Talking Flowers

Of all the flowers in my garden, I feel like it is the Double Tiger Lily, Lilium lancifolium ‘Flore Pleno’ who does most of the talking in mid-summer.

Just look at it. Doesn’t it look gossipy, like it has opinions to share, observations to make, and orations to deliver to all the other flowers?

So let us momentarily listen in to those opinions, observations, and orations, shall we?

“Carol could do a better job of weeding around here. Honestly, if I see one more crabgrass crawling toward me I will absolutely scream! And those horrible mulberry weeds! Ugh. They can send their seeds so far… one hit me on a lower leaf the other day, I swear it’s true.”

And

“Do you remember there was one more of us a few years ago? That was when Carol dug up one of us, IN FULL FLOWER, and gave it to her sister. I wonder how it’s doing? Did it live? It’s not always pleasant to be dug up like that, half your roots left behind, and then you’re expected to put down new roots wherever and still flower and all. What if you don’t like your new home? Why aren’t we asked if we want to go elsewhere? Honestly, we deserve more respect and consideration.”

Or

“What’s Carol doing starting seeds for perennials and biennials this time of year? Look around! Do you see room for more flowers? This bed is getting kinda shady too, and no, I don’t mean some of you flowers around me are shady characters. Get over yourselves. I mean we aren’t getting as much sun as we used to. If something isn’t done, we’ll have hostas and astilbes moving in. No telling what that will do to property values! Anyway, I don’t know where she thinks she’s putting those seedlings, if those seeds even germinate, but if she’s planning a new flower bed, I just might want to move to it.

And

Does Carol not have one ounce of color sense? Those phlox over there are clashing with my beautiful orange colors. Such pink! Honestly, you’d think Carol just randomly plants flowers without any sense of what will be blooming at the same time. Plopper’s Field, indeed. We need some flower zoning laws and ordinances around here, or this place will go to the dogbanes. Yes, I said dogbanes. I was so happy when she dug out that dogbane a few years ago. It was absolutely taking over and I, for one, felt quite threatened.”

And on it goes. The phlox, on the other hand, just silently blooms and thinks about all the places where it can self-sow itself, far away from the lily.

********

Have you subscribed to my new weekly newsletter? It comes out every Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern time with little tidbits about what’s happening in my garden each week. It’s a bit of journalling, pondering, and sharing of gardening knowledge. The fifth one comes out tomorrow!