Name:  Lilium aka Oriental and Orienpet Lilies  

Type of Plant:  Oriental and orienpet lilies are bulbs that flower in mid or late summer. Most of them are fragrant. Orienpet are crosses between an oriental and a trumpet variety.  

Why I Love This Plant: I love these because they are beautiful when they’re in flower, and on warm evenings or early summer mornings the fragrance is especially pleasant. I appreciate how the size and shape of the flowers contrast with finer textures and smaller blossoms of other plants.

A Word to the Wise:  Some garden centers sell lily bulbs now, and plants later in the summer. You can also order top quality lily bulbs from places such as Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. These will be sent to you in the late fall, and you’ll love the flowers the following summer.

Notice how the size and shape of these flowers contrast so nicely with the textures of other plants. I got these Muscadet lilies from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.

These are orienpet lilies – a cross between oriental and trumpet varieties. The Altari lily grows about five feet tall.

Margorie Harvey, a friend of mine who used to live in Cotuit, planted these Casa Blanca lilies near the roadway to her house. Casa Blanca is a favorite oriental lily that is tall and fragrant. 

After your lilies finish flowering, don’t cut them down. Leave the stalks in the garden until the leaves start to turn yellow. As long as the stem and leaves are green they are photosynthesizing, creating energy that will be stored in the bulb for next year.