LILIES - RHS Lily Group
LILIES - RHS Lily Group
LILIES - RHS Lily Group
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70<br />
On the road in search of lilies<br />
Last summer Alan Mitchell travelled to America to see lilies<br />
growing in the wild.<br />
EADERS OF A CERTAIN AGE and literary taste will recognise that the “On the Road”<br />
Rpart<br />
of the title of this article is an allusion to Jack Kerouac’s classic tale of<br />
roaming around America. However, at this point let me allay any concerns about<br />
what might come next, as the trip I made was, thankfully, short on rebellious<br />
behaviour and existential angst, but full of encounters with most of California’s<br />
beautiful species lilies and some of their perhaps slightly wayward, but naturally<br />
occurring, hybrid offspring.<br />
The metaphorical road, that preceded the journey of over 1500 miles in search<br />
of lilies, began when I met Charlie Kroell, at the 2004 <strong>RHS</strong> <strong>Lily</strong> Conference, and<br />
mentioned the words, L. henryi var. citrinum. This yellow variety, of the orange<br />
type of L. henryi has a strong fascination for Charlie, as has the legend that it is a<br />
hybrid which was originally discovered in a garden in Melrose, Massachusetts in<br />
1925. Whatever the truth of the matter, i.e. species, variety or hybrid, it was this<br />
“mystery”, debated through the exchange of many lengthy e-mails, that enabled<br />
Charlie and me to further develop the friendship that began when I uttered those<br />
fateful words.<br />
Although lost in the mists of time, which seem to roll ever closer to the present<br />
as the years advance, I assume it was during a lull in the citrinum debate that<br />
Charlie suggested I might enjoy what he called a “lily chase” in California. As<br />
he knew about my preference for species lilies, rather than hybrids, he thought<br />
the prospect of seeing a number of western American species growing in their<br />
natural environments would appeal to me. As the trip would also involve driving<br />
through the Canadian Rockies, en route to the NALS Convention in Edmonton,<br />
which, for someone who has been hill walking for over 30 years, would be<br />
like driving through Nirvana, if that isn’t a sacrilegious thought and/or practice,<br />
I e-mailed Charlie to count me in. The other two members of the lily chase<br />
foursome were Barbara Small (a native Californian whose local lily-knowledge<br />
was essential to the trip’s success) and Kathy Andersen (who had just returned<br />
from plant hunting in China). Although many months had to pass, between<br />
Charlie’s initial proposal and meeting him, and his wife Marijean, at Detroit<br />
Airport, the time was put to good use through his meticulous planning of flights,<br />
accommodation and other details. It was only when I witnessed him precisioncutting<br />
a breakfast pancake that I realised Charlie could not have organised the<br />
essentials of the trip any differently.<br />
Prior to flying to Reno, to meet Barbara and Kathy, I spent some time at Charlie