Hold That Tiger!

Tiger lilies – Lilium lancifolium – are odorless, sadly. In my imagination they have a strong fragrance similar to Viburnum carlessi, or certain Dianthus – that spicy clove-like smell that reminds me of Christmas. Its most interesting feature perhaps, aside from the striking fiery orange and black spotted petals, is the multitude of aerial bulbils produced in leaf axils. One original bulb (origin long forgotten) has produced a small forest, a mini-woods, of lily stems almost as tall as me. If you want to gather them and try planting them elsewhere you have to be quick – most years I intend to do this but by the time I get around to it the bulbils have all fallen to the ground, too well-camouflaged to spot. They look good where they are, next to a small patio, behind a clump of Rudbeckia just starting to bloom and a metre or so away from also blooming, and very fragrant, Asiatic lilies.