Heirloombulbgirl

Tag: Oxblood Lily

  • The Moment Defined

    There are moments in life that define us, for the better or for the worse.
    Moments that change everything in us and all around us. The moments I have seen in the devastating fires of California have flooded my thoughts. I can’t seem to look away. I understand all too well the complete and utter loss of “losing everything” in a single moment. There are no words.

    I see them.

    I hear them.

    I know them.

    I remember standing in line at the Red Cross on the morning after, with all the other “flood victims” (as we were politely referred to). An older woman standing in front of me had been visibly shaken. I found myself trying to comfort her. She sobbed and talked, and I simply listened. She told me about the boat rescue, the 7 inches of water that flooded her house and her fear of the water that came up so fast. She finally took a breath, looked up at me and asked “So what happened to you? How much water did you have in your house?”

    “Seven feet of water in less than 10 minutes.”

    She said nothing but just stared at me, as if to apologize for her own “lesser-than” trauma. I smiled, hugged her and said
    “There is no measurement of loss. It’s all the same.”

    Right then and there, I learned a very important life lesson….Loss is loss. Trauma is trauma. There is not a measurement of trauma as if “Mine is worse than yours”. Trauma holds no competition and takes no winners. We are all in the same boat together. Each one of us has our own story, but what we do *after* that defining moment is what truly matters. Will we let bitterness set in? Will we become callus or envious? Will we become trauma “victims” or trauma “survivors”? I do admit, standing in the pouring rain with only the clothes on our backs was a very humbling experience. Where was I going to get clean and dry panties? (A real-life concern) How could I comfort my family when I, myself was going through so much? Where would we even live? How can one simply start over and rebuild from scratch? All overwhelming thoughts, so all I could do is live moment to moment, salvaging anything I could. I poured into salvaging my gardens, digging bulbs at the “flooded house” every single day. The gardens saved my sanity.

    One day, as I walked along what-used-to-be my beloved “Garden of Eden”, I looked down and saw my Grandmother’s broken china with her Bible memory verse “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” It was that moment, out of all my moments, defined me…

    Everything I had lost, He would provide.
    Everything I needed, He would provide.
    Everything I wanted, He would provide.

    I had been over and over those gardens for months, salvaging bulbs, but somehow I missed that little treasure. Maybe I hadn’t been ready to fully rely on the Lord’s provision the way sheep rely on their shepherd. Maybe I was looking for comfort in the wrong place or maybe I was just too caught up in my own minutia of trying to rebuild. Whatever the reason, I found my moment.

    ”The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.

    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. For You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

    You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23

    If anyone has specific loss that you’d like prayer for, feel free to email me… heirloombulbgirl@gmail.com I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve walked through this walk and there is hope on the other side.

    If you know friends or family members who lost everything…give gift cards or Venmo for a great starting place. Be listeners not fixers. Be present through their grief and allow them time to process the loss. Their lives will never be the same, but may we all be defined in the moments after…relying fully and completely on The Good Shepherd.

    Ps….Oxblood Lilies will be shipped out to anyone who is starting over, at no cost, When you are ready, your “Redemption Lily” will be ready for you.
    Happy Gardening, my friends.

  • Growing Oxblood Lilies by Seed

    Isn’t this the coolest? I am obsessed! Some Oxblood Lilies are still in bloom, while others are in different of the seed process. Some Oxbloods don’t produce viable seeds at all. For some odd reason, I find this utterly fascinating. I have chronicled the last few weeks of Oxblood Lily seedpod development on my Instagram/FB accounts, which has brought me ridiculous amounts of fun. I have managed to figure how to put music to reels (huge step into this techno-century). Even my daughter laughed at my latest dorky song choice….I laughed too. I’m still laughing. The absurdity of gardeners who love their plants is immense, and yes….borderline psychotic, but in a joyfully good way. I think we all need good diversions in life that bring us joy. For me, it is watching my lilies go to seed.

