Casa Blanca Lillies

The first time I saw a Casa Blanca Lilly was at my mom's garden. She had quite a patch of asiatic lillies, but they had doubled and tripled into clumps that for her had become unmanageable (wish I had that problem!) so she was planning on taking them all out. It was towards the end of the lily season, and these were the last to bloom. They were huge!! At least for my novice eyes - they were about 4 feet tall, and the very fragrant blooms were about 10".



There are 3 basic groups of lillies: Oriental, Trumpet, and Asiatic, as well as a couple of specialty varieties such as the "orienpet" which is a cross of the orientals and trumpets. The Casa Blanca Lilly is an Oriental Lilly.



Common Name: Oriental Lily
Hardiness Zone: 5-8 S / 5-10 W
Height: 48"
Fragrance: Yes
Exposure: Full or Part Sun
Blooms In: Aug
Spacing: 12"

Ours propagated this year (divided) for the ones that we did not cut - the one we did cut the blooms it only came back as a single stem. The others came back double - with as many as 21 blooms per stem!





They are so so very fragrant! I have them planted in a couple of different spots in the garden, and when they are in bloom their fragrance perfumes the air almost anywhere you walk! They are awesome!

Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses are new to me in 2008. I have seen them more and more in the nurseries, and I think it's because they don't need a lot of care, and they add a nice texture to the other garden plants. They are a great compliment. I gave one like that pictured above to my sister - I just don't have my own picture of it.



My favorite is probably a newly planted one called Hakone grass. It is a very soft grass - you just want to touch it. It is variegated green and yellow.






The next one that has done very well is the Carex - this one is called evergold, I think. When I planted them they were quite small. They have probably quadrupled in size since I planted them last year.



Third, is a grass given to us from a friend. It is also a type of Hakone grass, but it is all chartreuse. Very pretty, very soft. Puts out very soft plumes.





I also tried this other grass, which I think grows really funny but I've seen lots of it in landscaping. It is called variegated sweet flag. It grows in a spiral of sorts.



I have one called Lilyturf, or Liriope "Silver Dragon" that was gorgeous when I planted it, but it had a hard winter and is struggling to come back.

Finally, and I'll have to get a better picture of it, we have a carex that is orange. There are times of the year when it really looks orange, and other times of the year it just looks like a greenish-brown grass. It's doing okay.



Keep in mind these were all planted just last year, 2008, so you can see how quickly they grow!

The Dirt Sifter

My creative husband built this dirt sifter for our garden. The dirt in our garden is almost more rocks than dirt! It makes it hard to dig, and not easy for the plants to grow. We had been given some sod, so we needed to prepare the dirt.



You put the dirt in one end and crank the barrel. There is 1/4 inch mesh so that anything smaller goes through the mesh and collects in the buckets below. Anything bigger comes out the end.

The slanted wood acts like a corkscrew to move the rocks through the barrel. If the soil is damp, you can turn it in the opposite direction to keep it in the barrel longer so the dirt shakes off the rocks.



below is how our sod area looked after the dirt had been sifted and raked out:


We also use this to sift our compost. I'm tellin' ya - 1/4 inch compost is a beautiful thing to "be-hold". It feels wonderful!

Gladiolas

Or, "Gladiolios" as my sister would call them. They are in bloom now. I have always had a warm spot in my heart for them because my mom used to plant them in the backyard at the house I grew up in. Course, being a young couple, she could only afford a few, and so she spaced them out to get maximum spread for the color and dollar.







I have learned to clump my glads so they hold each other up. I have a preference for the deep red ones. I also like ones with ruffled edges. My husband has a talent for picking the unusual ones.





I don't know a ton about glads, but I do enjoy them when they're blooming. They do increase and multiply but I haven't dug these in a couple of years. A big bulk of them are in pots that you can't see in the photos. It helped to create a barrier from animals running through the bed.





Enjoy!