The owners of the retail center in which our tax office is located are really great at keeping flowers out front of the businesses and such. At Easter time, they gave each business in the center a potted Easter lily.
As tax season grew to a close, the lily in our office began to look as we were feeling. :) Our office manager asked if I'd like to take it home and plant it for next year, so I did.
Honestly, I don't know anything about planting things. Everything I've ever planted, truly, has ended up dead. Robert enjoys gardening and has had some success, especially with his raised vegetable garden (anyone need a zucchini?), but our grass never looks great; the peach tree that we planted with Pop and for Pop has died; the plum tree has died; the tree that came with the house in the front yard is just about dead; and pretty much every plant ever given me has not survived.
Still I brought it home, and with no expectations whatsoever, gave it to Robert to take care of.
Truthfully I didn't even know that he had planted it in the ground.
We have had a beautiful summer this year, with a little (or a lot, depending on who you ask) less rain than we usually get over the summer. It hasn't been California-style hot, but has generally been pleasant and uneventful.
So this lily... this EASTER lily, mind you... well... see for yourself:
I carpooled with a couple of girlfriends to Bible study this week, and in the car, I said, "So, I know nothing about gardening, but I would think since an Easter lily is called an Easter lily, it should only bloom around Easter time. Do they ever bloom in late September?" Both my friends said together, "No!"
When we returned, I saw the lilies blooming and pointed them out to my friends. They were both astonished by it. The original lily is dead, really, at the base of the plant, but there are six or so heavy new blooms. They are absolutely beautiful.
My friends seemed to think it could be some kind of sign or something from God, certainly a blessing at least, as this is most unusual. I'm not sure what to think about it. This week marked the change of seasons into fall, where (what I do know about plants!) flowers and trees pretty much wrap it up for the winter. Certainly our little family has been in a season of life that has felt more like fall than springtime. So what do you make of this spring flower blooming here at the beginning of fall?
This is my Father's world
The birds, their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white
Declare their Maker's praise
- M Babcock / P Mickelson
3 comments:
here let me google that for you:
It is very difficult to force Easter lilies into bloom a second time indoors. An alternative is to plant them outdoors in Spring, where they may bloom again in summer or Fall. The plants will need a site with bright light but some shelter from extreme heat and wind.
Plant the Easter Lily bulbs 3 inches below ground level, and mound up an additional 3 inches of topsoil over the bulb. Plant bulbs at least 12 to 18 inches apart in a hole sufficiently deep so that the bulbs can be placed in it with the roots spread out and down, as they naturally grow. Spread the roots and work prepared soil in around the bulbs and the roots, leaving no air pockets. Water immediately and thoroughly after planting.
As the original plants begin to die back, cut the stems down to the soil surface. New growth will soon emerge. The Easter Lilies, which were forced to bloom under controlled greenhouse conditions in March, bloom naturally in the summer. So, you may be rewarded with a second bloom later in the summer or possibly even the following summer (depending on temperatures and conditions in your area).
Another planting tip to consider is that lilies like their roots in shade and their heads in the sun. Use mulching to help conserve moisture. Or, plant a "living mulch" of shallow-rooted, complementary annuals or perennials. Stately Easter Lilies rising above lacy violas or primulas is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also good gardening.
Hey, thanks.
But given that we are inept gardeners, accidental at best, I think I'll choose to call it still a blessing from God. :)
it is a blessing from God - regardless of what man does. Just wanted to let you know it's "normal". we order 100 + lilies at easter. peeps can donate and take one home...many just do the donation thing but don't take them home. same with poinsettias. and they get tossed. makes me really sad...i think we should have garden of left overs and tend them through the year(s). no one wants to do it. and me - well i just have really good ideas. i don't do any of them. haha
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