I’m usually pretty darned good at keeping track of what I plant. But I’m confused by these lilies. Confused by their beauty, yes, but also–what the heck are they? Years ago, I had a very tall trumpet lily in this same spot in my side yard. It stopped coming up eventually–I think the little kids next door kept chopping off its head, and I have to admit, if I were a little kid, that tall stalk would be alluring. But I know for sure that there were several years when it didn’t bloom.
So I thought that last year, I ordered three “Orienpet” lilies to replace it. Orienpets are hybrids of Oriental lilies and trumpet lilies; they’re supposed to have good fragrance and bloom their heads off. Sure enough, this year three lilies came up in this spot, right beside the downspout. And they’re gorgeous; no one could argue with that. But … I can’t seem to find my order form, and I can’t remember what these are! I’ve been all over the Internet looking at pictures of Orienpets and Trumpets and Orientals, and none of them look exactly like this.
Also? They’re not all that fragrant. Actually, they’re not fragrant at all unless you stick your nose right in them, and then you get covered with lily pollen, which DOES NOT wash out of clothing or off one’s skin, ever.
It doesn’t really matter what they are, because I won’t order them again if they don’t have that lily fragrance. Lilies without fragrance aren’t really lilies, if you ask me. I do like this photo, though! For once, I didn’t jiggle the camera.
