The flower garden beds here at my Bedford, New York farm abound with gorgeous, bright and fragrant lilies.
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 some photos, enjoy.
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.
Lily flowers are large and come in a range of colors including yellows, whites, pinks, reds, and purples. They may be planted in early spring or fall. Both planting times will give flowers in mid to late summer. This Turk’s cap-type lily has white blooms with raised, dark red spots and warm yellow-orange centers.
Lilies are native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere.
The true lilies are erect plants with leafy stems, scaly bulbs, usually narrow leaves, and solitary or clustered flowers.
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. These bright white blooms marked with soft yellow centers are so pretty en masse.
Here’s a beautiful orange lily growing in my flower garden. Lilies like to have their “head in the sun, feet in the shade,” and should be planted where they can get at least six hours of full sun per day.
It’s important for their foliage to be exposed to plenty of light – and not be shaded by other plants.
Over time, most lilies will multiply and the plants will grow into large clumps with many stems, but don’t worry they don’t mind being crowded.
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.
When it comes to water, lilies prefer moist soil but not wet feet. Choose a well-drained site, preferably not too dry.
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.
This one has yet to open.
Rose lilies are lush, double-flowered, gorgeous blooms. Their layered blooms are pollen-free and their aroma is pleasantly light.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Many lilies smell stronger at night. This is because during the reproduction of lilies, pollen has to get inside the pistil, which usually happens at night and as an immediate response, the fragrance is released.
As the blossoms begin to fade, snip them off to keep the plants looking neat. When all the flowers are spent, remove the entire cluster, but leave the rest of the stem in place. Allow the stem and the leaves to continue growing until they turn yellow in late summer or fall. Then the stems can be cut back to within a couple inches of the soil surface.
These lilies will continue blooming through mid-August – I am looking forward to enjoying many lily arrangements in the weeks ahead. What are your favorite lilies? Share your comments with me below.
I always enjoy seeing photos from others taken during their vacations, especially when they travel to interesting places.
Not long ago, a member of my outdoor grounds crew, Pasang Sherpa, traveled with his family for one week to Europe - London, France, and Switzerland. Pasang, who has many friends in the French Alps region, used to go there every year, but this was his family's first trip. They visited the Jardin Anglais in Geneva, hiked around Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and Sixt-Fer-á-Cheval in France, visited the famous Rouget waterfall, and walked deep into the Grotte de Grace ice cavern.
Here are a few of his photos, enjoy.
Pasang and his family flew at night from New York’s JFK International Airport to London. This is a night view from their plane.
Many of you may recognize Pasang from this blog. He is our resident tree expert here at my farm. Here he is in London at the beginning of his trip.
One of their big stops was in Geneva, Switzerland. Here, on the western most tip of Lake Geneva, or Lac Léman, Pasang quickly took a photo of these swans. Lake Geneva is the largest lake in central Europe, straddling the border between Switzerland and France.
This is the famous flower clock at the Jardin Anglais. Planted in 1955, it is the biggest clock in the world made exclusively from flowers. It was built at the park’s centennial to pay homage to Switzerland, watchmaking and horticulture. The Jardin Anglais is also home to several hundred-year-old trees, such as a ginkgo planted in 1863 and a red beech planted in 1895 for the National Exhibition.
Here’s a photo of Pasang’s daughter, Sonam, and his wife, Ihemi at Jardin Anglais.
The family also visited Chamonix-Mont-Blanc – a resort area near the junction of France, Switzerland and Italy. Les Praz is a charming picturesque village just outside the center of Chamonix. From this vantage point, one can see the beautiful snow-capped mountains in the distance.
Another highlight was a visit to the Grotte de Glace ice cave in Chamonix – more than 500 steps down. The Grotte de Glace cave is carved into a glacier…
… And all done by man to form the one and only glacier museum in France. This cave meanders through the Mer de Glace glacier and has many rooms and tunnels.
The cave is reshaped every year and has been for the past half-century, in order to provide safety and interest for visitors.
Not far is the Cascade du Rouget – a gorgeous waterfall in Haute-Savoie, in the Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval area. Also known as the “Reine des Alpes” or Queen of the Alps, this waterfall has two drops and it’s more than 296 feet.
Surrounding the waterfall are these gorgeous views. The area is just filled with flora and fauna.
Among the highest mountains in the area is Mont Buet, also called “Women’s Mont Blanc” which reaches 10,167 feet.
Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval has miles and miles of trails and paths among alpine meadows, forests, and waterfalls.
At the end of their hike, Pasang and his family enjoyed fresh omelettes made right on the hillside.
Followed by a short nap.
And then it was time to hike back to the base. Pasang and his family enjoy hiking. In fact, Sherpas live in the most mountainous areas of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. They are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes.
Along the way, the group saw a large herd of sheep grazing.
This photo includes Pasang’s son Tash, Sonam, and Pasang’s brother Dawa, who is a three-time Winter Olympics cross-country skier.
The area around the village of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval belongs to Sixt-Passy, one of the most beautiful nature reserves of the Haute Savoie. There are glaciers, high cliffs, waterfalls, alpine meadows, streams, and rivers. Here are Tash and Sonam by one of the ice formations.
And here is Ihemi in one of the camping “cabins” available to hikers. This one is just big enough to sleep in after a long day’s trek.
