Friday, July 27, 2012

Surprise

I found a little surprise out in the “wild” gardens.

Otto's Tiger Lily

I have not seen these in years.   Years ago..most likely about 12 years ago my Uncle Otto shared his Tiger Lilies with me.  He had too many.  Did you know Tiger Lilies are a favorite food of deer?  Well they are and they mowed them down year after year.  This one popped up at the edge of the woods..a lone survivor. 

Far Guy and I planted Echinacea (Coneflowers) both Purple and White along the driveway years ago.  They are doing surprising well..but they are prairie plants with deep roots.  We babied them the first couple of years.  Far Guy rigged up a watering system of two huge barrels that he put in the wagon and he used a bilge pump that was connected to the riding lawn mower battery.. the pump was connected to a watering hose.  So you could ride along the drive and squirt water at the flowers.  It was an ingenious way to water new seedlings. ( He has watched many episodes of the Red Green Show.)

Echinacea along the driveway

Obviously deer don’t like Echinacea…either that or they are not real high on the snack list.

Every year just like clock work Far Guy drags me down the driveway to look at the pretty red flower that he has discovered.   Bee Balm..I say..and he says “oh yeah..how did they get there?”  We used to collect seed in the wild gardens and then in the early spring I would toss the seeds along the driveway and some of them grew! :)

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19 comments:

Country Gal said...

Thais what I do when I dead head some of my flowers toss the heads in the gardens some where and hope they seed and grow so far so good ! Lovely photos , its nice to see a pretty flower just pop up after a while isn't it ? Have a good day !

DJan said...

I love tiger lilies. And the echinacea is beautiful. Deer also love roses, since they chomp down my neighbor's plant every year just as the tender buds appear. :-)

linda m said...

I love Tiger Lilies. Didn't know the deer love them but that would explain why we don't have any around here. The coneflower is very pretty also. My husband and I loved the Red Green Show - miss seeing it.

Anonymous said...

It's always fun to find "surprise" flowers. I haven't seen Tiger Lilies in a long time. I love them!
Hope your weekend goes very well at the museum.

Dreaming said...

I bet the 'wild' garden looks fabulous. I love having flowers pop up in 'the wild'! I sowed some poppy seeds on a bank out by the road. They didn't take this year - I'll try it again!
I love your picture of the cone-flower. I finally got some to grow and I'm tickled...er... purple?!

Nancy said...

I love the photo in your header - it is a great shot of all three dogs! Miney reminds me of my favorite companion when I was four or five - same sweet face.

Shirley said...

Maybe if you put some plants the deer avoid around the tiger lily it will survive?
Enjoyed seeing the new header photo.

LoieJ said...

The picture made me realize that maybe I don't have tiger lilies any more. Are they dead or did the deer get them? I can't tell. The deer at the tops of a number of my lilies this year. And something pulled out another lily and ate the bulb. It was one that I had just purchased. Tiger lilies remind me of my mom's flower garden when I was a child. Mom died last month.

Beth said...

The tiger lily is beautiful. I love the cone flower too.

Karen said...

It's always fun when a flower pops up unexpectedly. I'd find it so frustrating to have the deer eat them off:(

5 Starr's Farm said...

So different from the ones here, bigger. Love the photos of your garden.

LindaG said...

My grandmother had Tiger Lilies. I loved them, too. Have not seem them in years until your post. ♥

I think I need to get some bee balm...

You all have a blessed weekend! ♥

laurie said...

i love bee balm. so weird and spiky, and so very fragrant.

Anonymous said...

Ah - such gorgeous flowers! Love the lily - what a tough nut that one is!

L. D. said...

Your tiger lily looks like the kind my grandmother Brooks had in her yard and garden. That was back in 1963. I would really like to buy one and have one in my garden. It is amazing the base root kept alive for so long. Your will have to build a barrier around it out of natural wood so it will try to bloom again nest year.

Lynda said...

I love the purple coneflowers. Also, love black-eyed Susans. They just seem like happy plants.

Jeannelle said...

Our flower garden has a surprise Tiger Lily this year, too! I don't know how it got there.

Rita said...

Growing up as a kid in Fridley my dad loved Tiger Lilies and planted them on one side of the house. Just seeing them brought back memories of the childhood home. :)

Sam I Am...... said...

Well, I'm reading your posts backwards to catch up and for the first time in my life I now know the difference between what you call ditch lilies and real tiger lilies! Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Thank you for clearing that up! The tiger lilie is wild also I take it and has spots and it is gorgeous!