Lionheart Asiatic Tango Lilies -- & other Yellow July Bloomers

These Lionheart Tango lilies are beautiful this year!  It's the first year the deer did not eat 90% of them.

The are advertised as yellow with a black center, but I would call the center dark purple--a perfect match to the Ninebark shrub planted in back.  FYI - the Tango lily to your left is called "Cappuccino". The petals are white with a bit lighter purple center.  I have at a number of different colors of the "Tango" series--from white petals to vibrant red petals , to warm autumn orange petals -- and I love them all. 


At the beginning of this garden path, you can barely see the Lionhearts; until you walk further along around the curve

and the Lionhearts are suddenly right next to you in all their gorgeous yellow/purple glory!






At the very start of this path, I have some Echinacea Sombrero® Sandy Yellow that I planted in August of 2014. Echinacea has always been difficult for me to keep alive, so I am thrilled that they survived the winter of 2014/15!  They are not quite fully open in the photo below:

The yellow blooms continue right on to the whiskey barrels on my deck where I have some very tall yellow calla lilies.

 My MIL gave me a small pot of two callas about 15 years ago and they have multiplied at last 100 fold since then!  I have them in many of the deck containers

as well as in multiple gardens in the yard.

I even bring them inside for centerpieces.

Calla lilies are one of my favorite flowers.


If you are interested, This is my post last year on July 26 when I had only 2 of the Lionheart lilies that escaped the deer buffet.  You can also see some of the red "Olina" Tango lilies in that post.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you are as thrilled with your garden this year as I am with mine!

Tango Lilies

The asiatic lilies in theTango series are among my favorite plants. The main characteristic of Tango lilies is their two toned petals.  It looks like a big gob of dark paint was put in the center of the flower. As the petals open in the hot sun the paint flows outward  until only a few speckles are left clinging to the tips.

This beauty is 'Olina'. She is a striking red with a nearly-black center.

I just planted 'Lionheart' this year.  This one also has a black center:



'Capuchino' with cream colored petals & brown-red sprinkles.  I bought two sets of 'Capuchino' in different years. This one has nearly white petals.

While this one is more creamy. What's not to love about either?  They are both outstanding.

Tangerine-orange petals with brown flecks are the markings of 'Kentucky'.

My favorite named Tango lily is 'Dot Com'.

What blogger would not love that name? 'Dot Com' is light pink with a dark red center. 


This is my only dwarf tango and it's called 'Four You'. I don't really get the name with the numerical spelling.  Nonetheless, I enjoy this peach-colored shorty with burgundy freckles.

'Four You' is not really much shorter than my others this year.  They all seem shorter than normal, as do many of my other flowers. I have no idea why.  Have any of you noticed that?

I have not found that these lilies spread rapidly as they are advertised to do.  In fact, I have lost a few and gained none for the past five years or so since I planted the first bulbs.  I was really hoping to get a large mass of each, but it does not look like that is going to happen any time soon.

I am watering my parched gardens.  I write for a few minutes and then run out to drag the hose to another area.  Hate, hate having to water after I get home from work.  I know most of you are in the same boat, if not worse, so I will stop complaining.  :)

I Finally Caved In

Last fall I did not order any new bulbs from Breck's for my garden.  Many of you may remember that I was not happy with 50% of my orders last year.  After I emailed them, they did refund my money, but even that does not make me happy. I don't want refunds, I want what I order to grow as stated.  It's hard work to dig, plant, pamper, and then have nothing to show for my efforts.

Since this is the third day of mid-70 degree weather, the garden bug has hit, so I decided to click on the email they sent and I found two items that I really wanted.  So I ordered  12 of these new Lionheart Tango lilies:

I just could not resist that price. 

I also ordered 12 Crocosmia Fire King  bulbs.

A few years ago, one of my internet friends (thanks again, Chopsticks!) sent me some of these and I just loved them. Unfortunately they did not return the second year.  I never see them for sale in any of the box stores or nurseries here, so if I want them, I need to order online.

Now I need to find a place to plant these. 

Have any of you grown Lionheart yet?  I would love some reviews.

Gilding the Lily

I have been such a lazy blogger this week. I have had plenty of time after work to blog, but I just have not felt like it.

Each afternoon I came home from work and did almost nothing, except for this:



My only accomplishment for the whole week was that I finished reading two mysteries and did a bit of denim sewing:


Fortunately I found more energy for the weekend.

Saturday I went in to work for about an hour and then came home and went to Home Depot to look at dining room chandeliers. I didn't find a chandy that I liked, but I did find 8 lily plants--

too bad that it did not even occur to me to take a pic before I planted all of them! It does not take long to get out of the blogging mode! By the way, they were on sale for $4.98 each.

I bought 4 of these dwarf Tango lilies 'Four You'. They are only about a foot high - like the Pixie lilies I have planted along one of my paths.

I did not even know there were dwarf Tangoes, but as soon as I saw them,I had to have them.
These remind me so much of the 'Kentucky' Tango lilies I had this year.

