Surprise! In late August or early September, Surprise Lilies (lycoris squamigera) appear as if by magic with large pink flowers on top of naked three-foot-tall stems. Naked as in- no leaves, just the stem. Also known as Magic Lilies or Naked Ladies, they belong to the amaryllis family and have impressive blooms. Mine were especially a surprise as they tagged along with some Japanese Anemone (Anemone Hupehensis) that I acquired in a plant exchange among members of the Naperville Garden Club. A really good reason to join a garden club-free, wonderful plants!
Survival! Do you ever notice the plants that are flourishing in places that they shouldn’t even have a chance of surviving? In a corner of my driveway bordered by two garages- one a little further back, is a plant the size of a shrub. It has no soil to grow in and no attention from the resident gardener, either. I have an app, “Picture This,” that every gardener should have. Snap a picture and it will tell you more than you want to know about that plant. This one is an herb, Redwhisker Clammyweed (Polanisa Dodecandra), a member of the spider flower or cleome family.
Swiffer! I am currently the president of The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. and serving as such has expanded my circle of gardening friends. We have been commiserating about the effects of the pandemic as our meetings, conventions, plant sales, garden walks, flower shows, etc., have been cancelled. But, on the other hand, we have enjoyed the extra time that we have to spend in our gardens – accomplishing projects on our long to-do lists and just enjoying nature around our homes.
Recently, one of my new friends noticed spider webs around her plantings and decided that they were a distraction. So now, every day she takes her Swiffer and “Swiffs” away the cobwebs! When you notice that Swiffers are labeled, “Indoor/Outdoor,” a gardener is the one responsible for the new designation. Who knows what she will be doing if this pandemic goes on much longer!
