Some Rain lilies and the Reference Catalog

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall" 

                                                                        F. Scott Fitzgerald

In my mind I know it's way too early to even think about saying fall, but after the summer we have had I feel like the highs in the 70's and the lows in the bottom of the 50's have felt like heaven and the emergence of some of the fall bloomers has made it really feel like we are almost there. 

Zephyrathes labbufarosa

I've been collecting all the rain lilies I can find lately, they seem to be hardier than I thought and doing just fine here at illahe. The sporadic summer flowering does really add some interest and I'm excited to see if they have a big flush this fall when the rains hit. 

Amaryllis belladonna

Belladonna means beautiful woman, and apparently ventian women used to drop the poison of Atropa belladonna in their eyes to make the pupils dilate, a form which was apparently much more attractive then no posion in your eyeballs.  I think the specific epithet on the naked ladies is fitting. This is the one that came from my late grandmas house. They seem to take the occasional year off from blooming but this year they are shooting up everywhere. 

The autumn crocus are starting in to bloom now

The season definitely does feel like the summer is waning a bit now, the cooler weather was so nice and maybe that is the trigger for the colchicums to start emerging?

Zephyranthes grandiflora

Another of the spectacular rain lilies that just keep throwing up flowers every couple weeks through the summer. 

As mentioned the cooler fall weather has been soooo nice! Actually could get out and get some work done in the nursery and greenhouse this weekend without risking heat stroke!

Here is a link to  the Full catalog for anyone looking for a reference. Shipping is done for the season so don't order from it. Next year I'll probably have a website setup so this may have been the last of the old school blog catalogs. I'm also exploring shipping more potted plants and bulbs in growth, so stay tuned for that. 

Click below for the catalog:

2021 Illahe Rare Bulbs Catalog

Cheers, 

Mark