a while. It's actually on my wish list and now I get to cross it off.

I got the Lilium 'After Eight' because it's full height should be a little taller than Tiny Pearl, and it should fit into the area by the downspout where the hibiscus used to be. When I tore out the hibiscus I found it was chalk white all the way down to the root, dry and brittle, and sitting in a puddle of water - I had dug a hole in the clay and filled it with the hibiscus' very fluffy potting mix, so it had been filling up like a bucket. Before planting the lily I filled it with top soil and tried to raise the lily up a bit.