It is time to think about planting lilies again. One friend of mine has discovered that if he sends, say, $20 dollars or more according to how flush he feels, and asks for any odds and ends the lily grower has on hand he gets a wonderful bargain.
He does not ask for any named varieties but he does suggest types, such as regal hybrids, Aurelian hybrids, or maybe odds and ends in pink trumpets. Often the grower has bulbs that have been misplaced or names lost or maybe an oversupply of one kind or another.
He has done this for several years and I always marvel at the collection of plants he gets. The growers may not appreciate my telling you this but so far the lie has never had his money sent back.
Ground Covers
For the past couple of years, I have been taking out ground covers to make room for primroses and other plants. But the ground covers served their purpose for all the years when I was on the road and could not take care of the areas otherwise.
One ground cover that you will enjoy in some shady places is sweet woodruff (Asperula odorata). Give it plenty of organic matter in the top three inches of soil and it will go to town. And so will our native wild ginger. Have you tried the bronze form of a bugle (Ajuga reptans) for either sun or shade?
A lot of the odd varieties of English ivy that I had collected over the years were kilted last winter. They were small-leaved, less vigorous ones that did not take over the bed where I put them.
Planting Primrose Seedlings
For the first time in my life, my plants got me out of bed. I had ordered some primrose seedlings from an Oregon specialist. They had a special delivery just before midnight. They were in perfect condition and grew when they were planted in a cold frame in which the soil was at least half peat.
They were given a shot of soluble fertilizer every ten days to two weeks and dusted with silicide every two weeks to keep down the slugs and sowbugs. Some will be transplanted this month, others next spring after the bulbs have started to come up so I will not dig into any of them.
44659 by Victor H. Ries