    If you Google “do Oxblood Lilies go to seed?” most sights will say no. About 15 years ago, I had a hunch that mine did. I spotted way too many rogue Oxbloods throughout the yard. The relocation of lilies by Squirrels and small children were a distinct possibility, I decided to do a little science project. I did the whole “seed in paper moist paper towels” thing, and much to my joy, they sprouted. I did plant them as they grew and quickly lost track of my seed babies. Now I’m more savvy. I’m not knee-deep in violin concerts alongside peanut butter and honey child-rearing. My littles have all grown up, I have a somewhat of an empty nest and a lot of Oxblood Lily seeds to cultivate. The last 15 years, I have allowed nature do what it wants to do with the lily seeds. This year, I’m more intentional. I’m collecting the seeds and germinating them.

    Lily seeds enjoy a moist environment. I have half of my seeds in the moist paper method, and half my seeds in tea cups placed all around my music studio. No, I don’t have a greenhouse so I have to take a chance that my young violinists won’t throw the cups at each other while my back is turned. So far, so good. It’s been a few days, so I happily wait for green little sprouts. Patience is a virtue in which I apparently need. That’s the only real explanation on why this process is so thrilling for me. I have offered up free seedpods to folks to try their luck at growing Oxblood Lilies by seed. I’ve never sent Lily seeds via mail before, so if you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. 🙂 Remember, I’m not a botanist, I just play one on Web MD.

    Happy Gardening my friends!

  • Oxblood Lily Season in the Fall Texas Garden

    Thank you for visiting this little flower blog.
    Gardens restore the soul, and let’s face it….we all need it.

    The Oxblood Lily is also know as the Redemption Lily. The hot days of Summer are over. The refreshing rain and cooler temperatures bring the Oxblood Lilies to full bloom. The soul of the gardener is restored and renewed.

    Happy Gardening, my friends.

  • The Superpower of Bulbs. Finding Faith by “Dodging Death by Dormancy”

    Here we are, sweating hot and grumbling in 105 degree summer heat, and the Crinum be like “Nope. Not havin’ it. I’m going back to sleep.”
    I want to have that superpower….the ability to simply remove myself from heated situations or troublesome times. I want to magically take myself out of a hot environment, cool off and simply wait for some rain to bloom beyond anything else in the garden. What an incredible superpower to have!

    Crinum are indeed a special bulb. Most of the hot summer, they sway back and forth between a green clump with a gorgeous lily, and a haggard-looking pile of death. Last summer, during the drought, the Crinum looked like they were all at death’s door, merely stubs of crispy brown remnants of foliage. Ah, but they weren’t dead at all. Not even close. The Crinum were just saving their strength and resting in the cool of their little sanctuary below the ground. Dodging death with an incredible ability to remove themselves from the heat and just wait for their perfect opportunity to re-emerge with a boom.

    There are many bulbs that sleep quietly and hide out underground during their dormant seasons. I find this attribute utterly fascinating. For instance, how does a bulb determine it’s specific season to grow and bloom? How does an Oxblood Lily or Spider Lily not get fooled by the summer rain, only to wait quietly and bloom like no other in the first downpour of the Fall? The mere fact that flower bulbs have unwavering fortitude to wait in the hard seasons, blooming beautifully when the rain comes is nothing short of the description of faith….the ability to believe in things that are not seen, hoping for things beyond their circumstances.

    Crinum are my summer reminders of faith. Crinum give me hope through the heated struggle of gardening in a Texas summer, when everything appears to die before my eyes. When times are tough, Crinum simply retreat to their quiet place….a sanctuary. They are restored, renewed and recharged. Crinum don’t fight their circumstances with yelling, screaming, debating or grumbling. Crinum simply find their quiet place, believing beyond the 105 degree weather that “this too shall pass.” The weather *will* cool off, the rain *will* come and the beautiful Crinum *will* share its bloom again….believing in things not yet seen, hoping for things beyond their circumstances. I need flower bulbs like Crinum to remind me where my true source of power is….not in myself, or a perfect environment, with perfect people in a perfect world. On the contrary, my superpower is my faith in Him, Who created it all….seasons of great beauty and seasons of wait. I rest in the quiet of the sanctuary of the Lord, fully knowing that He is the true power source of all…even the little Crinum.

