Lorelei Gets Around

It was just a quick drive by viewing to determine how long before my next visit. There she was stealing the show, Lorelei, sent off as a gift maybe three years ago.

Lorelei not once but twice, grown into big fat clumps from small divisions. At this point there is plenty more Lorelei to spread around.

But I was far more intrigued by this unknown amaryllis looking lily I spotted across the street from another garden I tend.

I knew there was a crinum in this very neglected garden. I looked to see how it was doing. That is it behind the blooming unknown.

It sure looks like an amaryllis. Amaryllis and crinum blooming and surviving in NC, in the ground outside, after two consecutive below zero winters? My covetous side was screaming. I really should ask politely first before something falls out of the ground.

I looked around on the interwebs and this seems to be what it is. "Hippeastrum x johnsonii is commonly referred to as Hardy Amaryllis, Johnson's Amaryllis or the St. Joseph's Lily."

I am seeing it rated to zone 7 and to zone 6. Would it survive on the mountain top? Boy those are big fat healthy looking clumps. I better ask.

It's not like the wild cultivated gardens really need anything new, but I have plenty of Lorelei I could trade for amaryllis and crinum bulbs

Bulbarella patrols her domain. I know she would trade Lorelei for a hardy amaryllis just to try and see if it would live up here.

That red would clash with a lot of things so we would need to find the right place for it.

Red and white would work, but I know the site for an experiment like this needs to be full sun with a sharply draining soil. Cold wet feet in the winter is not good for a bulb like this when pushing the edges of tolerance.

We have every color and then some. There really isn't a need to worry about things clashing.

This red, double petaled, pom pom azalea is rather different.

There is more yet to come. There are quite a few of the native Flame azaleas which bloom much later than the rest. Even their bloom times are quite spread out.

Lorelei is not the only plant on this mountain that gets around. Quite a few things have jumped the fence into the next county. A little Phacelia purshii can't hurt.

Other natives are not quite so rambunctious. I will be watching this Clintonia umbellulata to see if it makes seed. If it does I should plant them. That adds one layer of protection from the varmints eating them.

I must have more of this. I think it is Actaea pachypoda, Baneberry. I'll need to look closer. Some plants on the mountain are represented by a single member.

There is only one of these yellow and white Siberian iris so far. In a couple more seasons it will be dividable.

If it's anything like Lorelei and its close relation Caesar's Brother, well then, it won't be long until it is all over the place.

The Yellow Flag iris, Iris pseudacorus, has started to bloom. It is looking like this will be a decent bloom year since it wasn't severly frozen by a late spring freeze.

It is blooming at the same time as Caesar's Brother. Now they both need to do a mass bloom in sync that is visible from my front porch viewing station.

It's the loneliest poppy in the world. It's not an iris. For some reason I have been unable to grow more poppies. This one was here when I arrived almost eight years ago. At least it is getting bigger.

There's not just one Lorelei. It has spread throughout the county and beyond. I think Lorelei has made it from this mountain top to several other states as well. And there is plenty left.