Yes, congratulations to you both.

Lots of material to look at here. I've gone back through it several times now. My compliments to all the participants on their interesting and beautiful flowers! A lovely, colorful show, Anthony and Della!

Not that either of you should know, but you might....

Is that your native Eryngium ovinum displayed?

Sea Holly- Claremont Garden Club used it as 'backfill decoration' -to colour the 'voids' ..Did create quite a talking point

But wait- there's more! (Excuse bad humour and general slackness in uploading pics):

gwhizz said:

Today I put some Madame Butterfly pollen on this.. I think the progeny , should be a killer..Truth is, I have much admiration for the way , Della enters her lilies.. like an 'ol Texas Hold -Em card player.. '' only gamble on the sure winners''

You'll have beautiful babies! And *cough* ...It's almost a miracle I pick anything! I only pick the stems I can bear to part with the opportunity to pollinate. It's pathetic - I have to psyche myself up to cut anything - I'd rather set pods! (So yeah - unless it can put on a good showing, it stays here and breeds! )

I had the worst time convincing myself to cut my yellow seedling, but the need to get some objective feedback on it finally outweighed the benefit of leaving it in the garden and setting a pod or two. I already have some progeny growing, I can still use the pollen on other things and I can live without seeing a decent stem from it next year while it recovers from being cut... and I have young bulbs of it growing that should make small stems next year. Phew!!!

Here it is when I got it home and I introduced it to L. leichtlinii to make babies:

Thanks everyone for enjoying the show

I loved the zebra-striped lily too. Not sure if there were one or two very similar clones, but here's another pic:



And my favourite; so graceful, perfect pedicels, tertiaries, green-tinged flowers with masses of papillae:



I thought it must be a L. rosthornii hybrid, but apparently it's 'Louise'. I've never seen a stem of Louise that looked this good and wasn't flopped over, but then maybe I just haven't seen enough. I know what I'd do though if I had L. rosthornii flowering and some Louise pollen.

(I must be completely enchanted with green-tinged white henryi things!)

The stem of Louise for me never stand up on its own, but the stem itself is strong enough. It just doesn't want to be straight. The petal on that one are kinda wonky, probably due to the hot weather again. Mine are quite uniform.

I've never grown it myself, but every time I've seen it the stem has had a bend - it just wants to grow that way? The flowers also, from memory, are quite tightly reflexed and kind of washed out in colouration. By comparison this example was saturated and wild.

I just didn't recognise it as Louise.

The best of the Pearl series that I've seen; Jennifer:



A different example of Pearl Jennifer won Champion Single Bloom. I found Pearl Justine tolerable enough to enter it:

Regarding Loise, yes to everything you say.
Two pics of exactly the same plant, different years. But for me, the "washed out form" only happened once.

Aha - thanks. That first pic is what I remember Louise looking like. Amazing. I wonder if the cooler wet spring influenced the depth of colour? Maybe generally more overcast skies leading up to the show had an impact??

Then again, that stem came from the North West, where they actually have soils with really good mineral profiles.... What was the season like when Louise flowered pale for you?

A few more pics:

The 1st X-Phi opened tonight... STAY TUNED.. It is different Louise, Citrinum , Madame Butterfly. ,, and Even Henryi , here Della [Pollen is free],Lots of Oysteins Rosthorni x OP[beautiful trumpets] opening[How much of a king do you think I feel , strolling my garden with a cold beer?][If only I had a fan waver].. Its gonna be damn hot tomorrow.. I just came back inside ''bedazzled''.. Oysteins Wh Henryi Slg .. obviously x Black Heart, Totally green backed and as strong/big... and rigid as any good Orienpet..I must charge my batteries for tomorrow, these are too good viewing to miss!

Will look forward to it!

Look at all these babies

Looking foreward to see more beautiful flowers. I have never done any crosses with blackheart before last year. Anthony; do you remember what year I sent you the seeds?

What a neat bouquet! Love that bloom in the middle ~ white with purple spots.

dellac said:Aha - thanks. That first pic is what I remember Louise looking like. Amazing. I wonder if the cooler wet spring influenced the depth of colour? Maybe generally more overcast skies leading up to the show had an impact??

Then again, that stem came from the North West, where they actually have soils with really good mineral profiles.... What was the season like when Louise flowered pale for you?

That pale flowered pic of Louise was back in 2007, and I really don't have a clue what that season was like anymore. That could have been the reason.... But records show it was the first flower after I bought and planted the bulb the fall before in 2006. The soil was much heavier then, with more clay and with less organic matter.

OK lets not get 'off track'

OK , Now for some men' s art insanity shots

I always love the men's division ~ such a sense of humor!

Never seen anyone smoke a lily before.....

What is May 21st?

What are all the note cards?
--- Comments from the peanut gallery?