Wednesday, April 30, 2008

That mystery bulb...It's a Rain Lily!

A couple years ago I was out collecting landscaping rocks from the construction site behind our housing development and in one of the Texas Holey Rocks were a couple of small bulbs. I thought maybe they were wild onion bulbs or something, so I tucked them in by the ferns I planted and forgot about them. Every year they would get a few flat, strappy leaves that stayed evergreen throughout the winter. I was walking past them this evening and happened to glance over and....Holy Cow - A HUGE white bloom! What?! Those bulbs were White Rain Lily bulbs! Sweet! I love it when things I rescue turn out to be something really keen. I think it is a Hill Country Rain lily (Cooperia pedunculata). Please correct me if I am wrong, I have a hard time telling the different rain lilies apart. These lilies are night bloomers and are supposed to be fragrant.

Here it is in all its white glory:



A little closer:



How ironic that I just bought a whole bunch of rain lilies.
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3 comments:

  1. DianaMay 5, 2008 at 6:53 PM

    What a special treat to have a surprise bloom. That's such a fun part of gardening, isn't it?

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  2. Lee17May 11, 2008 at 6:13 PM

    Diana,

    It is all about the little things!

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  3. Annie in AustinMay 12, 2008 at 11:46 AM

    My experience was similar, Lee - dug the native white rainlilies out of the rocks at the last house and planted them in deck containers...otherwise the deer ate the tops before they could flower.
    Now they bloom at our second Austin house.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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