Lovely Lily After The Rain

Dwarf Asiatic lily, after the rain.
(Click picture to enlarge)

"Everywhere water is a thing of beauty gleaming in the dewdrop, singing in the summer rain." ~ John Ballantine Gough

All the lovely blooms on our dwarf asiatic lilies are gone now. I've left the foliage intact and now there are multiple seed pods at the tips and the leaves are turning yellow. They were lovely in pastel shades of pink, hot orange and deep red this year; but even in this monochrome sepia shot, the beauty comes through. I think the lily looks best just after a spring or early summer rain with the small droplets beading up on the thick petals. They seem to lift their heads as if to catch the rain and hold it close.

Even though it is still hot and humid here, the change in the seasons is real and is coming. It is not quite as hot... lower 90's to upper 80's rather than flirting with 100. And it is now quite as humid... there are days where the humidity hovers around 50% rather than 80%. And the nights dip into the 60's rather than remaining in the upper 70's. The plants know. The butterflies know. Even the birds and bees know. There is a major increase in bee activity after a small lull in August. The caryopteris with their clusters of bright blue blooms are open and a few of the re-blooming daylily are still in shape; but the lily is spent and waiting for winter.

This year I will attempt to collect the seed and see what we can come up with. Perhaps more beautiful lily to grace the garden and entice the butterfly to return even earlier next year.

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Sepia Scenes
Watery Wednesday