Lilies are my favorite flower. They last a long time in the garden, are usually fragrant, make great cut flowers, and pollinators flock to them. Oh, and they are so easy to grow! All these attributes make lilies my go-to flower to plant every year to increase my varieties. But some lilies just increase in number and come back year to year….. which applies to my all time favorite-‘Black Beauty’. Purchased from Old House Gardens, my lilies have formed two breath-taking clumps that last for at least 6-7 weeks in July and August. When they start to bloom in July, I am in my happy place!
Each stem can carry from 50 to 150 flowers per stem and I cut them all the time to bring in the house to enjoy. One stem makes a bouquet or a striking accent! Mixing beautifully with other perennials and annuals in perennial borders, you have to give it some room and I would suggest planting at least 3 to start.
Called an Orienpet Lily (cross between a trumpet and oriental lily), Black Beauty was a break through in lily breeding.
Old House Gardens says this about Black Beauty-“Though absolutely gorgeous – with 15-40 turk’s-cap flowers of dark raspberry narrowly edged with silver – ‘Black Beauty’ is even more prized for its wonderful vigor and long life in all sorts of gardens. In fact, you’ll often hear it called “indestructible.” (It’s even lily-beetle resistant, researchers say.) The first lily voted into the NALS Hall of Fame and one of our customers’ favorites year after year, it’s one of the 20th century’s very best. Sturdy 5-7 foot stems, mid-summer, zones 5a-8a, from Holland.”
I agree with that assessment completely and the only downside for this lily is I do have to support it after it reaches 6 feet tall. If a storm comes through, the stems will sometimes break off or bend down to the ground. But that is a small price to pay to have this beauty in my garden. Sphinx moths, butterflies, and hummingbirds flock to this beauty and my garden is humming with activity when these gems are blooming. Indestructible and coming back every year, this lily will outlive me! This lily checks all the boxes for me: long lived, easy to grow, beautiful, attractive to pollinators of all sorts, and fragrant.
To plant these beauties in the fall, simply dig a hole 4-6″ deep with the bulbs pointy side facing upwards in a full sun location (6-8 hours). They can take a bit of shade too, but will bloom more profusely in the sun. Water the planting area to settle the soil and forget about them. In the spring you will notice robust shoots pushing up out of the soil. The first year, they might get 5 feet tall. But in subsequent years, they will tower over you topping out at 7′ tall!
The most important trait of this lily is the timing of its bloom. When your garden is starting to look tired in July and August, this lily is just starting to put on a dazzling show.
Deer eat my lilies 😿
I battle bunnies!
Love the display! There is never enough space in my garden. I suppose everyone feels that way no matter how much space one has. Are Black Beauties effective as a only few plants or only en masses?
In masses
Oh, these sound enchanting! I swore that I would use what I already have this year but I must admit that now I am tempted. Thank you for sharing!
Hi, I wanted to say, your website is very nice looking. I didn’t go through it all yet and yes I like lilies also. I started my garden blog about six months ago, but it’s not doing so well, I also have a small yard, so not much to blog about lol. I have been gardening for a little over 40 years and still like doing it. Also like to Congratulate you on the awards I see on your blog.
Tony