Surprise Lilies

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Tina

Each gardening season, after the first drenching rain in August or September, I’m always surprised to see the Oxblood Lily, Rhodophiala bifida, pop up in varying spots. An introduced plant, the Oxblood Lilies have naturalized in parts of Texas and are common dots of crimson in lawns and gardens here in Austin and other parts of Central Texas. Its stalks, or scapes, rise up from the Earth (overnight as best I can tell!), buds developing atop and flowers opening with a brilliant flourish within a day or so. I have groups of these delights and they will bloom, not all at once, but with a continuing presence, for a month or so. Foliage arrives after the blooms fade, elegant in form and rich in color, remaining green throughout the winter months.

A complementary and competing red beauty is the Red Spider Lily, Lycoris radiata. Not quite as prolific or common as the Oxbloods, these stunning blooms are head-turners just the same. A native of the Far East, Red Spider Lilies have been a traditional fall bulb in southern gardens for generations. Their petals are slightly ruffled and curl charmingly; spidery stamens reach out and up, well beyond the petals. The stalks upon which these red spider flowers rest grows to about twelve inches in height. Leaves of red spider lilies are slender gray-green with a stripe down the middle and the foliage clump provides a grassy accent during the winter months.

I say that I’m surprised when these lilies show up, but of course, I’m not, not really. I planted the bulbs and even in the most droughty of years, I always enjoy the sight of few Oxbloods and Spiders when they show up, popping with vibrancy. In wet years, the show is spectacular. That red!

What has surprised me this week is the appearance of this Hill Country Rain Lily, Cooperia pedunculata.

I’m fairly sure that this is the native rain lily, as I remember buying bulbs for my back garden at least 10 years ago. The lilies never did much; only a few blooms graced the garden and those were in the year after I planted the bulbs. After that, they were no-shows. My back garden was shady (still is in areas) and I’ve always assumed that’s why the lilies didn’t thrive. These lilies respond to rain, but they require full sun. In full sun places the lilies grow, bloom, and spread with abandon. Flourishing along roadsides, they create a white blanket in the days after rain, gently moving with breezes.

Parts of my back garden are now sunnier and at least one Rain Lily bulb is rewarding that newly found light by emerging and flowering after last week’s luscious rain.

Such a pretty thing! Creamy and simple, the lily has three petals and three sepals. A veil of yellow draws admirers to its center. The scape is fleshy like those of its lily cousins. I wonder if the original lily bulbs that I planted seeded out, as I don’t recall planting in the particular spot this lily has chosen. I’m not complaining, any lily is more than welcome, wherever it might turn up. I’ll let this specimen seed out and spread the seeds in other areas of my garden. As well, a trip to a local nursery to purchase some bulbs wouldn’t be amiss!

Not all surprises in the garden are welcome, but when lilies are the surprise, they are well worth waiting for.

Reds After the Rain

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Tina

As happens every August and September, flower stalks of the perennial bulb Oxblood or Schoolhouse Lily, Rhodophiala bifida, have emerged. These bright pops of color appear, seemingly overnight, after the first few soaking late summer rains. This particular group lives among some Mexican Feathergrass, Nassella tenuissima. The still green, but turning autumn-toasty feathery grass, contrasts with the deep red, dainty lilies, creating a charming scene.

So far, this is the only Schoolhouse Lily group that has awakened from its underground bed, but I’m confident that in coming weeks, other red surprises will reach up for a share of sunshine and a howdy! from pollinators. The individual blooms don’t last long, only a few days, but I’ve planted various bulbs around my garden and they appear, as they choose, at different times, allowing for a longer period in which to enjoy the pretties. Once the blooms fade, strappy foliage will stay green, disappearing in late spring as the temperatures rise. This Amaryllid was most likely introduced in Texas by a German colonist and botanist, Peter Heinrich Oberwetter (1830-1915). He imported R. bifida bulbs from Argentina and it has naturalized successfully in many parts of the state, especially here in Central Texas.

Another Amaryllis bulb making its flowery appearance after late summer rains is the Red Spider Lily, also called Guernsey Lily–Lycoris radiata. These stunning flowers, with their curled petals and spidery stamens, are showstoppers.

