September 2008 Archives

Everyone I know had oxblood lilies blooming about a month ago. 

MSS of Zanthan Gardens gave me dozens of oxblood lily (Rhodophiala bifida) bulbs late last summer, as part of her mission to spread them around Austin, and I had plenty to share, so I gave a third to my mom, a third to my aunt, and planted a third myself. 

I planted the larger bulbs in the long bed that stretches along the front drive.  I've got other bulbs growing there, supplemented with bright orange cosmos that go crazy during the summer. 

Some of the bulbs MSS gave me were smaller, and she thought they might need another year or two before they bloomed.  I planted those along the side of my house in a little bed that had only a beautyberry shrub growing in it.  I figured I'd leave them there for a year or two and then replant them somewhere sunnier.

My aunt told me a few weeks ago that her oxblood lilies were blooming, and that my mom's had been blooming not long before.  I saw no signs of mine at all.

I started seeing posts on other Austin garden blogs about their oxblood lilies blooming, along with beautiful, envy-inspiring photos for proof.  I saw no signs of mine at all.

Finally, I decided that I must've managed to kill my oxblood lily bulbs somehow.  Maybe I didn't water them enough the first week after I planted them.  Maybe I pulled them out accidentally while I was weeding.  Maybe my soil is so hard and clay-like that they couldn't find their way out when they tried to sprout.  Maybe I planted them upside down.  Maybe I planted them too deep or too shallow.  I was sure I'd managed to kill them somehow.

This past weekend, Scott and I were hauling limbs to the front yard for our neighborhood's brush pickup, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something bright red.  Oxblood lilies in the side bed, where I hadn't expected any to bloom at all!  I made him come and look.  Life lesson reinforced: People are never as impressed as you are when you make them come and look.

But I was thrilled!  The oxblood lilies were flourishing amongst the American beautyberry, and I was pleasantly surprised at the juxtaposition of the deep red and brilliant purple.  Garden serendipity!

I finished setting up my drip irrigation system in the front yard this weekend, including a line that runs along the driveway bed, and I made a point of giving the front beds a bit of extra watering.  This evening, stepping off the bus as I arrived home from work, I spotted a bit of red in the front bed.

Apparently, just as MSS has consistently asserted, they were just waiting for a bit of extra rainfall.  When I provided a close enough equivalent, out they popped.  Yes, of course this makes total sense; most people provide more supplemental water to their beds than my front yard is used to receiving (much to my neighbors' chagrin, I'm sure).

I'm excited to see them, but I'm looking forward to dividing them and sharing them amongst my other beds, as well as my friends, in a few weeks.