If you are intoxicated by the fragrance of lilies and long to grow lots of these sumptuous flowers, you can plant many varieties of lily bulbs to have continuous bloom from late May into August.

Many of the species are native to the United States. They belong to the genus "lilium" and there has been extensive hybridization, resulting in a wide selection of hardy lilies that grow from 2 to 6 feet tall.

They must have well-drained soil, and their feet like to be cool. So they can be planted at the edge of a woodland garden that gets some sun, or in a sunny border with companion plants to shade their feet.

They are collaborative plants and the tall ones look best if they arise from between a group of other plants to help mask the stakes that they need for support. The Asiatics bloom early and are shorter than the Orientals, which are late bloomers.

Lily Varieties

Lilies come in all shades except blue, and there are trumpets, flat and recurved shapes. One favorite oriental is "Star Gazer" with dark pink and white upfacing flowers, easy to arrange in a vase.

Anne Morrow Lindberg wrote "Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet to a crowded day - like writing a poem or saying a prayer."

She needed solace at times in her life, as we sometimes do.