Surviving the Heat...Lilies

I would love to show you the pictures of my usually green and luscious July in Michigan yard...  The sun has thwarted my plans this year.  Those pictures of green loveliness that was the view from my kitchen window in May is now a burnt brown desert with just a couple of spots of green where the septic drains run...  There are a couple of things that do thrive despite the heat and lack of moisture and one of my favorites is the lilies.

The fairy garden is doing fairly well because it is shaded most of the day and also was built to suck any moisture that runs down the hill when we do get rain so it was probably the best hydrated spot when we had a real rain over a month ago.  That large terra cotta pot is still a work in progress - its a fairy house/toad house made from a giant pot my mom had that was falling apart.  I stuck a solar light in the top and used a broken piece of another pot to make a bridge to the edge of the stream.  I still need to knock a hole in the edge for the toads to get in there and I want to paint a fairy door and windows.

We had plans to do some different things with our house so several years ago (where does the time go!) I started moving clumps of plants away from the house so in case of demolition I wouldn't lose my favorites or have to scurry to transplant bed after bed of perennials.  During this process I discovered this beautiful gal tucked away under the edge of an overgrown boxwood and she has done brilliantly in her new home.

These Oriental lilies on steroids are another fragrant favorite but kill us with our allergies if that window gets opened (see all that pollen on those suckers, holy moly!).  They are in a raised bed but also grow about 5-6 feet tall.  There used to be Stargazers, whites, and other pinks but the yellow seems to have dominated all the rest.  I'll be digging up these bulbs when they are done blooming and see if there are any of the other colors laying dormant.  We still plan on doing something with the house so these need a new home (plus they have no business being in a raised bed but will be the center of the bed near the road where they can get more attention).

How is your summer garden growing?