Much to my surprise, the day after Hurricane Matthew grazed our beach I was picking up debris and found the native Spider Lilies had sent up buds. A few days later, the flowers appeared.
These are probably three feet tall and quite sturdy, they appeared in my garden and I mistook them for Amaryllis, separated the bulbs and planted a long mass in my back garden. As these things sometimes go a third did well, another third are still alive and then another third didn’t really take or were eaten by the gigantic Lubber grasshoppers we have here. Still, these were a nice surprise and I decided to cut a few for a vase.
My husband’s comment was “that is really minimalist for you” – which is true, I think this vase belongs in a modern spa or a sleek black granite lobby.
The flowers present a bit of a design dilemma – while striking they are in my imagination tiaras for fairies and my dilemma was to cut the flowers off and use them as a short stemmed element with other flowers or emphasize the lean whorls of crowns in a simple vase. Simple won out for a tropical minimalist vase.
The flowers are our native Spider LIly (Hymenocallis latifolia) they grow in pure sand on the back side of dunes and in hammocks. The foliage is the leaf of a Heliconia ‘Splash’ and a Split Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron selloum). A burgundy leaf from an unnamed Bromeliad anchors the stems together in the glass vase. I remember buying the vase to force Cherry and Forsythia branches in winter and could never get that to work. I think the vase was waiting for some Tropical Zen on Monday.
The Shrub Queen 
Spectacular! We have native Spider Lilies, but they are not as dramatic.
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Thank you. have you seen Peruvian Daffodils there? they are a relative of this.
Dramatic is a good description.
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No I haven’t.
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I love it! Simply perfect way to showcase the beauty of Spider Lilies. Definitely high end spa or Four Seasons hotel lobby worthy. 🙂 I think you should start a weekly flower service!
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Thank you, I would have to have a much bigger garden to start a service.
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Not if you get them at the wholesalers!
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True, but the plants in my garden are not at the wholesalers!
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What, no bird of paradise and heliconia? Shameful! 🙂
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Good Grief! Amazing that these grow wild in the dunes – such an other-wordly look about that time and indeed very different from my white vase! Thanks for sharing
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It is amazing and the antiDahlia!
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Beautiful spider lily and so unusual. Glad you had some success with them.
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Thank you, it is an interesting flower and has a mild gardenia fragrance.
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It is quite beautiful and exotic Amelia, and I think the vase was the right choice. It would have been a shame to cut its stalk right down for a smaller vase. And lucky it didn’t flower before the storm or it would have been spoilt. 🙂
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Thank you, it was quite a surprise when it bloomed, although I had Peruvian Daffodils I had not seen anything like this.
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I think you made the right choice. The height of the flowers is dramatic and difficult to find in gardens these days as growers shift more and more toward dwarf blooms (at least here).
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Wow, these are stunning. And you took absolutely the right decision about how to display them. How elegant.
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Thank you, Liz, I have enjoyed this one.
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Gorgeous, I wish I could grow it.
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Have you run across Peruvian Daffodils – another similar Hymenocallis they will grow further north. I grew them in Atlanta.
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Simple, but such great attention to detail!
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Thank you, there was a bit of contemplation over stem lengths!
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lol. Often a hard decision.
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Oh my. I have some of these. I guess this means they have to come in for winter, too. I need a bigger house.
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There are a couple of different kinds – some hardy in Zone 8, I am thinking you are not quite that far south?
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Zone 7. Its paper says cold hardy to 10. Hi Ho here I go.
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Well, you have a couple of weeks..maybe time for a greenhouse?
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Ha! I keep saying that. My husband says it’s time to give away some plants.
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Tropical zen, indeed. I love the simplicity of it. Though I’ve never seen those spider lilies before. What an interesting flower, eh?
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Thank you, Cynthia – there is some simple floral zen there!
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