August, turn of the lillies

August is now here and late summer has begun, next month is classed in the gardening calender as the start of early autum so for the time being we can enjoy the last of summer. This month sees lillies come into flower and from the pic above you can see a collection of lillies coming into flower.

As bulb plants these are one of the easiest to grow. Planted in late April to May (deep or high winds will blow them over) with manure dug into the soil they will start to appear in mid June. When the appear start feeding them to give them a boost and you will see flowers around this time. They will flower through August and will start to die down after that, when the foliage dies back you can then either leave in place or if you suspect garden nasties might go to work on them then lift and store for next year. Make sure the bulbs are dry when you store or them (and stored in a dry place) or mould may be set in and damage or destroy them.