06 August 2009

native spider lilies are blooming 2009

hymenocallis liriosme
photo: ponds, plants and more

saturday we noticed that the native spider lilies started blooming.. they're late blooming this year too. before, they've always bloomed within the latter half of the month of july.

we're sure that this years lateness is due to global warming or the earth's seasons changing due to its wobbling around on its axis because of all the earthquakes and volcanoes.

in january 2002, norman winter a horticulturist with mississippi state university wrote an informative paper "bold gardners grow native spider lilies," about and how to grow, the white spider lily native mostly to mississippi, louisiana and georgia.

in his introduction, mr. winters poses a good question:
i imagine our creator looks down from above and wonders why this exquisite flower rarely appears in our [mississippi] state's gardens.
we hadnt thought of it that way before. he's right though, because we've never encountered one in anyones yard. in previous years, we always stumbled across this mysterious flower blooming deep in the woods somewhere, situated in such a way that, after the bloom is gone, it couldnt be located again. we assumed that the most high reserved the pleasure of its bloom only to himself.

when you see one of these blooms up close its easy to understand what jesus christ was on about in his sermon on the mount when he said:
"consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet i say unto you, that solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. if then god so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, o ye of little faith?"
by the end of this month, the non-native (japan), and easier to find, red spider lily [lycoris radiata] should be springing up to show off its spidery bloom. this bloom and its green variegated foliage which sticks around all winter, makes lycoris radiata another spiffy spider lily to decorate your garden with.
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Posted by wst... at 09:40

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