They also had another dwarf asiatic called 'Manhattan'. Even though it's not my favorite color, I bought 4 of those also.
'Manhattan' has a huge pink flower. I planted them all along the path closest to the main arbor. I doubt that these will bloom this late next year. I suspect they were forced into bloom so they could be sold this late in August. The end of August is pretty late for Asiatics to be blooming in Michigan.

While I am on the subject of lilies, do you remember those Pineapple lilies that I bought from Breck's? I planted them in April. One of them has finally bloomed.

It's another big Breck's disappointment this year. I have never had an order from Breck's that was as big a flop as this year's was.

I ordered two of these fairly expensivePineapple Lily bulbs. Here they are today--4 months after planting.

The second one has barely broken through the soil. It's been that same size for weeks. The bloom on the other one is about an inch long.



Nothing like their ad from which I ordered them:

There is not much you can do about false advertising from flower catalogs.........
except stop buying from them.

That's why I bought the lilies from Home Depot this year instead of from Breck's. At least I see what I am paying for before I plop down my hard-earned cash.

I suppose I should write to them and get a refund on all the duds they sent this year....Rembrandt dahlias--only 3 of the six I received even came up, the pineapple lily that barely sprouted................I really hate to be bothered with getting refunds/replacements. I expect to receive quality the first time I order!

I almost finished one of my denim projects today. I will show you that later.

Blooming Tuesday

'Kentucky' Tango lily burst into full bloom this weekend. I showed you the first bloom, but I think 'Kentucky' deserves its full-bloom glamour shot, just like the other 4 Tango lilies had.

I want to order more of these. Three is just not enough. Here is the view across the grass path to the other arbor garden:

A little further back my purple phlox has begun. I have a few different shades of purple/pink phlox. Some of them are twenty years old and I have long forgotten their names.

Phlox is such a staple of my late July/early August garden.

This red striped/blotched Rembrandt dahlia just opened yesterday.

I'd be totally ga-ga over it, if it had a few more petals with the bold red stripes. Maybe some of the other buds will have more red. You never know what you will get with the Rembrandts. That's part of the fun about growing them. It's exciting to run out each day to see what the new flower looks like.

Update: 4:30 p.m. July 20, 2010 I just went out to see how the dahlia looked today. The next layer of petals opened and I see a lot more red stripes! I am almost

ga-ga! If I had this dahlia at Christmas time, it would be the centerpiece of my holiday dinner table--it reminds me so much of candy canes!

This Rembrandt is not lacking in red color!

I love the purple center petals. I have had this one for a few years and it never ceases to fill me with pure Rembrandt love!

Here is another of my original Rembrandt dahlias. They are purple and my least favorite.
So wouldn't you know that the purple are what I have the most of! I ordered another Rembrandt collection last fall. So far none of them have bloomed. I am hoping that I do NOT have more purple in my new collection!

I just went out and cut down the orange and red spent lily stems around the globe thistle.

Now all of those lovely orbs show up nicely. It won't be long before they turn blue. I am hoping that you won't be seeing that pile of top soil much longer. I have been asking DH to knock in down for the past two years. I have been waiting at least 104 weekends....maybe next weekend will be the one! It's getting small enough that I can probably do it myself. It ruins all of my pics!

I got down close to the ground for this shot. I wanted to get the red-striped Tropicanna leaves in. This canna is planted right in the ground and is not growing as fast as the cannas I have in containers.
Last year the one I planted in this same spot did not bloom. I am hoping for a better outcome this year.

Right now I have a lot of red daylilies blooming -- many of them are called 'Red Fan Fare'. They are a fairly short daylily - -about 12 inches tall--I like the yellow centers -- they look like they are on fire!

So that's what's new in my garden. Now head over to Jean's Blooming

Tuesday to see what everyone else has. Jean has a lot of different coneflowers--all colors. I am going to see the others right now.

'Dot Com' Tango Lily Opened While I was Gone

We were gone all weekend on a little get-a-way with my parents. I am so fortunate in that my dear husband loves to be with my parents.

My DH is a tad older than me and only 13 years younger than my parents. He loves to be with my mom and dad. How lucky can a girl get?

We have a lot fun traveling around the state of Michigan with my non-fuddey-duddey parents.

When I was a kid, my Dad had one of the only dune buggies in town.

When I was a teenager,they both had their own motorcycles and snow machines. Every weekend they were on some cycle/sled adventure.

At 16 yrs. old, I had a summer job at the canteen of the largest factory in town and I rode to work with my helmeted waist-length hair flying in the wind as I drove in on my Mom's motorcycle!

My parents are very young-at-heart and we enjoy them so much!

While I was gone, I set up automatic posts. I thank all of you who stopped by and left a comment. If you did not post as "anonymous" I hope I replied to your comment. If you were "anonymous", then I may have answered in the comment section. I do try to respond to all commenters, because I appreciate everyone who takes the time to say something about a post.

While we were gone, another Tango lily bloomed.
This pink lily with the burgundy dotted center is called ‘Dot Com’-- another beauty! I just love these Tango lilies! It is so nice to be totally satisfied with a purchase.
Don’t you just love the name ‘Dot Com’? What blogger would not be intrigued by that name?

