“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:28

Lilies look so exotic that it's hard to believe how many of them are completely winter-hardy. Unlike gladiola and dahlias, lilies do not have to be lifted in the fall. They just stay in the garden and return bigger and better next season.

I have heard a lot of people say that they don’t like lilies because they remind us of death and funerals. But they should remember that lilies sold at Easter are symbols of purity, beauty, and resurrection.

Lilies bloom in the perennial bed in late July and early August with some blooming in September. Plant them in groups of no less than three, preferably more, for outstanding patches of color. Lilies range in color from white to the deepest maroon, in shades of pink, salmon, red, orange, gold and lemon, with many bi-colors. There is no blue lily but hybridizers are trying very hard to produce one, which would bring the successful person fame and fortune.

There are several kinds of lilies. Down-facing lilies, or "Turk's-cap lilies" such as species lilies, tiger lilies, Columbia-Platte lilies, and martagon lilies, grow on generally tall plants with as many as twenty or thirty buds. The flowers face the ground, but the petals turn back gracefully.

Out-facing lilies, which have their flowers facing straight out are frequently used in floral arrangements. Some of the best are the Oriental hybrids, “Queen of the Lilies”, such as "Stargazer" which can be grown here with some extra winter protection, but are not as reliable as the Asiatic hybrids or some of the species lilies.

Oriental lilies, which bloom in late summer, are extremely fragrant and heavy in pollen. A number of years ago I was in Vancouver in late summer and I decided to go to Van Dusen Gardens for a walk. I stopped frequently to smell the glorious fragrance of the late Oriental lilies. When I went to the restaurant there for lunch, the hostess said, “I’d be glad to seat you, madam, but you might like to wash your face, first.” Humiliated, I went into the washroom and looked in the mirror. My entire nose was covered in bright golden lily pollen and so was the front of my shirt. I was able to remove the pollen from my face, but it never did quite come out of the shirt. Later I found out that lilies in floral arrangements and bridal bouquets often have the stamens removed for just that reason.

Up-facing lilies hold their flowers facing the sky. These are the most common of the hardy Asiatic hybrids which do so well in our area.

They have no scent but their wonderful colors and blends are striking in the flower bed. There are many lily breeders whose main goals are producing Asiatic hybrid lilies that are fragrant and colorful without losing their extreme hardiness.

Trumpet lilies, such as the Easter lily, are beautifully scented and often very tall and stately. My favorite is “Black Dragon” which is 6 to 7 feet tall with huge, 6-inch to 12-inch trumpet flowers, dark purplish-brown on the outside and creamy white on the inside. Unfortunately, they are often hard to find locally. Some mail-order companies are calling these tall plants “lily trees”, which, of course, they aren’t.

Breeders are crossing Oriental lilies with trumpet lilies to get “Orienpets” or OTs. Orienpet lilies combine some of the best characteristics of each ˆ hardiness, height, fragrance, and color. There are constant hybridizing efforts to combine Asiatic and Oriental lilies to give fragrance to the Asiatic lilies and hardiness to the Oriental.

There is a lot of information about lilies on the internet, especially on the North American Lily Society website. Next week, planting lilies …