My Blooming Lilies
My Bedford, New York garden is filled with gorgeous, bright, and fragrant lilies - I hope you've seen some of them on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants that grow from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. The beautiful blooms can be enjoyed as cut flowers in an arrangement or growing in the garden - some at two feet, and others as tall as eight feet. I love lilies, and have been growing them for years - Asiatic, Martagon, Candidum, American, Longiflorum, Trumpet and Aurelian, Oriental, and various interdivisional hybrids.
Here are more photos of the gorgeous lilies growing in my gardens this week, enjoy.
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- Many of my lilies are planted in my large flower cutting garden just behind my main greenhouse. I also have lilies growing along the winding pergola, outside my Winter House kitchen, in the sunken garden behind my Summer House, and in the formal garden outside the front of the greenhouse. Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants grown for their very showy, often fragrant flowers.
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- Lily flowers are large and come in a range of colors including yellows, whites, pinks, reds, and purples. These plants are late spring- or summer-flowering. They are native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere.
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- The true lilies are erect plants with leafy stems, scaly bulbs, usually narrow leaves, and solitary or clustered flowers. Rose lily flowers are pollen-free.
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- The lily has a diversity of symbolism throughout the world. In fact, different colored lilies represent different things. While the white lily represents purity, the spotted tiger lily represents pride or confidence. In Japan and China, lilies are a traditional symbol of good luck, whereas Greek lore associates the flower with motherhood.
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- Lily flowers consist of six petal-like segments, which may form the shape of a trumpet, with a more or less elongated tube. The segments may also be reflexed to form a turban shape, or they may be less strongly reflexed and form an open cup or bowl shape.
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- Here’s a beautiful orange lily growing in my flower garden. Lilies like to have their “head in the sun, feet in the shade,” so plant them where they can get at least six hours of full sun per day.
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- Lilies also prefer cool soil – below 60 degrees.
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- When it comes to water, lilies prefer moist soil but not wet feet. Choose a well-drained site, preferably not too dry.
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- My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, always cuts a selection of beautiful flowers to decorate my home. I love to enjoy the gorgeous blooms in my kitchen, where I can see them every day. When cutting flowers, the best time to do it is early in the morning before the sun and wind have a chance to dry the flowers. One can also cut late in the evening after they are rehydrated.
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- When selecting flowers, always consider appearance as well as condition. Cut the stalks when the blooms first open.
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- And before bringing them indoors, be sure to gently pull those anthers off of each flower. Pollen is notorious for staining flesh and fabric. Removing the anthers prevents any pollen from getting on the flower petals, which can eat away at the delicate flower parts and shorten the life of the blooms.
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- When handling lilies, it’s a good idea to wear gloves and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. If you happen to get a pollen stain on your clothing, do not rub! Instead, reach for a roll of tape and use the sticky side to gently dab the area – the particles will adhere to the tape.
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- Lilies have one of the longest in-vase lifespans of any cut bloom and the flowers will continue to mature after they’ve been cut.
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- The cultivation of lilies dates back to 1500 B.C. Many of the bright colors and forms of lilies were found on botanical expeditions during the 1800s in Asia. The Chinese and Japanese lily species were exported to Europe and hybridized to create new varieties that are popular today as cut flowers and as garden plants.
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- I love these bold pink lily blooms marked with white stripes on each petal.
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- These lilies line both sides of the center stone footpath in my sunken garden behind the Summer House. Some are already blooming beautifully in lovely shades of yellow, cream, and white.
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- These lilies have stronger stems than some of the other lilies in my gardens. They also aren’t as tall, so they don’t need individual staking, but we sometimes support them with twine along the entire row to keep their large heads from drooping.
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- Lilium superbum is a species of true lily native to the eastern and central regions of North America. Common names include Turk’s cap lily, turban lily, swamp lily, lily royal, or American tiger lily. These flowers grow to a nice size, and each one has six luscious petals. The petals have a sleek curve and appear to reach upwards, with the anthers pointed down.
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- This Turk’s cap-type lily has white blooms with raised, dark red spots and warm yellow-orange centers.
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- These lilies will continue blooming through mid-August – I am looking forward to enjoying many lily arrangements in the weeks ahead.
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- And look at the formal white lily garden in front of the greenhouse. Soon, this bed will be bursting with gorgeous white lily flowers. I will share more on this garden in a future blog.
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