October 15, 2016 - Dumpster Dive Lillies

Early one morning, on a weekday – a rare excursion occurred – we went golfing – just me and my husband.  At that time we were still new to the area and he had been told of a golf course up near Little Switzerland, North Carolina.

He made reservations and he hustled me out of the house early.   It was early fall and a mist hung in the air that would burn off as we traveled to our destination.

We tossed our clubs into the back of our trusty Toyota truck [we loved that truck] and headed north.  On the way out of town we dropped by the “convenience center” – that is the quaint name they call the “trash dumpsters” that are located conveniently around the county.  This one was on 221 highway North and I believe it is no longer at that location due to the new four line 221 highway construction.

As I am tossing in a bag of trash I notice the tops of what appear to be just yanked from the garden lily stems with the big bulbs attached.   I tug at one and pull it out and spy the white overlapped double bulb the size of two large oranges.   

The gardener in me is lusting, I think, ‘OOOOOHHHHH . . . . I wonder what type of lillies these are?  HMMMMM – we are on our way golfing and  . . . . They might not like having the heat and wind on them all day.  I don’t see any insect damage, or aphids.   They look so healthy.  HMMMMMM . . . they are free – for the taking. Who cares what color – they will be a surprise!”

“Hurry up,” calls my husband.

“Help me – we are going to grab these lily bulbs.”  I call back.

I have pulled about four of the 6-foot length stems out of the green metal trash bin.   My husband comes and investigates.  He helps me pull the ones I can’t reach and we have about 8 stems with huge bulbs attached to the bases. In some cases double bulbs or triple bulbs.

Into the truck bed they go and off we go golfing.  I wonder what “jerk” jerked them out of the ground like that and simply tossed them.  I wonder if it was someone who did it on purpose or some moron who had no clue what he was doing and thought he was pulling weeds for someone.  I, of course, bet it was the latter because the bulbs were too huge.  Wow, what a find!!  And, FREE.

The golf was fabulous.  This morning we had a discussion about what course it was and we simply can’t remember the name.  But it had mountain vistas, had a river running through it, and on the back nine we had two deer stroll across our path from the woods into the clearing. 

The views were spectacular as the leaves were already turning.  Being a weekday, we were just about alone on the golf course.  We played the course leisurely and enjoyed the warm sunshine on our backs and the cool breeze on our faces.

I particularly remember the course because it was the finest “birdie” I ever got, and I almost didn’t recognize it.  If it hadn’t been for one of the caretakers of the flora and fauna on the golf course down near the putting green, it would have escaped me.

I believe it was the last hole or one of the last holes on the course and the ladies' tees were more than generously closer to the hole than the men's.  At the men’s tee box my husband drove a beautiful shot down the fairway.  He jumped into the cart and delivered me to the ladies’ tee box.   I drove a beautiful shot down the fairway as well.

There were caretakers on the course on the right and they stopped to watch more as a precaution that they didn’t get a line-drive at them than curiosity.

My second shot was again spectacular.  I remember thinking, ‘ HMMMM, takes me to the end of the golf day before I actually get warmed up?’

And, my chip shot onto the green was stupendous.   Up and down and landed “within the leather” from the hole.  It was definitely “on the dance floor” as they say.

By then the caretakers had finished their work on the edge of the fairway and they were rolling along towards the green in their cart.  They stopped as a courtesy when we walked onto the green.

My husband tapped his ball in and then I tapped mine in.  Off to the right I heard,

“YO – Birdie,” from one of the caretakers. 

I paused, turned, and looked at his big smiling face.  Then I turned back to the ladies' tee and started to count my shots from the ladies’ tee to the green and realized I had taken only 4 shots on a par 5.  I yelled back, 

“Yeah – a birdie!”   It was a subdued personal celebration because my husband tried to tell me I had taken another shot.  A jovial discussion ensued between us and he finally admitted, “Yes, I guess so.”

And, no, I didn’t jump up and down like someone I know . . . [future blog on that.]

When we got home, I cleaned the lily bulbs up and immediately dug them in at the back corner of the house near the cellar door as that was a vacant space which would have ample water from the downspout and full sun. Additionally, when you drove down the street you would be able to catch a glimpse of them at that location.  From the eight or so stems of lily bulbs I ended up with about 24 big, beautiful bulbs.

The next spring they came up – pushing through the tough red clay with dark green rosettes and took off to the sky in early spring.   The week of the Fourth of July they opened.  Thick, strong stems held orange tiger lilies slightly bending away from the foundation.  Their 6 to 8 feet tall stems held a fireworks of color. The surprise lilies were Lillium lancifolium, also known as Lillium tigrinum.

They made a fine, showy display.  Over the years I have collected the aerial bulblets known as bulbils and propagated them.  I find this great fun!  Trust me; they do this naturally, so my success at propagation does not put me into the category of a ‘great gardener’ as “anyone” can honestly do this.  Below is a picture of the aerial bulblets.   You carefully pick them and immediately plant them.    Most gardening magazines or the internet will give you detailed instruction.  I find the bigger ones do the best.  I pick them when they are ‘shiny’ black and look fresh.  Sometimes they are ready to pick even before the plant comes into flower.

         

          So, when we moved from house to house, I would always take a dozen or so of the biggest bulbs with me.  Tiger lilies thrive in full sun with ample moisture.  If you happen to notice the blooms declining – or the size of the plants or stems declining – it is probably due to lack of sun more than overcrowding.   They are very easy to dig up and re-set

          The tiger lilies bloom around the week of the Fourth of July every year for me here in North Carolina. When mine come into bloom, I cut 6 or 8 stems and bring them in the house to display on the kitchen table.  USE CAUTION:  The dark brown/orange stamens are powdery and they seriously stain clothes and/or table cloths.  It does no harm to the flowering bloom in the vase to pull them off.

          This last weekend I dug up my current display of tiger lilies.  There had been an encroaching infestation of ‘wire grass’ [my gardening nemeses]. This summer we also had driving rain and wind during the bloom cycle and a few stems fell over popping the bulbs right out of the ground due to their weight. [I propped them back up and staked them.]  

It had been three years since I had re-set the lilies and they were scheduled to be dug up and re-set again this fall.  I originally planted 18 bulbs and now have 40 in a matter of three years.  That is a wonderful self-propagating plant.   They are a true “pass along” plant to a new gardener or a gardening friend.  Below is a picture of the lovely bulbs.

          I consider Lillium lancifolium, also known as Lillium tigrinum a must have plant even if the color does not fit into your color scheme.   When given the right horticultural requirements and grown well they make a magnificent statement in the right setting.  They are perfect for full sun here in the Carolinas.