Back in the early '90s I read an article in a gardening magazine about all the difficulties of growing lilies, such as having to stake them. It really kind of dissed lilies and I was surprised because it was a reputable mag. So I swore off trying lilies for a few years until I saw some in a catalog that I usually ordered a few things from so I thought I would throw one in. Later I bought another bulb, I forget the source now. These first two lilies were the oriental Antonia and Asiatic King Pete. They grew well but eventually disappeared.
In the meantime I came across ads for the B&D and Lily Garden catalogs and ordered those but I didn't order lilies from them because for me at the time they were too expensive.
Around 1997 I saw an ad for Cascade Bulb and Seed catalog and they were actually located nearby. I ordered a number of different seeds including lilies and found most were quite easy to start and grow. I think that is when I really got going on lilies and have grown many from seeds from various origins including my own crosses. That makes this about my nineteenth year of seriously growing lilies, aided and abetted by my fellow lilyholics on the forums.
