Spider lily

Spider lily
Originally uploaded by sassycrafter

For years I cursed this plant, dubbing it the amaryllis that never bloomed. It finally bloomed, proving me wrong on two counts. Apparently it's a spider lily (Hymenocallis latifolia) and not an amaryllis.

It's not entirely surprising that I didn't know what it was. The plant tagged along for the ride when I transplanted a huge coontie plant from a friend's yard to my own. I didn't want to try digging the bulb out of the coontie, so I let it be. More than five years later, I finally know what sort of bulb it is.

This is a good example of why the experts tell you not to rip things out when you move into a new house. If you can't be sure of a plant's identity, you never know what surprises might await you!

Nature vs. nature

crocus
Originally uploaded by sassycrafter

The squirrels are doing their best to curtail the bulb display in my sister's yard in the Washington, D.C., area.

I've been visiting with my sister and her husband over the holiday weekend. We did some yard work since the weather was so nice and noticed that several of the bulbs, like this crocus, seemed to have exploded. The leaves are still there but the flowers have been scattered about.

We also saw a number of small holes in the ground, but didn't know what was causing them. Until later.

Then we saw the ultimate taunt. Not only have the squirrels been eating the flowers, they're also uprooting the bulbs entirely and leaving them on the railing of the deck, as if to say, "You can plant all the pretty bulbs you want but we're just going to rip them out of the ground and treat them as edible delicacies." Damn squirrels.

And poor crocuses! I'll bet they were initially happy to be planted so lovingly in my sister's yard, thinking that they'd be destined for a life of suburban bliss. But no, not if the squirrels have anything to say about it. I guess this is a case of nature versus nature, with the squirrels ahead 1-0.

Canna!

Canna peeking through the soil
Originally uploaded by sassycrafter

My first canna of the season is popping its little head above the surface of the soil. I planted this 'Wyoming' canna on February 17, if memory serves me correctly. We've had two cold snaps since then, but they don't seem to have hindered this little guy's debut into the world.

The 'Wyoming' cannas have striking bronze/burgundy foliage and produce bright orange flowers -- a perfect look for a bold garden!

I also planted some 'Bengal Tiger' canna rhizomes (variegated yellow-green leaves and red flowers, also called 'Pretoria'), three Scadoxus multiflora corms (fabulous red globular flowers), three crinum bulbs (classic pale pink flowers), and some white/green caladiums.

All are in the ground, and so far the cannas and the scadoxus are the only ones popping up. I bought them all at my local Home Depot, but you can also get them through online retailers like Brent and Becky's Bulbs.

By the way, the purple rod you see to the right of the canna is a knitting needle. Since I'm planning to add more plants to the bed, I wanted to make sure that I'd know where I had planted the rhizomes so that I could avoid disturbing them if they were slow to pop up. I have a bunch of old knitting needles on hand, so I figured they'd work great. I was even able to color-code them -- the 'Wyoming' got a purplish-colored needle since it has somewhat purple foliage. If you don't have extra knitting needles at your house, you could also use skewers used for making shish kebabs. They're cheap and readily available at the supermarket.