Like the Schoolhouse Lily, Red Spider Lily flowers emerge from buried bulbs after an August or September rain and sit atop fleshy stems . The stems of L. radiata are taller and the flower is larger than those of R. bifida. Both rock stunningly rich red accents in the garden.

This group of Red Spider Lilies produced five stems with flowers. The stems are single, with no foliage emerging until the flower has faded. Like the Schoolhouse Lily, the foliage will be evergreen through winter and spring, disappearing with warmer temperatures. The bulbs stay safe from summer’s heat in deep soil, needling little water through the summer months.

The foliage you see in both photos comes from a Pigeonberry, Rivina humilis. The Pigeonberry and Spider Lily are accompanied by a couple of Glo Coalson’s raku pigeons. I thought the Pigeonberry needed some pigeon friends. Also, these pigeons don’t poop.

Our blisteringly hot summer has somewhat abated and we’ve recently received 4-5 inches of rain. We’re still in an official drought, but the slightly cooler temperatures and the rain are most welcome by the garden and this gardener. Along with these reliable late summer bulb bloomers, everything in the garden is breathing a sigh of relief–greening up and flowering out–demonstrating their appreciating for the rain.

Red Hot

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Tina

It’s hot, hot, hot! That’s a common, though tiresome, refrain this time of year here in Austin, Texas as we’re all incessantly whining about summer’s heat.

Or maybe it’s just me who’s whining?

Handling the heat better than I are some heat-loving perennials, currently blooming, and instead of whining, they’re shining. The Firecracker plant, Russelia equisetiformis, scoffs at summer’s heat and humidity, putting on a red-hot bloom show–with no intermission–for months at a time. This one, which is situated in my shady front garden,

…softens a corner between a pathway and sitting area.

The red-orange tubular flowers attract tiny native metallic bees, though photos of such are hard to come by–the bees fly too fast and disappear into the floral tubes, rich in nectar and pollen.

You can catch a glimpse of purple-foliaged Purple heart augmenting the cheery red cascade of Firecrackers.

A different clump of Firecracker plant in my back garden adds to the tropical look around the pond.

Like the front garden Firecracker, this one has bloomed continuously since winter, because neither specimen froze to the ground due to the mild winter of 2015-16.

The pond Firecracker also enjoys a purple neighbor in the pond waterfall perennial called Ruby Red Runner.

Flame acanthus, Anisacanthus quadrifidus, a heat-loving native Texas shrub with petite, bright red-to-orange blooms, is in full bee and hummingbird attracting mode.

This single bloom plays peek-a-boo through the foliage of a companion Plains goldeneye, but you can see some of its flaming partners in the background.

Another garden buddy, Firebush, Hamelia patens, in keeping with the theme of red-hot beauties, is a real garden hot-shot.

Like the Firecracker plant, my Firebush never froze to the ground and has grown quite tall (almost 4 feet) because of this year’s non-winter. My parents planted one many years ago in their garden in Corpus Christi, Texas (along the Gulf of Mexico) which has a more tropical climate than Austin. It’s rarely been pruned and is–I kid you not–nearly two stories tall and easily 20 feet wide. My measly little shrub has a lot of growing to catch up with that!

The scarlet blooms with their yellow throat make this an attractive source for hummingbirds.

Another blazing beauty in bloom is a surprise Spider lily, Lycoris radiata.

Typically, these stunning bulbs push their flowers up and out, seemingly overnight, in late August or September. But this one decided to grace the garden a little early.

A flamboyant, red-hot late summer treat!

As this is posted, our triple-digit heat wave is broken. Rain is falling and is forecasted for the next few days. For Texans, rain in early August is a gift–and tremendously appreciated. Oh, it’ll toast up again, rest assured. But the long, dry Texas summer is being shown to the door and autumn’s second spring blooming cycle arrival is eagerly awaited.

I thank Carol at May Dreams Garden for hosting this monthly bloom bonanza known as Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Join in, share your garden pretties, then click over to her lovely blog to see and learn about blooms from many places.