Della, I always say, 'a good lily is where you find it'. Which gets pretty hard from time to time, especially for those like you who's interests has outrun the commercial side of things. You've got to remember, that most commercial lilies are just variations of those designed for forcing and the cut flower industry side of things. Those bulbs are discarded after blooming and so any interest in longevity is secondary and anything with long pedicels with 'b' or 'c' orientation won't package and ship well. We're lucky here to have somebody like Judith Freeman at The Lily Garden who still breeds for garden features and quality, and also Lynnette Westfall at Valley K who markets many varieties from Canadian hybridizers. Expanding one's horizons globally with other lily hybridizers has broadened my reach for pollen and seed.
