A Summer of Lilies

Philippine Lily Buds

Regal Lily

First the Regal lilies (Lilium regale) in late May. Then the loooong wait for the Philippine lilies (Lilium philippinense). Their buds kept getting bigger and bigger - up to eight inches long- but they just wouldn't open. Until this week.

The Philippine lily is also fragrant, a mild lily-of-the-valleyish sweetness, quite unlike the powerful spiciness of the Regals. To smell it, you have to stick your nose way up into the bloom, all the while on the lookout for bees. Then you have to brush the yellow pollen off your nose. Just imagine how the bees must feel, with all that sticky stuff clinging to their furry, little legs.

Philippine Lily