Finally, summer’s Death Star heat grip has loosened: Central Texas received much needed rain and our temperatures have cooled–a bit. Afternoons are warm, but tolerable, mornings and evenings are quite lovely; the gardener and her gardens rejoice! In response to the rain, non-native, but naturalized Oxblood Lily, Rhodophiala bifida, have popped up overnight from their cozy bulbs snuggled in the ground, delivering atop their fleshy stems resplendent red flowers for all to admire.
The lilies are fresh as daisies, but you’ll notice the results of August’s heat in the foliage of the Giant Liriope situated behind the lilies.
Here sit three of the dozen-or-so groups of Oxblood Lilies in my back garden, showcasing their rich crimson colors.
A closer look…
Accompanying the lilies are native Inland Sea Oats, Chasmanthium latifolium, Mexican Feathergrass, Nassella tenuissima, and some summer-weary Iris foliage.
The weekend was cloudy and drizzly, but today the sun reappeared and the lilies shone.
The Oxbloods will bloom a couple of weeks and it’s likely other clusters will pop up. I never remember where I’ve planted the bulbs until the flowers arrive and demand their share of garden attention. In the past, this glorious event occurred in late August or early September, but as our hot and dry period stretches into actual autumn, the flowers don’t appear until late September or early October. Once the blooms are done, attractive grassy foliage emerges and remains winter hardy. Only the warmth of late spring will end the lily foliage, the bulbs resting in the soil during hot summer months, until autumn’s first rain beckons the blooms back.
Native rain lilies have also emerged with the rain, their sweet white blooms blanketing roadway medians and many neighbors’ lawns. Regretfully, I don’t grow any of the native lilies and must rectify that missing garden link.
But for now, I appreciate what I have!
Hallelujah for the rain. We could have used more, but we’ll take whatever we can get. In our Great Hills neighborhood today I saw both species of native white rain lilies, Zephyranthes drummondii and chlorosolen. Plenty are out on Mopac embankments not far from you, so if you make a mental note of the locations you can go back later and gather seeds.
At the Wildflower Center today we saw copper lilies, which, except for the difference in color, look like the flowers you’ve highlighted in this post.
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Indeed! I used to grow some rain lilies, but my garden has always been too shady. Since my front garden is now full sun, I need to get some seeds in the ground and grow them there–they’re a must-have plant in our area!
I don’t know those copper lilies, will look them up.
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The copper lilies are Zephyranthus tubispathus (formerly Habranthus tubispathus). Here are four pictures. Some sources believe that the species originated in South America and was probably brought north by Spaniards centuries ago. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center online database, which includes only native plants, has this species in it—and in fact we saw a bunch of them growing on the grounds of the Wildflower Center yesterday.
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Okay, I have seen these, probably on your site! They’re really lovely.
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They are beautiful, I love that rich color, esp. nice with raindrops!
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They’re real head-turners, especially after our long, hot summers!
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So glad it finally rained! Resplendent describes these lilies very well.
Let’s hope for more rain and less heat, to keep gardens and gardeners happy for a while longer.
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Yes, more rain, but of course, once that happens, it’ll be flooding. 🙂 That’s just how we rock-n-roll here in Central Texas! That being said, the cooler temps and that bit of rain was/is soooo nice!
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When it rains, it pours?!
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In Houston, we called them Hurricane Lilies. I see something is brewing in the Gulf. I was surprised at how little rain we had here over the summer. I hope you can get out more in the “cooler” weather. I saw some Yellow Rumps. They are on their way south.
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Yes, Hurricane Lilies, Schoolhouse Lilies–like so many plants, they have several common names.
Yay! Butter Butts! I can’t wait to see the ones who will settle in my garden for the winter. I’ve seen quite a few Wilson’s Warblers, Yellow Warblers, and one female Painted Bunting at my pond and plants in the back. I’m sure there are plenty others that I’m not seeing, but definitely, migration is in full swing.
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Love your oxblood lilies – and I was tickled to see their coloquial name, schoolhouse lilies. I’ve seen them many times out in the hill country by old barns and farmsteads.
We got about 3 inches of rain here, so welcome. I don’t have any rain lilies in my garden, but I was astonished to see what looked like miniature lilies, 4-6 inches tall, growing in the esplanade of the road to our dentist’s office on Monday – white and yellow, in nice tight patches! I’ve looked them up, and they do seem to be real lilies. I’m amazed!
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I’ve always liked the name ‘Schoolhouse” lily!
Wow, 3 inches! I’m not sure how much we got, though a neighbor said she had 2 inches in her gauge. There’s a meteorologist living in our neighborhood, I’ll ask him if I see him around.
Those lilies sound just darling, what are they called?
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Rio Grande copper lily, Habranthus tubispathus.
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When I read Sam’s comment, it made me grumpy. On the other side of Houston, she got three inches? We got just enough to wet the sidewalk; the rain either stayed in the Gulf or went north. So, I’m still waiting for the rain lilies to appear!
These are quite pretty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them. I do see a different sort of red lily that sometimes pops up in large groups, but I can’t remember it’s name. It also shows up on old homesteads and such.
Huzzah for your rain! We’ll keep on hoping; at least the hurricane that seems to be forming will miss Texas (or so they say).
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