Consider the Alstroemeria

     Have you considered the alstroemeria? (Think grocery store bouquet). They are like a lily, but much longer blooming and not as fussy.    One time, at a friend's house, I was amazed by her alstroemerias filling in an area probably six by three feet.  She laughed, "Those are almost weeds.  I planted a few, years ago, now they're the whole bed."
  
     I bought some for my parent's garden a few years back, and they keep blooming happily, almost year round.  Of course, this is southern California, but my garden book says they are hardy in cold-winter climates if planted at proper depth and kept mulched in winter.  Check your labels at the nursery, and if they don't have them, ask them to order some.  They are well worth it. The Latin term is Liliaceae, a perennial from South America.

     They come in pinks, corals, yellows, and a red and purple.   Mine are in a pot - rental gardening limits the roots I can put down - but that's another story. They do fine in a pot, which makes them a good patio plant, too.

    Very nice as a cut flower (think grocery store bouquet again), they last well.  Now that my roses are pruned to oblivion, I cut a branch for the bathroom vase.  One of my luxuries is to keep fresh cut flowers in the bathroom.




     If you're looking for a new spring flower to try, consider the alstroemeria.  It's lily-like petals will bloom happily for you all summer long.