Two Weeks in July: Tinilco Asiatic Lily

First – it’s July 14 – Bastille Day – Vive la France!

Second – my lilies are intact! Let me explain my joy. Three springs ago I ordered a bag – half price – of oriental lilies. They never arrived. Instead, it turned out I had been sent five Asiatic lilies. I didn’t mind. Asiatic lilies open earlier then others, they’re tall enough to compete with the daylilies in this bed and it was still a good deal (and gardeners love a good deal, right?) But my garden critters also loved a good deal. That first summer, the stalks only got about a foot high before forming a few flower buds each, and most of those were nibbled off before they opened.

Last year, the same thing. The stalks were taller, but only one or two blooms on each stalk actually opened because most of the buds were decapitated – I’d find the buds on the ground in the morning. They weren’t even eaten – just snapped off and left lying there.

This year though – wowza! They’re tall, like, really tall. Not trumpet lily tall (those haven’t started to bloom yet), but still, almost three feet tall! And every single flower bud has opened! I don’t know what’s different this year – but I’m happy about it. This is what the magnificent Tinilco lily has looked like over the past two weeks:

The only thing I can discover about its parentage, or the meaning of the name, is from a checklist from the Royal Horticultural Society, which says ‘Chance seedling; parentage unknown.’ Hmmm. Fragrance and pollen free, Asiatic lilies make great cutting flowers, especially with their upright facing flowers that can actually be seen in a vase or bouquet. Maybe I’ll cut one or two stalks next year, but for the past two weeks I’ve just been enjoying them open in the garden.