Alive with Lilies!

July and August bring the lovely lilies, and we've had a glorious show.

This has been the summer of showers and thunderstorms, almost daily! It's been nice not having to water much, and we've had plenty of sunshine between the showers. The corn is as high as an elephant's eye! (......and it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky.

Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day....stop me please!)

The only cloud on the horizon is that my computer has gone bung (as the Aussies say). Which means it's on the blink. That's right - it's not working! And you know what that means - Major Frustration! If it wasn't for my dear husband very graciously sharing his computer, I'd be up the creek without a paddle (as I told my sympathetic friend, Alice).

While we were away visiting our son, DIL, and the little grandsons last weekend there was a very nasty thunderstorm, and lightning struck very close to the 2 houses on our farm. It zapped the telephone and computer of our young neighbors in the tenant house, but spared ours. However, we needed repair work done to the electric pole in our yard because a bad neutral wire was causing low voltage to the house.

The work was done on Wednesday and we were without power for several hours. Afterward, when I tried to turn my computer on it wouldn't boot up. It had been working fine that morning. The word from our wise computer guru is that possibly the power supply needs replacing, or it could be a problem with the motherboard. Time will tell. Meanwhile, I've been adapting hubby's computer to my blogging and photo taking needs by adding programs. It's not quite the same, but will suffice until my trusty machine is repaired. I'm counting my blessings that there's another computer in the house!

Well, that's the black cloud, and my sob story.....

now let's move on to a brighter subject.....

The lilies are blooming profusely, although a few have almost finished their show.

In the lily garden the creamy yellow lily (no name) looks lovely beside the blue larkspur, and the hills are alive with (the sound of music...no) green! Do you ever have those nights (or days) when everything's a cue for a song? :) I'm afraid I'm having one tonight, but I'll try to stay on track now....

The lovely Persian Market brightens this garden....

.....alongside the cheery Cherry Cheeks. Aren't those colors gorgeous?

You can also see Atlanta Moonlight here. I have this one in 3 places because the lily farm (Hawthorn Hill, near Cooperstown) was having a sale on her last year, so we bought a clump.

Here's Cleo putting on a wonderful show, surrounded by Gloriosa Daisies, which pop up wherever they feel like it. I move some around, but most I leave where they sew themselves. Below them, on the bottom right is an Easter lily, not quite blooming when this photo was taken.

Here it is a few days later.

Also in this photo are Cerise Queen yarrow (a rosey red achillea), and a "Pink Pixie" asiatic lily.

I planted 2 of these lovely lilies last year, after we'd enjoyed them for several Sundays at church.

Cleo is gorgeous beside the Cerise Queen yarrow.

Chicago Star lights up this hot colors garden. The blooms are about 9" from point to point.

She's a beauty. The silvery artemesia behind her softens the effect....

......just a little.

Amid the phlox on the other side of the driveway are the orange-gold By Myself, and the smaller Bali Hai.

Morning sunlight shining on By Myself...

......and Bali Hai.

I love the soft colors of Dallas Star.

Catherine Woodbury is a profuse bloomer. I have her in several places. She looks great tucked in the midst of Bee Balm (Monarda or Bergamot) and Gloriosas.

Isn't she pretty?

I'm very partial to pink :)

The cute, petite Butterpat has been overtaken by a clump of Spiderwort, which stowed away when we brought her home from the lily farm. I must dig her up when she's finished blooming, and separate the two.

Her blooms are just a fraction bigger than these petunias.

Joan Senior was a gift this spring from my friend, Marie. The spent blooms don't close the way other lilies do. They become translucent and take on a lacey effect. Interesting, don't you think? I love it!

Summerwine is such a beautiful shade. She's at the opposite end of the side porch garden from Joan Senior, and there's another clump on the other side of the steps. I should mention that the asiatics have finished blooming now. These photos were taken over the course of the past several weeks. The first of the daylilies began blooming in mid-July.

Here she is again down in the Fence Garden. There are 2 clumps buried among the perennials in the Lilac Garden as well, which need to be rescued. This lily has been in the garden for 18 years! She's one of the original first 3 that I planted, along with Catherine Woodbury and the creamy yellow.

Abstract Art glowing in the morning sun.

She was new last year. I have better shots of her, but they're buried on my broken computer. Luckily, all my photos were backed up on the external hard drive to Friday, July 25th, so only 4 days worth are inaccessible. But those include plenty of lily shots!

Mary's Gold has huge blooms! My dear hubby surprised me with her 2 years ago. I had admired those glorious golden blooms during our annual trip to the lily farm, but didn't end up bringing her home. Two days later he presented her to me. This man knows the way to my heart :)

I don't know the name of this orange beauty, but she was a gift from a dear, elderly gardening friend last summer, so I call her Jean's Lily.

Here's another gifted lily - this one from my sweet blogging friend, Country Girl (Apple's sister). We had a fun day together when she and Apple visited us last September, and many plants were swapped. This poor flower had been beaten mercilessly by yet another thunderstorm earlier in the day, which is the reason for its bedraggled appearance. I keep missing the opportunity to photograph the blooms, so I haven't yet managed to get a better picture, but this one at least shows you the lovely colors.

Oh, and here's the "Original Janice Brown" who turned out not to be Janice. A couple of my dear blog friends decided last year that they liked her better than the true blue Janice. Annie in Austin, of The Transplantable Rose, sweetly suggested naming her "Dear Kerri", but I think Annie's description - "heart of sunshine" is an apt name for such a beauty, don't you?

Here's the real Janice. She's a beauty in her own rite.

This luscious lady is "Unknown Purple". She was missing her tag at the lily farm, so she's another one that needs a name.

White Temptation came home with us last year too. Her spent flowers do the same thing as Joan Senior. Has anyone else noticed their whites doing this?

Charles Johnston has done well this second summer. Isn't he a glorious cherry red?

And now....ta da! - here are the newest additions to our lily family -

The lovely, tall and slender Lady Fingers, which I fell in love with last year, and wrote on my list to purchase this year.

Bama Music....also on my list.

Barbara Mitchell, an elegant beauty.

And last, but not least, the beautiful Chamber Music, a fitting finale.

There are a couple not shown because I can't access their photos at the moment, but hopefully I'll have them all back soon.

Wish me luck!

I hope to get around to posting and visiting more soon.

Meanwhile, I hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

Happy gardening!