Dotty is growing behind these lilies--left side by the arbor.

Even though she is just a few feet away, it's a lot more shaded in that spot and the three plants are much smaller than the others.

Gotta run...can't be late for work! I have tons more pics I took yesterday, so I may be back tonight.

For Amanda--Same views a Few Feet Apart

I got an email from Amanda T.who said she was a bit confused as to where all my different Tango lilies are located. I can understand that, Amanda. It so difficult to know where all my flowers are as I have quite a few arbors (3) and garden areas (about 12).

So Today I am going to show you a number of pics I took about an hour ago, which should help you to visualize where everything is. All of the photos are taken facing my biggest arbor, which I call the "main arbor". This first pic is with me standing just behind the area I showed a few days ago where I dug out the creeping phlox and replanted it with Lamb's Ear. You cannot see the Lamb's Ear, but it is just beyond the purple lavender in the front.

This pic is about 10 feet back -- just behind the original 'Capuchino' Tango lilies--the white ones, not the yellow ones.

Walk about 2 feet back and you are behind my new 'Olina' Tango lilies.

The next pic is just 12 inches further back, but I have the camera pointed slightly to the left and it shows more of the orange 'Ditch' lilies that are on the opposite side of the Tango lilies. The camera is pointed toward what I refer to as the "Woodland" gardens, because they are in the wooded part of my property.

The next picture is about six feet to the right of the 'Olina' Tango lilies. You can see the smaller arbor in this shot, but not the main (biggest) arbor. As you can see, I have the orange 'Ditch' lilies planted on this side, too.





In this last pic, I am standing about a foot in front of the orange ditch lilies above. It shows both arbors. They are about 25 feet apart??? I am not good with distances, so that is just a guess.

You can actually see all three of my arbors in this shot. The one in the background is way back next to my rockwall garden.

I hope this helps you, Amanda. If anyone else is confused about anything, please feel free to leave a comment or send me a personal email.

Thanks for stopping by.

More Lilies, a Wally World Bargain, & a CC Disappointment

I went for my after-work garden stroll and was all excited to see another new Tango lily has opened. This one is yellow...........hmmm....I don't remember ordering any yellow Tangos. I think this is 'Capuchino' but for some reason these petals are yellow instead of the white they should be. That's fine with me because I have enough of the white -- I only ordered more because they were part of the collection.

I am still waiting for the 'dot com' (pink) and the Kentucky (orange) to open.

A lot more of my tall Asiatic orange and red lilies have opened. I really like these together. You can see the Tango 'Capuchinos' in the back. If you enlarge this pic, you should be able to see the yellow petals in the front and the older ones that are white in the back.

For the past few weeks I have been admiring some of the bold bracelets that one of our young dining room hostesses has been wearing. Every time I mention how much I like a piece, she tells me she got it at Wally's World.

So this weekend I went to WW and wandered through the jewelry department. I found three really fun bracelets and I only paid $13.00!

$13.00 total for all three! I wore the orange one yesterday to our BBQ party.
It was a good match to my big bold Coldwater Creek orange necklace. I am going to check out WW more often. I have a ton of necklaces, but very few fun bracelets. I have a small wristful of gold bracelets, but sometimes I want funky and fun--especially in the summer.

I am slightly miffed at Coldwater Creek. I have mentioned before that I order just about all my clothing from CC--hardly a week goes by that I don't get a delivery at work.Two weeks ago I ordered these:
Yes, they are ants--big black heavy metal ants. I ordered 8 of them.

CC also has many unique items for entertaining. These ants are tablecloth weights! You set them around your outdoor tablecloth so it does not blow off the table. How clever is that? I had DH's birthday deck dinner (in August) all planned--right down to the red checkered tablecloth. I mean, really, could anything be more cute than big ants on a red-checkered tablecloth? I was going to use my black octagon dinner plates, red wine glasses and my vintage picnic basket with a huge floral arrangement with those red/black 'Olina' lilies at the back of the table. You all know how excited I get over a good tablescape...

Well, today I got an email that they had no more ants in stock, so I would not be getting them. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGG...............so much for my well-thought out plans. I guess there will be no ants at my deck dnner this year.

Tango with a Toad

A few images of the side garden:

Lily among the daisies

Mallow and daisies. I will be getting rid of this mallow in the fall. I am planning to redo this area completely. I have already been removing plants from the other side.
Here is the same area last month. What a difference! These poppies are going, too.

Drumstick Allium - I am quite fond of this allium. I have it in few other places, but it really seems to like this spot and multiplies nicely.

Long view of the areas above. Up front to the left is that big clump of mallow and the area I am redoing. I planted some Sunflower seeds from Dianne against the lattice, but it does not look like I am going to be successful with them.

What do you think this big bud looked like when it opened?


Ta da! It's a Tango lily (Cappuccino). I love these large flowers with the bold purple/black speckles. They are in the Arbor Garden.

And here's the promised toad. He's a big guy. I am standing on the deck looking down into the side garden. I did a doube take when I spotted him.