Lycoris squamigera in a country garden

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com
Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:55:50 PDT
At about this time last year I stumbled upon a small country garden full of
Lycoris squamigera. A knock on the door of the house did not bring an
answer, and I was reluctant to enter the garden without permission. It was
very tempting, especially since the garden was unfenced and very welcoming. 

 

I was in the same area this weekend and took a detour from my planned route
to see if I could find this same garden this year. Not only did I find it;
this time the mistress of the garden was on hand to invite me in and tell me
a bit about the history of the garden and its plants. I was probably there
for about two hours: an hour and forty-five minutes chatting and fifteen
minutes photographing plants! 

 

I would not be surprised to hear that others have seen similar gardens in
the small towns nestled in farming country across the land. The garden I
visited Friday was bright with phlox, August lilies, physostegia, perennial
herbaceous hibiscus and balloon flower.  But the real show came from the
hundreds of Lycoris squamigera. 

 

I hope everyone enjoys these two dozen pictures. They give a hint at what
all the excitement is about with this plant. When they are seen as bulbs
blooming for the first time, they are often very odd looking. But once they
build up into a thick clump or are planted en masse, they become a uniquely
important and beautiful element of our August gardens. This garden provides
a glimpse of a form of gardening which is probably slowly disappearing. And
only someone with very deep pockets indeed would be able to plant Lycoris
squamigera in this quantity now. 

 

Be sure to click on the images to see the enlarged versions.

 

Let me know if you see a couple of images which would be good for the pbs
wiki. 

 

Take a look here:

 

http://jimmckenney.com/Lycoris%20squamigera%20iacg…

 

 

Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone
7

My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/

BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/

 

Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS 

Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ 

 

Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/

 

 

 

 

 

 


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