The wild rice is for eating. The seed is recalcitrant, meaning if it dries, it dies. I have thought about growing it, and of course, my Brother-in-law can give me fresh seed, but I don't have the time to make such a specific set up right now. Maybe when I retire? Wild rice is very sensitive to certain contaminates, which is why there is such an uproar against copper/nickel/iron mining in northern Minnesota.
Kathy, thank goodness (for the lilies) that it is dry. This is what can save them in cold, but above freezing weather. Cold and wet can mean death for lilies, as the semi-dormant bulb can't fight off infections that are favored by this environment. But cold and dry is the next best thing to frozen (when moisture content doesn't matter).
Lori, I think the best thing you can do is mulch your lilies whenever you think the ground is at its coldest. (Would that be early February for you?) Keep the ground cold for as long as possible into the spring to delay sprouting.
