Wild Women in the Garden

The heavy downpour of rain, last Saturday evening, marked the end of "Naked Ladies" flaunting their figures in our garden. No--I'm not talking about the wonderful women of all sorts, celebrating bridal shower teas, baby shower teas and/or garden clubs holding meetings here while having tea.  I'm talking about Naked Lady Lilies (Belladona amaryllis), of course! Those pretty in pink lacy flowers, whose greenery appears in early spring, then shed the leaves that once wrapped around their slender stems as soon as their rosey floral spring hats bloom to perfection.  I'm sure you have some "wild women" a.k.a. Naked Lady Lilies in your garden, too, and enjoyed their feminine fragrance and coquettish allure while they were blooming.

Black-Eyed Susan's, wild women in their own right, seem a bit timid in the presence of bold Naked Ladies.

Naked Lady Lilies sometimes called Belladonna Lilies or even Surprise Lilies (probably because they bloom all of a sudden after they lose their long leaves, just when you don't expect them to) bask beautifully in the heat of high summer.  They seem to dance wildly in the sunshine and unashamedly under the moonlight.  This year, it's a wonder that they didn't stick around for the solar eclipse next week!?!  I suppose they had other plans and did not want to share the solar/lunar spotlight, or lack there of.

This sorority of beauty queens has been around in the Southern United States since Thomas Jefferson introduced them to Monticello, way back in the 18th Century. He had little luck in growing them, as he wanted to constrain them to his greenhouse.  However, "Naked Ladies" have other ideas and enjoy their unabashed freedom in the light of a sultry summer day, sometimes springing up where no one ever thought they would grow.  They are considered hardy in zones 7-10.  They also thrive here at Blooming Hill, located in Zone 6B, and come back every year, preferring to stick closely together (strength in numbers, I presume, since they wear next to nothing.)

In the meaning of flowers, (Floriography), "Naked Ladies" really don't translate into what their name implies or anything else, for that matter.  However, if you take the meaning of Belladonna, the plant that is dangerous Nightshade and, combine it with the general meaning of a Lily, which is gaiety, coquetry and youthfulness, you kinda come up with a "Lolita-like" meaning for a Naked Lady Lily.  Just sayin'...

I can't recall ever planting Naked Lady Lily bulbs but somehow, they showed up in a garden border off of the back porch years ago and re-bloom every season.

So, their garden-style burlesque show is over for now and the ladies' performances have all but disappeared for the season. Yet, true to form, I know those seductive Naked Lady Lillies will boldly return to dance in all of their glory again and again, in our summer garden, for years to come.