    ”O God.

    You are my God;

    Early will I seek You;

    My soul thirsts for You;

    My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

    So I have looked for You in the sanctuary;

    To see Your power and Your glory.” -Psalms 63:1-2

    It is another hot summer afternoon. The garden is showing off it’s many shades of crispy brown foliage, but the Crinum are all in wait…..their season is coming. Remember, your Heirloom Bulbs aren’t dead….they are simply cooling off below the earth, dodging death by dormancy. 🙂

    Happy Gardening, my friends! Love, Keenan @heirloombulbgirl

  • Oxblood Lily Give Away

    In an effort to continuously beautify the world, or at least a flower garden or two, I’m giving away Oxblood Lilies to well-deserving, bulb-loving gardeners. 🙂

    If you’d like some lilies, simply send me a email at heirloombulbgirl@gmail.com about what you love best about the Oxblood Lily (or any Heirloom Bulb). If you aren’t familiar with lilies, just tell me what you love about gardening. I will send you 2 lovely Oxbloods *free* (shipping/handling will be around $8.00). If you live close, come on by to the studio and get your lovely lilies without the shipping charges. Once your Oxbloods arrive, put right into the ground, water in and wait for the first heavy rainfall of the Fall….and Voila! A beautiful red Oxblood Lily.

    Oxblood Lilies are powerful reminders of the redemptive process throughout the garden. When droughts and overwhelming heat bear down heavily on the soul, the Oxblood Lily becomes a beautiful reminder of renewal and hope.
    Every garden needs an Oxblood Lily.

    Looking forward to hearing from you!
    Happy Gardening, my friends! love, Keenan

  • Coming Soon, To a Garden Near You!

    A few years ago, I saw the cutest plant stand while on vacation in Colorado. I thought the idea of “plants by donation” was totally charming. I had an old picnic table and an old farm door, and with the help of some teenagers, put together my first plant stand. It was blown over within a week. Wind and storms in Texas can get brutal! I nursed the poor little plant stand for a few months until it completely fell apart….then I was on to another project. It has been about five years since the original “plants by donation” idea was pressed upon my heart. Now the idea is back in full force, thanks to my husband.

    My husband and I rebuilt and moved one of the compost piles in front of the studio driveway. I’d actually love to close off the driveway completely, and let it be a shaded picnic area under the large old Live Oaks, but that’s for another day. Anyhow, the ugly compost heap got a nice new face lift with some very old 12 foot long carriage house doors that serve as the backdrop for the compost. I put a potting table on one side of the compost, just because it looks so cool. I stacked a lot of the old terracotta pots on top of the table, and Voila! just like that, I saw my future *unbreakable* plant stand! My children and husband had built a cutting garden last year at the studio. I’m thrilled to get some bouquets available for unsuspecting music students. I’ve also been moving Paperwhites to the cut flower garden, so the entire bed won’t be so lonely when all the flowers die back. This week I plan to seed all the Zinnias and other cut flowers. I will also offer heirloom flower bulbs in adorable vintage china teacups and vintage bowls.


    Our small little town does not have a garden shop. Gardeners have to drive for 45 minutes to get to the nearest organic garden shop. Our grocery store carries seasonal veggies and annuals, but nothing really interesting for the garden. There is a non-profit in the works called Keep Llano Beautiful. The plant stand should serve this noble endeavor well. I’m hoping gardeners from all over will add their extra plant babies as well. Take a bulb, leave a bulb. Pass-Along plants for everyone!

