Naked ladies

If it's September, it must be time for the "naked ladies" to make their appearance. That's what many of us grew up calling members of the Lycoris clan that show up as if by magic at this time of year. The long stems from these bulbs shoot out of the ground before their foliage, seemingly overnight, and wave their colorful blossoms, especially in understory areas in the garden. These are bulbs that need sun only in winter and so they thrive under deciduous trees and shrubs where they are in shade during summer. You often see them thriving at old abandoned home sites and in cemeteries, because they are plants that, once established, require practically no care.

I planted some Lycoris bulbs in my garden three years ago because I have a fondness for these old-fashioned beauties, but they haven't bloomed for me in the last two years and I hadn't really thought about them in awhile. I was sitting in my backyard over the weekend, just staring into space, when my eyes suddenly focused on a bright spot in my line of vision.

  Yep, there she was - a "naked lady"! My first one in three years.

These plants have several common names in addition to the naked lady moniker. They are also called "spider lily" because their gangly appearance is somewhat like that of spiders and "hurricane lily" because they show up during the most active weeks of the hurricane season. Some also call them "magic lily," "resurrection lily," and, of course, "surprise lily," all for fairly obvious reasons.

I'm hoping to see more of these surprises in the garden over the next few days, because I did plant several of the bulbs. Now that the first couple of them have put in an appearance, I'm looking for the rest to show themselves soon in a gaudy march of the naked ladies!