Seeing red: It’s oxblood lily time!
Yesterday morning I saw that the oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida) in the back garden were going to be in full bloom once the sun rose. But I was out all day long with client meetings, after-school driving to a volleyball game, and dinner.
Finally at 7:15 pm, as my family was still chewing their last mouthfuls of dinner, I tapped my watch and said, “Let’s go, people! I’m going to miss seeing the oxblood lilies!”
Bless their hearts — they jumped right up and off we roared back to the house. I was practically biting my nails that we’d get home too late to see them.
The sun had set, and the light was fading from the sky by the time I raced outside with my camera. All that beautiful afternoon light I’d hoped to capture illuminating the petals was gone.
But the deep red of the flowers still glowed in the dim light, delighting me as I snapped a bunch of photos and then just stood there looking at them as dusk fell.
So lovely. So fleeting.
Such excitement over a little flower. Gardeners must be the craziest people.
__________________________
Upcoming talk: Please join me tonight, 9/26, 7:30-8:30 p.m., for my Garden Club of Austin presentation about getting rid of your lawn and designing a lawn-gone garden. The talk will be at Zilker Garden and is free and open to the public. I’ll be signing copies of Lawn Gone! after the talk.
All material © 2006-2013 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I love your red oxblood lily flowers… nice. You sure do have alot of them.
I have the pink and red oxbloods. The pink bloomed early and the red started just this week.
Michael
http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/oxblood-lily-are-blooming/
A couple of gardening friends have passed along oxblood lily bulbs to me, and I’ve divided those several times over the years to increase my numbers. They really look best when massed, and I’m still working toward that goal. But even a couple will make your day. Enjoy yours! —Pam
That punch of deep red is so delightful! I’d have skipped dinner.
I should have! Happily, they’re still blooming beautifully today. —Pam
I’m always so excited when they bloom – as if I didn’t even remember planting them and they just popped up! Love the way yours complement the other plants there.
Thanks, Vicki. I really like them against yellow plants like those yuccas and agaves. It picks up the color of their stamens. —Pam
I agree–gardeners and naturalists are the craziest people. I think my neighbors must think I’ve lost it…out in the garden checking on the Milkweed for monarch larva, using binoculars to see the details on the hummingbirds, pointing my camera at the tiniest blooms, and using the zoom lens to photograph the hawks. I understand why you would want to get home in time to capture the Lilies. They’re stunning, and you don’t want to miss out!
When you’re on your belly aiming your camera at the ladybug on the leaf — that’s when you know your neighbors will think you utterly nuts. We who love gardens and the wildlife they attract just can’t care about that, right? 🙂 —Pam
The craziest and the best people. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Me neither, Heather. —Pam
Definitely worth racing home to see.
They are, Lisa. 🙂 —Pam
Pam, I acquired about eight bulbs last winter and they popped up this week after that rain. Beautiful!
Excellent, Randy! Enjoy them. —Pam
As I was leaving work on Friday I got a call that my shipment of Rhodophiala from Old House Gardens had arrived. I can’t wait to add them to the garden.
You’ll love them, Les. Enjoy! —Pam