    I’m going to get to work on potting up some Heirloom Iris, Oxblood Lilies, Spiderwort, Texas Naives and other hard to find plants. Hopefully, “if the Lord is willing and the creek doesn’t rise”, the little plant stand will be open by the end of April. I will keep you posted.
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • The Garden of Givers

    They say it takes thirteen years to establish a garden. Yes, you read that correct…..thirteen years. Establishing a garden isn’t just the fun purchase of your favorite new flower. To establish something is purposeful, hoping for permanence. The established garden is not a man-made forced moment of flower-perfection, but a beautiful habitat for all natural things, blooming for generations to come. These old gardens are givers. The heirloom plants are in it for the long haul. Many of the Heirloom bulbs I salvage are from homesteads that date back to the mid 1800’s. Can you imagine tearing down and ripping out those old gardens?!
    Tasha Tudor’s gardens are beautiful examples of an established garden. I long to see a day when my young little fledgling-of-a-garden begins to take off and fly on its own. I love to visit old homesteads that are preserved, and I marvel at the old rose varieties and the heirloom beauty that keeps on giving.


    Established plants within those old gardens behave differently than modern store-bought varieties. Take, for instance, the “Queen’s Wreath” Coral Vine, an old Southern favorite. Many gardeners (including my Mother-in-Law) have tried to get this beautiful vine to establish, with little to no success. This particular vine comes to mind because I recently relocated a very old clump that I salvaged years ago. The vine was easily 50 years old. While I dug, I discovered bulbs attached to the roots. I had no idea that Coral Vine was a bulb! After researching, I discovered that in order for a Coral Vine to establish, a bulb is necessary for the vine to survive. The bulb becomes the life line to the old vine….a giver. I find this extremely fascinating. Unfortunately, many old varieties of plants, including Queen’s Wreath, are lost with the modern “progress” of house tear-downs.
    *Side-note*……I’m curious to know if the vine can be split with multiple bulbs, but I’m not brave enough to try. If any of you know the answer, please let me know. 🙂

    As I dug the Coral Vine, I stumbled upon a little clump of bulbs near the Coral Vine. When bulbs are damaged during a house teardown, I stick them in any open spot in the garden, and simply hope for the best. If an Oxblood Lily is damaged, the bulb will actually revive itself through creating baby bulbs in it’s place. The parent bulb becomes “a giver” to preserve the bulb’s heritage. In this case, 15 tiny little baby Oxbloods. I love it. I love the fact that even plants take care of their own. I love the fact that old heritage bulbs will outlive you and I, and the beauty of the established flower garden keeps on giving. I love the fact that the preservation of these heirloom beauties is never in vain. When I’m long gone, these flower bulbs will remain, blooming happily for generations to come.
    Deep down, I think that most gardeners are givers, just like the Oxblood Lily, pouring themselves into the next generation of flower lovers. What a great legacy you are leaving. Keep on giving and sowing seeds of beauty.
    Happy Gardening, my friends.

    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • The First Daffodil of Spring

    New life.
    New beginnings.

    I love Spring.

    Last year, Spring was engulfed by hard, late freezes that froze everything back, plunging the gardens into triple digit temperatures. The plants and bulbs had little time to recover from the stress of the freeze, and immediately were taxed by the extreme early heat of summer. The heat was enough to do the gardens in, but then came the drought. I think I complained daily…..just ask my husband.
    Every Single Day… “Why do we have to live in a desert where nothing grows?!” (Human nature is to play a blame game the minute life gets hard, and boy did I play it! Why is it so easy to forget about the wonderfully beautiful moments in life when we are in a drought?)

    But, as always, the rain did finally come, and the Oxblood Lilies bloomed. The promise of the cooler temperatures of Fall makes every gardener ecstatic….kind of like way we all feel when Spring finally arrives.

    I don’t know about you, but every day I’m out on my hands and knees looking for new life. Yesterday I spotted blooms of Golden Crocus, Grape Hyacinth, Oxalis and the first purple bloom of Spiderwort. Foliage of countless bulbs are hinting that this Spring will be spectacular. Three years is a long time to wait for anything, let alone Spring blooms!