When closed, it is safe from inclement weather and curious animals. Although the family did not stay on the mountain, they did enjoy a short rest before heading back to the village. Pasang’s wife and children are already thinking about their next trip abroad. Thanks for sharing your photos, Pasang!
If you’ve ever grown a vining plant, you know how important it is to provide strong structures to which the vines can cling and climb. Using tall, natural bamboo stakes and strong jute twine is a great way to support the growing tomato plants in my garden bed.
I am always interested in trying new ways to improve productivity in the gardens. This season, I decided to use eight foot vertical stakes secured to horizontal ones to create our tomato supports. Bamboo is attractive, easy to find, and can be reused year after year. So far, they've been working excellently. And yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, tied some of the long vines to the bamboo to keep them all the fast-growing fruits off the ground.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
After three weeks of hot, humid, and dry weather, we finally got some much needed rain. Tomatoes grow best when the daytime temperature is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They stop growing above 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Tomatoes also need full sun and warm, well-drained soil. Our tomatoes are thriving and it’s time to support their growing vines.
In late May, the season’s designated tomato beds are covered in black weed cloth to cut down on some of the laborious weeding in the garden. We planted our tomatoes in the back of the garden this year – always as part of our crop rotation practice.
Our tomato plants are always started from seed over the winter and then transplanted in the ground as soon as daytime temperatures are consistently above 65-degrees Fahrenheit. Two-thirds of the plant should be underground, meaning all but the two top most leaf sets should be buried. Planting deeply helps the plant to develop more roots, and more roots mean more ability to take up water and nutrients. If the seedling is already too tall and wobbly, dig a trench instead of a hole and lay the plant on its side. The stronger root system also helps the plant better survive the hot weather. This applies to tomatoes planted in the ground, in a raised bed or in a container.
These are the tomato plants in early June. With nutrient rich soil and warm days they’ve grown pretty quickly. Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, have long been one of America’s favorite garden vegetables. Those bold red, sun-ripened tomatoes deliver the taste of summer with every bite. And, they’re filled with excellent antioxidants and vitamins. We plant many, many tomatoes, but just a handful of healthy plants can produce a bounty of delicious fruits within eight weeks.
I am always trying new methods for staking our tomato plants. Every year we try something new and better. I like using bamboo canes. They are easy to buy in bulk, and can be found in a variety of sizes. These canes are about eight to nine feet tall.
This year, I came up with the idea to make straight supports down each aisle – with no netting, just bamboo. The first step is to pound the stakes into the ground, so all are the same height along the bed.
Chhiring places one eight-foot stake every couple of feet along the center of the tomato beds. And each one is about eight to 10-inches deep. The important thing is to place them deep enough, so they remain secure for the duration of the season.
Next, Chhiring secures horizontal bamboo pieces across all the bamboo stakes. He makes four rows about a foot apart going up the bamboo.
And then secures them with jute twine. Chhiring secures twine at each joint, so it is tight and strong enough to hold the fruit laden vines. Securing the tomato plants is a time consuming process, but very crucial to good plant growth and performance.
Here is one aisle. Look closely, the plants are still quite small, but it won’t take long before they cover the base of the stakes.
Two weeks later, the plants are already several inches taller.
And yesterday, many were more than two feet tall, with their vines drooping onto the ground.
Here’s Chhiring measuring and cutting strands of jute twine to the same length.
Then he drapes them around his neck as he works to carefully tie up the long tomato vines.
First he loops it gently around the vine…
And then he secures it to the bamboo crossbar. He ties a simple knot tightly to the bamboo.
And this lifts the vine off the ground. There is plenty of space to tie and support every tomato vine. This is the best method we have used yet.
Tomato leaves have serrated, or wavy and pointed, edging along the entire perimeter. Tomato leaves are compound with multiple leaflets growing along a common stem, called a rachis. These leaves are also slightly fuzzy to the touch, which is caused by the trichomes, or multi-cellular hairs, on the plant. Never use chemically treated wood or other material for staking climbers, as the chemicals would likely run off and go into the soil.
Remember, it’s the yellow flowers produced by tomato plants that must be fertilized before fruit can form. Once fertilized, the flowers develop into tomatoes – small green globes that become visible at the base of the blossoms and then eventually become mature fruits.
Here are some of the green fruits already growing on the vines. It’s a good idea to grow several varieties, including at least one or two disease-resistant types, since, of all veggies, tomatoes tend to be the most susceptible to disease. There are several types of tomatoes available, including globe tomatoes used in processing, and for fresh eating. Beefsteak are large, often used for sandwiches. Oxheart tomatoes vary in size and are shaped like large strawberries. Plum tomatoes are usually oblong, and used in tomato sauces. Cherry tomatoes are small round, often sweet and eaten whole. Campari tomatoes are sweet and juicy and of small to medium size. Many of our tomatoes are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds – a source I’ve been using for many years for both seeds and supplies.
It takes about 50 to 90 days for tomato varieties to reach maturity. Planting can also be staggered to produce early, mid and late season tomato harvests.
Here are some cherry tomatoes already changing color. I can’t wait to try the fruits of our labor.
These plants look so much better when kept upright and neat. The tomato plants have a lot of room to climb, keeping delicious fruits looking their best. Very soon, we will have many, many tomatoes to enjoy. I am looking forward to a wonderful harvest this season. I can almost taste them already!
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