Mid March Garden Update…..with Lilies!

Because of the time change, I was outside to greet the sun this morning and wait for the sprinkler cycle to finish.

I’d hoped to get so much done in the gardens last weekend, but with intermittent rain and consistent high winds, I concentrated mainly on re-potting plants in need of better digs. 😛 See the soft leaf yucca on the patio (left foreground) above? It measured a scant 4 inches when I rescued it from the floor of a Target Garden Center in December, 2009. Since then, it steadily outgrew its original spot, and sprouted SHARP tips to remind me whenever I veered too close. After it acclimates to its new pot (and full sun,) it will join the other large container succulents lining our front walkway.

Remember the super cosmos in late January? They’re back with a vengenance, overgrowing EVERYTHING! Although I really dislike “thinning out” living, breathing plants, I really had no choice. 😥 I filled 3 big pots like this one:

But let the largest one stay in the ground where nature reseeded it last fall:

along with some tough “volunteers” who refused to slip through the cracks 😉

Leave us alone!

Will they survive? 😯 In a few weeks I’ll post a photo update.

I don’t think I’ve ever shown you Treasure Coast soil, sans amendments…Oooh la la 🙄 Not exactly pretty (or loamy!), but it’s where I transplanted a Hylocereus Undatus that’s been languishing since September in a too-tight 8″ x 8″ pot:

Hylocereus produce HUGE, nocturnal, amazingly fragrant, white flowers followed by dragon fruit that is either red or yellow (mine is red.) In addition to sandy soil, this viney cactus requires staking (or a trellis arrangement) so a spot near fencing should be ideal. Before placing it in the ground, I dug a hole 2x deeper than necessary, adding several inches of fresh cactus soil to the bottom. Next, I situated the plant and while backfilling the original sand, snapped off one of the segments 😳 See it there on the left, poking out of the ground, alone? Allegedly, these are fast growing cacti, although that wasn’t my observation of this particular plant…maybe it was just pot-bound. Hopefully, next summer it will look like this:

Oh, but I have saved the best for last!

It seems as if Daylight Savings time ushered in lily season, and nothing makes my smile more! As I’ve said in the past, I am first and foremost a lily gardener

It appears the mystery bulb is some type of white Asiatic lily: in the next picture you’ll see it in sideview , near a Ruby Spider lily just beginning to unfurl:

Stepping back a bit, reveals a clump of yellow Bok Garden lilies; they’ve bloomed continuously since last April, due to a strange lack of winter this year.

Oh!! look in the background….there’s the Ranchero with a glimpse of the watermelon area off to the right, near the crazy-looking rubber tree roots! 🙂 Peering into the middle of the Ranchero you’d find lots of amaryllis whose scapes have appeared in the past 3 days:

And one in the rear cutting garden that just might open tomorrow:

I must confess, this bulb has me stumped!!!! Last spring it opened a clear bright pink!?!!?

😀

Until next time……..

The Girl With the Dragon Fruit – A Girls’ got to eat Post (atreegrowsinbklyn.wordpress.com)

13 thoughts on “Mid March Garden Update…..with Lilies!”

I loved your sunrise, the sky looks so dramatic! But oh to your lillies, they are stunning, and yes I’m envious 🙂

SmallHouseBigGarden says:

March 15, 2012 at 7:57 am

thank you! 🙂 Lilies sure lend drama to the surroundings! The “almost open” amaryllis should be losing the almost by tomw…photo to follow, of course!

You have a really beautiful garden. The first photograph is simply stunning. You captured the sun rise so beautiful. The light of the sun, the brightness in the sky and the shade of the tree; everything is so perfect. Great job with this post. 🙂

Some really good photos, thanks 😉

Asiatic lilies loved our first house for some reason. I bought 3 from Lowe’s one year. The next year 9 came up, and the next year, more than 20. I’ve never been able to duplicate that performance at later houses!

Thanks you for this refreshing stroll through your beautiful garden. You have a wonderful place to get away from the world and soak up nature. 🙂

What an amazing variety of plants you have. I’m sure I’m going to be wishing for a scratch and sniff computer screen when the fragrant flowers appear on the Hylocereus.

I like lilies too!