    A wonderful part of this year’s Spring is the undergrowth of weeds. I know that sounds bizarre, and it probably is, but stay with me. Non-seeding weeds are actually a benefit to your soil. Pull them up and simply create piles of rotting goodness where the weeds used to be. The nutrient-rich piles will deter future weeds from taking over, while the rotting process will encourage microorganisms to find a nice habitat to live in. Worms in the soil will enjoy the incredible benefits of the entire process, while your soil is kept insulated and protected from the elements. Last year, there was no undergrowth due to the drought. My gardens started off the drought with bare soil. I was scraping together any organic material I could find to pile on the earth….Live Oak branches from neighbors’ brush piles, hay, newspaper and cardboard and leaves from empty lots. I even went as far as taking my little lawn mower to an open field with Live Oaks, and mowing to collect the fallen leaf debris. Like I’ve said many times, the soil at my studio is AWFUL….but this Spring, I have hope in all new beginnings. I have found earthworms for the first time in some places, and the mere fact that I have an undergrowth of healthy, non-thorny stickers is a huge step into the land of a healthy garden.
    They say it takes 13 years to establish a garden. In some parts of my garden, I am on year two. But then, combine that with the lack of good soil and mathematically, I am x=13-2ps+kw(5th). That is, 13 years-2 years, subtract the years of poor soil, but adding Keenan’s work to the 5th power. In other words, I have a lot to do.

    Spring.
    New Beginnings. New blooms. Every single new beautiful day is worthy of rejoicing.
    Happy Gardening, my garden friends!

    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • An Oxblood Lily from Miss Margaret’s Garden

    I spent the last few days moving Oxblood Lilies. Typically when I salvage bulbs from a tear-down, I stick them anywhere I can find an open spot in the garden. Later, I might go back to “decorate” the garden landscape with the bulbs in their “forever homes” (or at least, their home until I get bored). Each clump of Oxbloods is unique due to the age of the bulb or the growing conditions. One particular clump of Oxbloods caught my eye. The original parent bulb was in the middle, warmly surrounded by a beautiful family of healthy bulbs….nine offshoot bulbs, to be exact. Some clumps look like the bulbs are being suffocated….but not this clump. It looked perfectly happy to share its life with the offshoots, and all 10 bulbs were happy and healthy.

    The sheer vigor and fortitude of the Heiloom Oxblood Lily is truly untouchable by other lily bulbs. Scott Ogden once said that the Oxblood is the hardiest of all Southern Bulbs, and I absolutely agree with him. I’ve seen Oxbloods grow through cement rubble of house tear-downs, compacted earth from bulldozer tracks, drought-stricken land, and the list goes on and on. Oxblood Lilies are survivors. Let’s face it….we all need survivors in our life. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot from the Oxblood Lily. Through seasons of drought, gardeners throughout the South are reminded of the redemptive beauty found after the first rain of Fall.

    Oxblood Lilies originally traveled to the United States by way of their German immigrants. These lilies can still be found growing alongside old homesteads throughout the South.
    It is simply incredible to see a flower bulb survive throughout the 1900’s. Old gardens become a direct link to the past…to the days of pass-along plants and quiet cups of tea shared among garden friends.

    This lovely Oxblood was one of the bulbs rescued from Miss Margaret’s former home in Rockdale, Texas. Years ago, I wrote an article about the house in Heirloom Gardener Magazine entitled Saving the Gardens for Miss Margaret. If I knew how to link the article, I would….but Sorry, folks. This is about as tech-savvy as I get. Needless to say, Miss Margaret’s lovely gardens are now a parking lot for the police station. The beautiful historic three story house was torn down to make way for the police station. The original stained-glass filled house was built in the 1800’s. After Miss Margaret passed, the house deteriorated beyond repair. Before the tear down, I dug countless times. I was able to preserve thousands of her treasured Heirloom Bulbs. It makes me almost physically ill to watch century old flowers like this end their beauty, trapped under cement lots. Unfortunately, that happens frequently through the modern progress of rural development. I’ve been determined to save as many Heirloom Bulbs from old homestead tear-downs as I can.

