Introducing
Now that Breck’s new Lily Lovers catalogue is on coffee tables and kitchen islands all over America, we thought it was the perfect time to express our affection for lilies in blog form, too.
3 Reasons We Love Lilies
1. Stunning Bouquets
Lilies are lovely and long lasting in bouquets, which has made them a fixture of the cut-flower industry. That’s why no backyard cutting garden is complete without an assortment of lily varieties, preferably with varying bloom times to keep the fresh arrangements coming.
If you have allergy sufferers in the home, consider planting pollen-free lily cultivars. Their lack of powdery pollen keeps the sneezes at bay and prevents stains on clothing and furniture that are possible with traditional lilies.
“Paws” before cutting
Be sure to keep cut lilies out of the reach of cats. Ingesting even a small amount of pollen or any of the plant parts can cause kidney failure in felines. Cats seem to be the only domestic pets so susceptible to lily poisoning, so many indoor-cat owners choose to keep their cut arrangements lily free and enjoy the beautiful blooms in the garden only.
2. Scents that Make Sense
It’s hard to look at lilies and not think about their iconic fragrance. But did you know that many lilies have no scent at all? Depending on the variety, the intensity of a lily’s perfume can range from slightly overwhelming to pleasantly restrained to delicate and even non-existent.
Oriental lily varieties generally offer the most fragrance, while their Asiatic cousins are often unscented. A lily’s perfume is especially important when planning a cutting garden. For instance, a beautiful bloom with an enticing scent outdoors may be too much for the kitchen table.
3. Hundreds of Heavenly Hybrids
It’s easy to identify most lilies by their elegant star-shaped blooms and prominent stamens. But years of lily hybridizing has produced a varied assortment of lily bloom forms, colour patterns and heights that makes growing these incredible flowers even more rewarding.
Here are just a few examples of the exciting diversity found in lilies:
Double-bloom lilies, pollen-free by design.
Carpet border lilies, compact and colourful.
Speckled tiger lilies, long-lasting and low maintenance.
Magnificent Lily Tree® lilies offer fragrant blooms at eye level—growing to a mature height of 6–8 feet in three years!
The list of lily types goes on and on, and adding to your collection each year is a great way to keep the lily love alive!
