Black Beauty & Henryii

Happy Thursday! Sorry for the lack of posting still. Work has been absolutely nuts. I've been working 12 hour days which is leaving me little time for much else other than eating and sleeping!

I did manage to sneak out into my garden this morning to take a couple shots of what's blooming. This is lilium tigrinum "Black Beauty". She's a species lily, and the parent of today's oriental hybrids. And she is gorgeous! She's spreading already for me and performing very well despite the drought we've been having this July.



This is actually Black Beauty's father, if you can believe it, Henryi. I moved him to a new spot in the garden last year to take center stage, and I'm happy he's flowering well and performing under the drought this summer.

He's not as tall as high daughter (she must get that trait from her mother!), but the orange petals and green stamens are real show-stoppers in the garden this time of year.



I just planted this rose, Glamis Castle back in late May. I'm happy to see her reblooming in her first year! She has some black spot but I'm hoping next year when she's established more that she'll be a bit happier in her new home and able to fight it off.

The buds are just slightly pink until they start to open, and then she's completely white with a touch of red right in the center there.



Lastly, as I was wandering around the gardens this morning I caught this monarch emerging from her chrysalis and was too enthralled to even move. Finally as she staggered out, stretched her wings, and walked up the length of this daylily leaf, I had to run inside and grab the camera! It's hard to tell in the photo, but her left wing hasn't fully unfolded yet. [All you see in this photo is her right wing.]

Thanks for indulging me!