    Each Heirloom Oxblood gives redemption to the garden. If you would like to have an Oxblood Lily from Miss Margaret’s garden, please let me know. I’m happy to share with you. Or you can order flower bulbs from Heirloombulbgirl on Etsy. All proceeds go directly back into the gardens. 
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • To Nurture a Garden


    There are two types of gardeners in this world……organized, neat and tidy, everything-in-symmetry kind of gardeners, and then there’s everyone else. If you know me, you already know which camp of gardeners I fall into. Let me just pull back the curtain of Oz a little bit more. I have no fewer than 25 unfinished gardening projects going on at any given time. The word “frazzled” is my middle name in Greek, and it fits like a ripped up, dirt-stained glove. I am the complete opposite of any type of “garden influencer” you might read about. In fact, there’s probably a psychological study that could be done on my gardening style, but that’s beside the point. Let’s just say that I am extremely fortunate to have these beautiful Heirloom Flower Bulbs that make my gardens worthy enough to talk about. If it weren’t for the flowers, I’m afraid I’d be forced to be the world’s worst golfer. Thank goodness for the gardens!!

    In honor of the New Year, I decided to toast to the fact that I most likely will not finish my gardening “to-do” list, or any of the unfinished projects that I enjoy muddling around with. But instead, my new gardening resolution is simply to nurture what I have already accomplished.


    Nurturing is a gardening concept that is rarely allowed in the mind of a busy gardener. There are so many garden chores to do that nurturing a single flower seems like a complete waste of time. Gardeners tend to focus on “important” tasks such as flipping the compost pile or spreading cardboard upon a weed-infested area. Garden tasks give us a sense of purpose, a feeling of success and a cool “badge of honor” among our gardening friends. Our society is driven by work, and that drive to work is carried over into the garden. To nurture something feels…well, less adequate. What does “naturing” even mean?

    Nurturing becomes the quiet, still moment of committing yourself to the growth of something beyond yourself. Ralph Waldo Emerson describes success as “Leaving the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition.” True success is the ability to nurture life, and to be able to look at oneself and to see that you are connected with all of nature, including humankind.
    Nurturing a garden looks a bit different to each gardener, but the end goal is the same….to leave a little piece of the earth better than when we found it. Some gardeners focus on growing plants by nurturing seeds, while others focus on creating and nurturing a habitat for wildlife, such as Butterfly Sanctuaries. To nurture is to see beyond the hurried moment, and take the time to instill love and goodness into something with complete selflessness.

    Over the years, I have learned a lot about nurturing through rescuing flower bulbs from tear-downs. I have pulled bulbs to freedom out of rubble, and have enjoyed the redemptive process in watching each unique bulb grow strong enough to bloom. I have found chewed up remnants of bulbs, completely destroyed by their unfortunate events, redeem themselves to full beautiful glory. In fact, my favorite group of bulbs, my “survivor bulbs”, managed to grow out of the compacted ground of bulldozed flood debris. I lovingly dug out each remaining bulb from the hard earth, not for any other reason than the bulbs’ sheer will to live.

    This year, I decided to step off the hurried, frazzle-bus, and commit time each day to simply nurturing my flower bulbs. I am being intentional about where to plant flowers. Bulbs need to be visible and present while blooming, but non-invasive to the gardens when growing. That’s a lot to expect for any flower, but bulbs are worth it. Foliage can be a continued bother to many non bulb-loving folks. Lining garden paths, house foundations, driveways or creating specified areas within the garden will help bring an organized look within the carefree growing garden. Some bulbs, like Paperwhites, need a lot of water and sunlight while growing. Other bulbs, like the Oxblood Lily can flourish in any environment. Heirloom Bulbs are tough, but each variety of bulb has a different personality with different growing needs.

    Happy Gardening, my friends! May you find a beautiful balance in your garden between the moments of hard work, and the quiet, still moments to truly nurture what you love.