Whether the temperatures cooperate or not, fall announces itself in the garden. One of the harbingers of the changing seasons is the arrival of my Oxblood lilies.
Passalongs from my friend at Zanthan Gardens, they pop up like clockwork, even if the sun is still scalding us. Small and delicate, they always bring a smile to my face, knowing that the cooler days of fall are just around the corner.
Fall. And a whole new palette in the garden.
I was so sad when I read on Zanthan Gardens and Digging that their Oxblood lilies were beginning to bloom. I lovingly planted several clumps of them last year after MSS of Zanthan graciously shared hers with me. Sadly, the DOG got into them and I feared the worst last week when no signs of lilies appeared.
Then, after our 7 inches of rain over the last 3 days, I went out to investigate this morning and lo and behold, Oxblood lilies!
One big, beautiful clump of them. I have another straggler elsewhere, and there might be a few more — I’ll just have to wait and see. But this wonderful rain brought them out and they are so pretty and bright.
What wonderful garden blogging friends I have. Today I had a delightful tour of Zanthan Gardens and tonight I am the proud and thankful owner of a bucket-o-Oxblood lilies.
MSS shared her amazing bounty with me, as she has with so many others in the gardening community. Her post and her photos of her collection, truly are amazing, as is her garden. We had fun talking to her goldfish in the pond and sharing garden tales.
So I promptly brought my bucket home and found special places to tuck these beautiful specimens. I divided them into four groups — two went into the corner bed and two went into the shade bed. 
They are all safe and sound asleep tonight inside the fence, as I learned that the deer do like them with their salad.
For more on deer salad – see the sidebar!