Beautiful LILIES in our Yard --2019 (Part I)

Montenegro Lilies,  6/03/19

Dear Friends,  As most of you know,  we have a "Deer Eating Our Flowers"  problem at times.  As George always says (and I agree):  "I love seeing the deer as long as they are NOT in our yard".... Last year,  they loved munching on our LILIES  (one of my favorite plants).... And once they eat the lily buds/blooms --that plant is finished for the season. (At least the Roses will come back --after being munched on.)

SO during the Fall,  George dug up ten of my favorite lilies planted in the front yard,  and replanted them in containers --which we put on the deck.  This year,  I/we enjoyed watching those beautiful Lilies bloom...  I could even enjoy them, and smell their wonderful fragrance,  from inside our home --since some of them are close to one of our Sliding Glass doors... Moving the plants to the deck worked well--and I was/am a "happy girl".... Thanks, George!!!!

I have two blog posts showing our LILIES... They bloomed off and on from the middle of May   to the second week of July.  We had 12 different types of Lilies to bloom this year --and,  since the deer stayed away from our entire yard MOST of the time,  we not only had them blooming on the deck --but also in the front yard...   It has been a good year for the LILIES....  (And with the rainy winter and spring,  the deer had plenty to eat elsewhere this year..)

Hope you enjoy today's pictures.... You'll have to pick out a favorite (or two or three)....

Some of our Lilies on the deck,   6/9/19

Pink Lemonade Lilies after a rain,  6/18/19

Orange Electric Lilies,  6/8/19

This Lily, Pink Perfection,  just kept GROWING....  Not sure how tall it was,  but probably about 7+ feet.   George is 6'2" --so you decide!!!!!! ha....,  6/19/19  (NOW--see picture below!)

Pink Perfection Lilies,  6/19/19  (Thank Goodness for the zoom lens on my Canon;  otherwise it would have been hard to capture this huge Lily.)

A favorite of mine,  Muscadet Lilies, 7/3/19;  These beauties bloomed both in the front yard and on the deck.

Always a favorite,  Rosella's Dream Lilies,  6/8/19

An old-time favorite of many folks:  Stargazer Lilies,  7/6/19   (Those are Muscadet Lilies to the right.)

Golden Splendor Lilies, 6/19/19;   We were blessed to have these Lilies blooming both in the front yard and on the deck.

Purple Prince Lilies,  6/25/19

One of my favorite Lilies,  Lombardia Lily,  7/1/19;   This one's color is so amazing;  Looks like it could glow in the dark!!!!

Lilies are interesting to study... There are about 8 (or more) varieties.... Since making a 'combo' lily OR hybrid lily has become popular,  there are and will be even more varieties...

Two things come to mind of most people when thinking about Lilies... First are EASTER LILIES...  I always thought they were a Trumpet Lily --but they are in their own category,  Longiflorium Lilies...    The second thing which usually comes to mind are the DITCH LILIES.... Those are the orange lilies which grow along ditches or used as ground cover (since they are invasive and will spread)..  What you may not know is that the Ditch Lilies are actually Day Lilies --since the blooms only last a day..  BUT---since there are usually SO many blooms,  most people don't even realize that each bloom only lasts a day.

We grow Day Lilies also ---and ours get prettier every year --since the plants get bigger and stronger --and give us many more blooms per plant.....

Here's a webpage if you are interested in learning more about the VARIETIES of LILIES. Click HERE.  Two of our Asiatic Lilies in today's post are Montenegro  and Rosella's Dream.   Two of our Trumpet Lilies are Golden Splendor and Pink Perfection.  Two of our Oriental Lilies are Stargazer and Muscadet.    AND one of our Orienpet Lilies is Purple Prince.   The Orienpet Lilies are a cross between an Oriental Lily and a Trumpet Lily.  We used to have the Turk's Cap Lilies (which I always called Tiger Lilies).  We no longer have that variety.

As I have said,  Lilies are interesting --and so much fun to watch them grow and bloom.  Hope you enjoyed seeing some of our beautiful Lilies.... There's more to come soon!!!!!

Have an awesome day --and remember to contact those you love.  My sons have no idea how wonderful it is to hear from them.... I SMILE really big when I get those phone calls...

Hugs,

Emoticons

More Beauty from Skyland and Skyline Drive, Virginia

Yellow Wildflowers Blooming most everywhere we went that week;  This batch was taken on our walk around the Skyland Resort area where we stayed.

Dear Friends,   I have so many pictures from our latest trip to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia...  SO-today,  I  will share some from only one of our days there,   August 7, 2019...  Hope you enjoy seeing this beauty!!!!!!!

There are two groupings:  1.  around the Skyland Resort where we stayed;  2.  Overlooks along Skyline Drive (between Skyland Resort  and Front Royal, Virginia).

Our view of the Shenandoah Valley looking from the balcony of our room at Skyland Resort

As we walked to dinner one evening through the resort,  I just had to take a picture of a beautiful Butterly enjoying the Thistle Bloom.

On that same walk,  we saw more pictures of the Shenandoah Valley below.

I'm always impressed by the HUGE Fir Trees on our walk at Skyland Resort.   This picture doesn't really show the overall vastness of that tree.   Amazing!

More yellow wildflowers along one of the maintenance roads at Skyland;

In last week's Blog Post,   I talked about the hike we took UP UP UP to Little Stony Man overlook, and the gorgeous views we had up there... This picture, which was taken on the opposite side  of the mountain from where we hiked,  shows another part of the Stony Man overlooks.... Maybe the next time we are there,  I can hike to this part of the mountain.  However,  it is a much longer and harder hike....Bet it's even more beautiful up there though than where we were at Little Stony Man!!!!

Since last week's blog post was ALL about ME --and my BIRTHDAY,   I must show some pictures of my Sweetheart,  who made this trip possible for me.   George is standing at one of the overlooks along Skyline Drive.

I loved seeing all of the cloud formations.... We had a beautiful day to visit that area.

Every Overlook gives us different views;  I loved seeing the shadows in this picture.

More beautiful mountains and pretty puffy clouds

More shadows --and a different look as the sun plays Peak-A-Boo with the clouds

This is my favorite picture from the overlooks...  I loved the clouds,  the shadows and the sun peaking through.... 

Anyone who visits the overlooks on Skyline Drive ALWAYS has to stop  (us included) and take pictures from the rocks... Who is that handsome man climbing up on those rocks to get more pictures???

WELL---that's enough for today....  I have one more  August 7th post from our hike on the Limberlost Trail --but that will come later!!!!!!

Hope you had a great week...  We certainly did!!!  After getting home from our big trip on August 10,   we had three very special get-togethers  with family/friends this past week... On August 13,  we met good friends, Judy and Charlie,  at Cades Cove in the Smokies  for lunch and a visit.   Then in late afternoon that day,  we met two of our sons  (Bert and Mark) in Townsend for dinner at the Trailhead Restaurant...  Then,  on Saturday, August 17,  the other son,  Jeff and his wife, Dawn,  came to see us here at home.....  SO--as you can imagine,  it was a terrific week!!!!

Have a good one,  and remember to get some exercise and stay hydrated!!!!!!!!

Hugs,

Emoticons