The Eternal Flower

  Back years ago,  Aunt Marie gave me some lily bulbs.  Those things were huge!  She called them "Ruby Lilies" so the name stuck with me. She also gave some that she dubbed "Peppermint Lilies". Like the others, I still call those by her descriptive name even though, I have found that they are both Crinum Lilies.  The Ruby Lilies are the loveliest shade of ruby pink while the Peppermint Lilies are white and pink striped.  Both lilies are highly scented!  When blooming, the entire yard can be filled with delightfully sweet aroma.  This I like!  Highly scented flowers can help mask the not so delightful scent of low tide on the mudflats.

  Besides being highly scented and quite lovely, the lilies are perhaps the easiest garden flowers to grow.  Once established, the Crinum Lilies are nigh on impossible to kill so even the laziest of gardeners can have a lush bed of loveliness!  It is not uncommon to find abandoned homesteads from long ago that still have huge beds of the lilies in bloom.  Those lilies usually have bulbs that are near basketball size unlike the smaller two to three inch bulbs that are sold in stores.  Those "antique" bulbs can weigh up to twenty pounds each!  Some folks claim that the Crinum Lilies are eternal.  They never die no matter how badly you treat them.  Forget to water them, never give them fertilizer, run over them with your lawnmower, spray with herbicide...the lilies live. Mine withstood the ravages of hurricanes, were doused with the salty flood waters, lay hidden under ten feet of debris and took the mistreatment of our tractors as we cleaned the mess.  Once uncovered, the lilies burst forth with masses of leaves and then bloomed!  

 Since the lilies have so many good attributes, you would think that more gardeners would add them to the landscape.  Like all good things, there is usually a downside...a dark cloud that hovers just overhead.  With the Crinum lilies, I have only found one.  NEVER plant them where you do not want them.  Once well established, it is nigh on impossible to move them.  If you do wish to ever take out the entire clump of lilies, you better utilize a large tractor.  Otherwise, you will work yourself into a frenzy trying to dislodge the huge bulbs.  No wonder I love these things!  I better. I sure do not plan on moving them!

Cut Flowers?

Meandering the garden path today, I came across the lovely Ruby Lilies.  These and the Peppermint Lilies will bloom for a good bit of the summertime before finally settling into their dormant stage.  It is then that the bulbs will continue their growth.  Already these bulbs are about eight inches in diameter.  They put out leaves that can reach three feet in length and then those lovely, lovely blooms!  Not only are the flowers quite showy but they smell divine!  Both the Ruby and Peppermint Lilies are types of Crinum Lilies and do so well in most gardens.

Ruby Lilies are in bloom!

Two blooms that had been cut from the stalk by some nasty critter!

I was breathing in the sweet scent when I noticed a few of the blooms had been cut from the stalk!  My first thought was that some large critter had run through the garden and knocked the flowers around until they broke.  My poor lilies!  Then I spied the culprit!  She was large but not nearly as large as what I imagined.  Hiding under one of the leaves, an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper was escaping the hot afternoon sun.  Aha!  So, you have decided to munch my lilies, have you?  Not for long!  After a quick photo session, the grasshopper met its demise!

The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper that was eating my lilies!

Closeup of the hungry critter that was damaging my flowers!

Before I left the lily garden, I found and killed twenty three more of the grasshoppers.  Some were still in their black and red stage (juvenile) and had not yet molted to their adult colors.  The first one I found had already molted and had developed her wings.  Not that these wings are used for flying but more as a method of communication. She will flash her wings and make a funny "clicking" noise to attract a mate.  Then every male grasshopper in the yard will come running!  Afterwards, her egg cases will be deposited in the ground where they will stay until next spring.  Once mature enough, the little ones will crawl to the surface and cluster together as they gather warmth from the early, springtime sun.  Hatched red, they will soon turn jet black.  Then...the Grasshopper Dance will begin in earnest.  The ones today were escapees from the fate met by their many, many siblings.  Still, there are enough around to spawn about a zillion more that will eat my yard bare of any green leaf!

Nary a drop....

And the thunder rolled...but nothing happened. I thought sure we were going to get rain today and perhaps have a brief break from the heat and drought. The clouds came..the lightning bounced..the thunder boomed..nary a drop of water fell from the sky. It was a bit heartbreaking to see the plants so withered and dry. Each day, I try to water a different garden. I soak the ground in hopes that I can at least pull the plants through the drought. The heat combined with the dryness sears the ground and scorches the plants..yes..it is that hot and that dry. Today, the thermometer read 103. Late this evening, I dragged the hose to the north side of the house. Here, the squash garden lay bare. We had pulled out the dying plants and put in four rows of crowder peas. These peas are at least a bit more drought tolerant than most plants. But I did not come to water that garden. Next to the house there is a pathway with flowers on each side. These gardens have not been watered in weeks..I was trying to save the vegetables. The Irises and Day Lilies were already too far gone to benefit from the water but the Marigolds and Four-o-clocks still struggled on to put out a few blooms. As I was watering, a lovely scent filled the air!..the Red Crinum Lilies were in full bloom! How in the world can they be so lovely even with the lack of moisture?

The Red Crinum Lilies and the Peppermint Crinum Lilies are two of my favorite plants to have in the garden. Not only are they lovely but the scent is incredible! As the name suggests, it is a bit minty and lightly sweet. These lilies both grow quite large with the blooms reaching upwards near four feet tall. The Red Crinum is also known locally as "Ruby" lily. It is a lovely soft ruby red with each stalk bearing five to nine large blossoms. The Peppermint version of the Crinum Lily is equally large but is white or pale pink with darker pink stripes. These are definitely not a lily for a small garden or to be kept in pots. The bulbs in my gardens are near eight inches in diameter and are still growing!

A couple of days ago, I wrote about a quail that visited the bird feeders. I was elated to have him come and even put out a ground-level water pan just for him. Everyday, I scatter seeds on the ground and Hubby bought me a sack of cracked corn to supplement the quail's diet. This will be one well-fed bird! Today, though, I am a bit confused. While I was out near the feeders, my friendly quail paid a visit. I tossed a bit of feed on the ground and sure enough..he came running. To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement..I was ecstatic! I stood there wondering just how close he would venture. Sure enough, he kept coming until he was just about four feet from me. I tossed another handful of seeds and made a few clucking type noises. The quail seemed oblivious to my presence and just continued eating. After about twenty minutes of this he finally flew off to the clump of sawtooth palmettos. This whole incident started me thinking..is this someone's pet? Sure..I make friends with a lot of animals but my goodness!..a quail??? And so quickly? I will be out early in the morning to investigate this anomaly a tad further! I almost am afraid for the bird as Ms. Put is likely to take a hankering for quail for breakfast some day and this one would be an easy catch. After today's encounter, I told Hubby that I needed a "quail pen"! ................He just looked at me........and said nothing.