I Ask You: Where Are My Toad Lilies? Hmmm?

/ Ally Bean
• I allowed myself to hope.

When it comes to gardening, I’m usually more cerebral than heartfelt.

I don’t assume that just because I plant something, it’ll thrive.  Instead, I focus on those plants that get with the program and grow.

Like this cute little tree in the concrete urn that I can see out the window from our study.

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• But there’s something missing from this photo.

Around the base of this cute little tree there are supposed to be 5 toad lilies, which I bought last spring for an outrageous amount of money from an allegedly honest garden nursery catalogue [which I’m not linking to here because I don’t want to advertise for the company].

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• I know that toad lilies can grow here.

Years ago, before the front planting beds were re-landscaped, there was a thriving toad lily in this exact location.

That’s why I planted them, right there, uniformly around the base of the concrete urn, anticipating autumnal beauty whilst gazing out my window.

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• But do you, gentle readers, see any thriving toad lilies?

Or do you, like me, see one scraggly looking wisp of a plant, barely hanging onto life?

That, my friends, is what $60.00 will get you when you dare to believe the copy in a catalogue.  A catalogue that should be named: A Sucker Is Born Every Minute Garden & Nursery Store Catalogue For The Easily Gullible.

Because, really, that’s what the catalogue is all about.

Or so it would seem to me, Ms. Gullible.

20 thoughts on “I Ask You: Where Are My Toad Lilies? Hmmm?”

  1. I did that with poppies. I wanted a pink color which wasn’t available locally. The mail order company was reputable and they replaced the dead ones that I bought with half of my 401(k). Those died too. It was a perfect spot for poppies but I gave up. As for toad lilies, they are easy to grow. A friend gave me a chunk of root and I have a big patch. Not sure what happened to your plants.

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  3. My dad over-amended the garden so that weeds don’t even grow there. Any chance it’s your soil that’s the problem? I haven’t bought plants from a mail-order place but I know that Dad used to buy roses and whatnot from certain mail-order companies with good success.

    If I could get down to the garden I think the soil would have to be dug out and replaced. Might be a better plan to have my lawn guy deconstruct the raised bed area and let it go back to being lawn. Maybe the weeds would take root.

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    • Zazzy, I wonder if you’re onto the problem. Never thought about the fact that this is new soil added as part of the re-landscaping project. Smart girl, you are. Thx.

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  5. I’ve never bought any plants from a catalogue. Sorry about your lilies. Maybe you should take a picture and send it to the company. We have a great little nursery here that I buy all my plants from. I love to see the flowers and bushes in person.

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    • Beth, I rarely buy perennials from a catalogue, but I wanted some toad lilies and our usual garden nursery here in town didn’t have any. So I ordered these… non-toad lilies. Not good. Won’t try it again.

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    • You are a wise woman. Henceforth, and I’m suspecting every after, I won’t be buying plants from this catalogue– or, maybe, other catalogues too. Hopes dashed, I tell ‘ya. 😉

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  7. I am always so tempted by everything in the catalogs. And now that I have a very empty backyard, I get the feeling that temptation will be hard to resist. I should bookmark this post as a warning to me. Now, if only I could get something that would prevent my from buying things constantly at the nursery itself…

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    • Sarah, I’m a sucker for all plants everywhere. I’m usually able to hold myself back, but I really wanted some cute fall color outside our home office window. AND SEE WHAT HAPPENED? Caveat emptor, eh?

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