Monday, August 01, 2005

My Beautiful Flowers & The Friggin' Heat

I do not have a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination. I used to plant annuals (or are they perennials? The ones you have to plant every year? See what I mean...) but I got bored of doing it. Now, we just have bushes in front of the house and we cover the ground with cedar woodchips. Perhaps they are supposed to do something good for the ground, but I don't know. All I know is that you can't see the weeds as well with chips on top of them.

Well a couple years back I decided I wanted to plant Stargazer Lillies, because I had them in my wedding bouquet and I loved them. They have a pretty pungent smell to them, but they are beautiful. So I went to Home Depot and bought two pots of them and planted them in the front yard. I don't water them, or trim them, or fertilize them, or do whatever you should do to make them grow. But magically, they come back each year and they are gorgeous.

This year, they looked like this, and I was happy:


Then, we were hit with a heat wave, and this is what they look like now:

So, that's what they will look like till winter comes and snow covers them up, and they magically grow back next year. I hope.

20 comments:

LisaBinDaCity said...

I love stargazers, (despite the yucky thing in the middle that stains everything :-)) Yours are really pretty.

Summer in the big city - oh joy!

Charlie Mc said...

I planted sunflowers on Memorial weekend, they finally bloomed, they are like 5' tall and looking good!

Your pics are great, good job!!!

Anonymous said...

those are very beautiful indeed!!

bad day for me, will be back to cheerful self tomorrow

Molly said...

That's awesome that they keep coming back. Maybe you have a secret green thumb you don't know about?

Vixen said...

Beautiful Flowers! You do have a green thumb :) just can't control the weather (unfortunately). I have been growing Geraniums this year because they are very hardy! Hot and Humid down here for months and still going strong! :)

jlybn123 said...

I am HORRIBLE when it comes to my plants. I have a brown thumb for sure.

That would be why I have rose bushes and lillies myself!

Better luck next summer!

Raehan said...

I'm just jealous that you kept them looking so nice for as long as you did.

Can you cut them back and have them bloom again, or do they not do that.

See, I know nothing about this stuff.

Kim said...

I love lillies, especially the Star Gazers. They are the most fragrant! I have some blood red lillies in my backyard, but they are done blooming by mid-July. :-(

BTW, the woodchips help keep your soil nice and rich too. :-)

Jean-Luc Picard said...

You have far more flowering skills than I do, Jersey.

Natsthename said...

Yes, they'll grow back! Pretty colors!

Tuesday Girl said...

I have stargazers too, I love them.

Bridget Unnel said...

I have the ultimate brown thumb. A mysterious patch of brown grass the size of a medium-sized dog lying down has appeared on the lawn in front of my flowers. It looks soggy and rotted; all the grass is tamped down as if a heavy object had rested there for a long time. I have no explanation...

Anonymous said...

The heat and hum-did-ity has been horible. I hope your plant comes back just as pretty next year.

Miss_Vicki said...

Those are my absolute favorite flowers, they are gorgeous!!

And don't let me near them, if they see me coming they'll commit plant-a-cide, trust me ;)

Marie said...

I *love* stargazers. And your flowers have grown beautifully.

Michele said...

Stopping by to say hello....

Oh what pretty flowers. Although I like lilys I do not hav any in my garden.

Yes, they will grow back because they are perennials (annuals are only an annual flower). I love gardening and my garden was once featured in a garden tour. Yay me - FINALLY, something I am good at. One of the very few things I am good at.

Thank you True Jersey Girl for accepting my comment bribe. I truly do appreciate it.

Scarlet Hip said...

I miss Jersey every time I read your blog. You may be responsible for me moving back next year! By the way, can I borrow 5,000 dollars for the moving van?

hehe

Kimberly said...

You just reminded me I need to go and water my dying lawn....

DAMN!

Sleeping Mommy said...

these kinds of lillies are wonderful because they drop seeds and come back more and more each year. Stargazers always remind me of my father's mother. Star gazers and elephant ears. I need to get some lillies...

My garden has looked totally overgrown and wilted all summer because of this heat and it being too awful to get out there and clean it up.

Here's to a cooler summer next year. PLEASE!

Anonymous said...

I don;t have a green thumb at all! I am no martha stewart in the garden . I do love smelling flowers though.